Fairlight (video game)
Encyclopedia
Fairlight is an isometric projection
arcade adventure
video game developed by Bo Jangeborg
and Jack Wilkes at EDGE Games
and released in 1985
. Developed in seven months, Jangeborg created the GRAX game engine
using some prior code and components from his earlier project, graphics package The Artist. Wilkes contributed art assets towards the game, including enemy sprites and the title screen. The game was well received critically and commercially, selling over 50,000 copies, a sequel Fairlight II
was released in 1986
.
The game revolves around the protagonist Isvar, and his quest to find the Book of Light for the court sorcerer, in order for them to escape Castle Avars.
The ZX Spectrum version was one of the first (along with Technician Ted
) to have an interactive loader - instead of the usual yellow/blue loading bars, a counter at the bottom of the screen ran backwards indicating how long until the game had loaded.
which is not only three-dimensional isometric view, but realistic in terms of the way objects behave. Each object has its own physical properties and resultant characteristics in terms of how much else can be carried alongside it. Certain objects have special uses (e.g. keys open certain doors), and there is a puzzle element to the game to discover how some of these objects relate to the world in order to help the player solve the game.
In addition to carrying objects, they could also be stacked on top of each other to enable Isvar to climb up to rooms above him or to reach important objects perched high above on platforms. There are also a number of secret areas in the castle that are not visually obvious to the player and can only be discovered through exploration.
During Isvar's exploration of the castle he is accosted by its guards and monsters - troll
s, monk
s, guards, tornado
es, man-eating plants, bubbles, etc. all of which weaken Isvar's energy. Fortunately the castle also contains food and magical potions which will restore his health. In addition, certain game objects can affect the enemies, (by either killing them, distracting them, or freezing them, depending on the object and the type of enemy they are used upon)
Once defeated in combat a troll disappears leaving only his helmet behind. Helmets can be picked up and carried by Isvar, and placed somewhere else out of harms way (or into the path of a tornado, that destroys any object it touches). If Isvar leaves the room, the troll will regenerate from the helmet.
Isometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
arcade adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game developed by Bo Jangeborg
Bo Jangeborg
Bo Jangeborg is a Swedish computer programmer. He made several programs for the ZX Spectrum, the best known being the game Fairlight, its sequel Fairlight II and the graphic tool The Artist...
and Jack Wilkes at EDGE Games
EDGE Games
Edge Games is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Pasadena, California, known for the aggressive reputation of its chief executive and founder, Tim Langdell, in enforcing their trademarks relating to the word "edge"...
and released in 1985
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
. Developed in seven months, Jangeborg created the GRAX game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
using some prior code and components from his earlier project, graphics package The Artist. Wilkes contributed art assets towards the game, including enemy sprites and the title screen. The game was well received critically and commercially, selling over 50,000 copies, a sequel Fairlight II
Fairlight II (video game)
Fairlight II: A Trail of Darkness is an isometric 3D arcade adventure game released by The Edge in for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. It is the sequel to Fairlight.- Plot :...
was released in 1986
1986 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....
.
The game revolves around the protagonist Isvar, and his quest to find the Book of Light for the court sorcerer, in order for them to escape Castle Avars.
The ZX Spectrum version was one of the first (along with Technician Ted
Technician Ted
Technician Ted, also known as The Chip Factory: Featuring Technician Ted, is a platform computer game for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum home computers that was published in 1984 by Hewson Consultants....
) to have an interactive loader - instead of the usual yellow/blue loading bars, a counter at the bottom of the screen ran backwards indicating how long until the game had loaded.
Gameplay
The player controls an adventurer named Isvar that can be moved in a castleCastle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
which is not only three-dimensional isometric view, but realistic in terms of the way objects behave. Each object has its own physical properties and resultant characteristics in terms of how much else can be carried alongside it. Certain objects have special uses (e.g. keys open certain doors), and there is a puzzle element to the game to discover how some of these objects relate to the world in order to help the player solve the game.
In addition to carrying objects, they could also be stacked on top of each other to enable Isvar to climb up to rooms above him or to reach important objects perched high above on platforms. There are also a number of secret areas in the castle that are not visually obvious to the player and can only be discovered through exploration.
During Isvar's exploration of the castle he is accosted by its guards and monsters - troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
s, monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s, guards, tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
es, man-eating plants, bubbles, etc. all of which weaken Isvar's energy. Fortunately the castle also contains food and magical potions which will restore his health. In addition, certain game objects can affect the enemies, (by either killing them, distracting them, or freezing them, depending on the object and the type of enemy they are used upon)
Once defeated in combat a troll disappears leaving only his helmet behind. Helmets can be picked up and carried by Isvar, and placed somewhere else out of harms way (or into the path of a tornado, that destroys any object it touches). If Isvar leaves the room, the troll will regenerate from the helmet.
Trivia
- Edge refused to pay Bo Jangeborg for Fairlight unless Bo signed up to make more games for Edge
- Fairlight II was released without Bo's approval