Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror
Jun 8, 2020 6:19:52 GMT
Tim Bradley, whiskeybrewer, and 4 more like this
Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2020 6:19:52 GMT
I wanted to share this because, in a nice bit of serendipity, happy birthday to Colin Baker! The first of two games written for his Doctor and one that received a fair degree of praise in its day.
For context, Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror (written/programmed by Gary Partis) was a 1985 platformer video game released on cassette for the BBC Micro and Commodore 64, which placed you in control of the Sixth Doctor and his cybernetic cat Splinx, to wit:
The game is available to play on emulation from the preservation efforts at the Complete BBC Micro Games Archive with the game manual available from here. The manual, in particular, caught my eye. It has a surprising degree backstory incorporated into its general instructions. Outlining the planet, your enemies and objectives in a way that feels authentically Who-ish. Enough that, dare I say, you could spin a suitable short story from its contents.
For context, Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror (written/programmed by Gary Partis) was a 1985 platformer video game released on cassette for the BBC Micro and Commodore 64, which placed you in control of the Sixth Doctor and his cybernetic cat Splinx, to wit:
“— URGENT COMMUNIQUE
FROM: HIGH COUNCIL OF THE TIME LORDS
C/O: THE DOCTOR
NEWS HAS REACHED US OF A PLAN TO DOMINATE THE UNIVERSE USING A TIME INSTANT REPLAY UNIT (TIRU) BEING BUILT ON THE SECOND MOON OF THE PLANET RIJAR. AN EVIL FORCE HAS TAKEN CONTROL OF MINING BASE AND IS REFINING RARE MINERAL, HEATONITE, USED IN THE BUILDING OF A TIRU. STOP THE MINING OF HEATONITE. REGAIN MEMORY CAPSULE CONTAINING PLANS OF TIRU. DISABLE TIRU. INFORMATION HAS BEEN PLACED IN LIBRARY COMPUTER MEMORY.
LATEST INTELLIGENCE SUGGESTS RIJAN MOON COMPLEX INTENDED TO LURE THE DOCTOR INTO THE MASTER’S CLUTCHES. MASTER THOUGHT TO BE PLANNING TO INCORPORATE DOCTOR’S BRAIN AS COMPONENT IN MODIFIED TIRU. THIS WOULD GIVE EFFECTIVE CONTROL OF FUTURE AS WELL AS PAST. PERHAPS CAPABLE OF MAKING THE MASTER ABSOLUTE TYRANT OF THE ENTIRE COSMOS FOR ALL TIME.
CRITICAL THAT MAXIMUM VIGILANCE EXERCISED BY ALL INVOLVED. VITAL THAT TIRU PLANS REGAINED. IMPOSSIBLE TO STRESS TOO FULLY THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RIJAN MISSION.
— MESSAGE ENDS.”
FROM: HIGH COUNCIL OF THE TIME LORDS
C/O: THE DOCTOR
NEWS HAS REACHED US OF A PLAN TO DOMINATE THE UNIVERSE USING A TIME INSTANT REPLAY UNIT (TIRU) BEING BUILT ON THE SECOND MOON OF THE PLANET RIJAR. AN EVIL FORCE HAS TAKEN CONTROL OF MINING BASE AND IS REFINING RARE MINERAL, HEATONITE, USED IN THE BUILDING OF A TIRU. STOP THE MINING OF HEATONITE. REGAIN MEMORY CAPSULE CONTAINING PLANS OF TIRU. DISABLE TIRU. INFORMATION HAS BEEN PLACED IN LIBRARY COMPUTER MEMORY.
LATEST INTELLIGENCE SUGGESTS RIJAN MOON COMPLEX INTENDED TO LURE THE DOCTOR INTO THE MASTER’S CLUTCHES. MASTER THOUGHT TO BE PLANNING TO INCORPORATE DOCTOR’S BRAIN AS COMPONENT IN MODIFIED TIRU. THIS WOULD GIVE EFFECTIVE CONTROL OF FUTURE AS WELL AS PAST. PERHAPS CAPABLE OF MAKING THE MASTER ABSOLUTE TYRANT OF THE ENTIRE COSMOS FOR ALL TIME.
CRITICAL THAT MAXIMUM VIGILANCE EXERCISED BY ALL INVOLVED. VITAL THAT TIRU PLANS REGAINED. IMPOSSIBLE TO STRESS TOO FULLY THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RIJAN MISSION.
— MESSAGE ENDS.”