Moonlight Madness (video game)
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| Moonlight Madness | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | John F. Cain |
| Publisher(s) | Bubble Bus Software |
| Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1986 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Moonlight Madness is a platform game for the ZX Spectrum home computer, published in 1986 by Bubble Bus Software. The player controls a boy scout attempting to unlock a safe within a mansion to obtain pills for the mansion's owner, a mad scientist, who has collapsed. This requires the player to traverse the mansion's rooms while avoiding hazards such as dangerous house servants and fatal falls.
The game was developed by John F. Cain, who had previously created Booty, a popular budget game. Moonlight Madness was criticized for its price on release, £7.95 in the UK, as well its technical issues. The game's graphics, gameplay and sound were negatively rated by critics, though some reviewers were more positive over these different aspects of the game.
Players must guide a boy scout through a 23-room mansion in order to obtain 16 keys and a 4 digit combination before running out of lives. The keys unlock the ACME safe containing the pills needed to save the mansion owner's life. It is necessary to jump onto platforms and evade enemies in order to progress.[1] At the start of the game the player has four lives; a life is lost should the boy scout fall too far or come into contact with one of the mansion's servants or traps. Rooms contain doors that can be entered to move around the mansion, as well as push buttons and hazards. Pressing buttons can result in lifts being activated, platforms appearing or an enemy appearing.[2][3] One of the mansion's rooms is a corridor of eight doors with a large pair of eyes above them; this room acts as a maze.[4] A tune is played continuously during play,[3] but can be toggled on or off by pressing the 'M' key on the keyboard.[4]
Plot
The player character, a boy scout, has approached a mansion looking for work during Bob a Job week. The door is answered by an old man wearing horn-rimmed glasses—the owner of the mansion. The man, a mad scientist, expresses surprise that the boy has managed to get past the guards and booby traps in the mansion's grounds.[4] As the boy scout explains the reason for his visit, the scientist collapses, asking for his pills. At this point the game begins. The player must gather the 16 keys needed to unlock the ACME safe and retrieve the scientist's pills before he passes away. During play the boy scout must negotiate the mansion's rooms, avoiding hazards and the mansion's staff, who have been told to protect the inventions within the mansion, using lethal force if necessary. The staff are unaware of the boy scout's purpose and will attack him should they come into contact.[3]
Development and release
The game was created by John F. Cain, who had previously developed the successful budget game Booty for Firebird Software.[5] By this point Cain had also developed several titles for Rabbit Software, such as Potty Painter.[6] Moonlight Madness was published by Bubble Bus in the United Kingdom and Spain in 1986;[7] the original price was £7.95 in the United Kingdom.[4] Moonlight Madness was re-released on budget software labels; Blue Ribbon Software in the United Kingdom, Zafi Chip and Z Cobra in Spain. Blue Ribbon Software was a label belonging to CDS Microsystems, both of the Spanish budget labels belonged to Zafiro Software Division. The game was published on the covertape of the February 1991 issue of Your Sinclair magazine. The covertape also featured Marsport, Ninja Hamster and Wizard's Lair.[8]
