Scarfman
| Scarfman | |
|---|---|
| File:Scarfman (Cover).jpg | |
| Publisher | The Cornsoft Group |
| Designer | Philip A. Oliver[1] |
| Platforms | TRS-80, TRS-80 Color Computer |
| Release | 1981: TRS-80 1982: CoCo |
| Genre | Maze |
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Scarfman is a clone of Pac-Man written by Philip A. Oliver for the TRS-80 computer and published by The Cornsoft Group in 1981.[2][1] A version for the TRS-80 Color Computer followed in 1982 as Color Scarfman.[3]
Oliver also wrote the Enhanced BASIC Compiler for the TRS-80 Model III and 4.[4]
Gameplay
[edit | edit source]The player controls Scarfman, eating the dots in a maze filled with them along with five power capsules, avoiding the five monsters that roam the maze.[5] Unlike Pac-Man, there are five monsters instead of four. Eating a power pill causes monsters to lower their eyes, indicating that they're vulnerable. The eyes shift to the normal position when the pill's effect wears off.[6][2] In Color Scarfman, eating a power pill causes the ghosts to remain vulnerable—indicated by turning blue—until eaten or the level ends.[3]
Reception
[edit | edit source]Dan Ekblaw reviewed Scarfman in The Space Gamer number 54. Ekblaw commented that "Overall, I would say that Scarfman's defects outweigh its good points by far. I've found that this game loses its novelty after a few weeks and will spend the rest of its days sitting on a shelf".[5]
In a 2012 retrospective, Gamasutra wrote that the "chirp-chirp-chirp chomping sound effect is maddening. But it does play like Pac-Man, more or less".[2]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).