Re: Help me remember an old game from the 1980s

[Matt Lichtenberg <kerobaros@gmail.com>]

On Jun 15, 7:21 pm, phaeton <blahbleh...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hello!
>
> Long ago in a classroom far far away, I used to piddle around with a
> game on one of my Middle School's Laser128s, which IIRC was a clone of
> an Apple][.  This was about 1986 or 1987.
>
> As best as I can remember, the protagonist in the game was floating
> around a network of pipes, presumably filled with water.  I can't
> recall if the character was wearing scuba gear or not, but breathing
> wasn't an issue.  There was a smattering of small bits of machinery
> lying around here and there in this maze of piping.  You had things
> such as a battery (or power source), a thruster (pointing fixed
> directions), on/off switches, etc.  Many of these devices resembled
> logic circuit symbols, but that may be coincidental as I don't recall
> them always acting like their real-world counterparts do (the
> aforementioned thruster might have resembled an operational amplifier,
> f'rinstance).
>
> Nontheless, your objective was (i believe) to gather up an assortment
> of these devices and assemble them in various forms to overcome
> obstructions in the maze, and eventually escape.  I vaguelly recall
> squid or octopus-ish creatures in the water as well, but I don't
> remember if they were intelligent (might attack you directly), just
> going through the motions (but dangerous if you come into contact with
> them) or if they were completely harmless and incidental.
>
> The game was 2D and likely used a 640x480 resolution and about 48
> colors, or about what you'd expect of the day.  I'm sure I'd recognize
> a decent screenshot if I saw one.
>
> Just curious, as I recall really enjoying the game as a 7th grader,
> but the lack of identity has been eating away at me for probably a
> decade now.
>
> Thanks for any help, sorry it is so vague.
>
> -ph

This sounds a hell of a lot like either Rocky's Boots or Robot
Odyssey; I've never played either, but there was an article about the
both of them in an issue of Home Computer Magazine way back in the
day, and I recall mixing up which screenshots went with which game.
Regardless, in one of these games, you play a robot, floating around a
pipe network, collecting parts to build another robot with.

Hope this helps!

-Matt