Xenon (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Xenon is a 1988 vertical scrolling shooter computer game, developed
and published
by The Bitmap Brothers. It featured as a play-by-phone game on Saturday-morning kids' show Get Fresh
.
Unlike most scrolling shooters, the player can move in any direction instead of straight up. The player craft has two modes, a flying plane and a ground tank. The transition between crafts can be initiated at almost any time during play (except during the mid- and end-of-level boss sections, as well as certain levels where a certain mode is forced) and the mode chosen depends on the nature of the threat the player faces.
Destroying some enemies released power-up
s the player could catch to enhance their ship.
The vertically scrolling light-blue-coloured tiled landscape is littered with floor-mounted or elevated gun turrets. These dome-shaped gun turrets, some concealed between two sliding silo doors, open up when approached and begin shooting ball-shaped homing projectiles in the crafts direction. To destroy ground-based turrets the player's craft has to be in tank mode and to destroy elevated gun turrets the craft has to be in plane mode.
Some gun turrets are visibly destroyed with the first shot. Others can be shot once, after which the silo doors will close, then reopen and reveal a second gun turret that can be permanently destroyed with another shot.
At various points ground-based groups of metallic bug-like objects and air-based formations of crafts are encountered and dealt with according to the current state of the player's ship and immediate threat.
The mid- and end-of-level bosses (called Sentinels in the instructions of the Amiga/Atari ST versions) are large round objects that move in a repeating pattern and deliver sustained strings of the same ball-shaped projectiles. If the player collides with the projectiles or the boss itself, which he or she must take measures to avoid, energy will be rapidly drained, resulting in the loss of a life. When the boss arrives, if flying, the player will be forced into ground mode.
The boss has a pulsating coloured center which pulsates faster as the point of destroying it is getting near.
The second half of level one requires the player craft to be in plane mode for most of the time as it is navigated over more tightly populated groups of gun turrets, culminating in the end-of-level boss. This boss is similar to the first, although its repeating pattern of movement requires the player to perform more complicated avoidance moves.
The gun turrets of the first level are replaced with guns mounted in and around the side of the landscape. There are several different varieties, including guns that can aim, guns that fire continuous volleys, and guns that even move along the wall to stay by the plane. There is a much larger number of ground-based waves of ships and enemies, most with a different visual style, group arrangements and movement patterns. As well as ball-shaped projectiles the player also encounters longer laser-like projectiles.
Note that in some versions, most notably the Atari ST and Amiga, the player can ONLY be the plane in the entire level. Also, in this level, flying into walls results in damage, and in parts of the level, especially the second half, careful flying is important.
The boss is a long ship that fires lasers. It has a "walls and core" arrangement (similar to the first boss of Gradius
). The boss at the end is identical to the midpoint boss, except that its walls will fly downward when sufficiently damaged, requiring the player to keep shooting, or dodge if lacking firepower. Much like the bosses in the first level, the core of this boss will also pulsate more quickly as more damage is done.
This level necessitates much more strategic play and more frequent interchange between plane and tank mode in order to destroy the gun turrets and bugs.
The mid-level boss is a large black beetle-like object that delivers the ball-shaped projectiles seen on earlier levels. Periodically it delivers a burst of projectiles in eight directions simultaneously.
Again, similarly to the first level, the second half will require flying as a plane to deal with elevated turrets. Enemies from both levels one and two make an appearance here.
Near the end is a "cameo" appearance of the "ladybug" enemies first encountered on level one. The boss is identical to the mid-level version, except that it spawns a "ladybug" when performing the eight-way burst.
, Xenon was quickly ported
to other platforms: the Amiga
, Amstrad CPC
, Commodore 64
, DOS
, MSX
and ZX Spectrum
.
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by The Bitmap Brothers. It featured as a play-by-phone game on Saturday-morning kids' show Get Fresh
Get Fresh
Get Fresh was a children's television programme that ran from 1986 to 1988 in the United Kingdom.-Premise:Broadcast on the Children's ITV network, the show starred Gareth Jones , Charlotte Hindle, and a puppet named Gilbert the Alien...
.
Description
The player assumes the role of Darrian, a future space pilot called into action by a mayday report from his superior on a nebula space station. As of late, the colonies of mankind have been under attack by mysterious and violent aliens called the Xenites and it is finally time for Darrian to engage them. The game's story was only revealed in the game's instruction book.Unlike most scrolling shooters, the player can move in any direction instead of straight up. The player craft has two modes, a flying plane and a ground tank. The transition between crafts can be initiated at almost any time during play (except during the mid- and end-of-level boss sections, as well as certain levels where a certain mode is forced) and the mode chosen depends on the nature of the threat the player faces.
Destroying some enemies released power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
s the player could catch to enhance their ship.
Level 1
This level, like all levels in the game, is split into two halves each culminating in a boss fight.The vertically scrolling light-blue-coloured tiled landscape is littered with floor-mounted or elevated gun turrets. These dome-shaped gun turrets, some concealed between two sliding silo doors, open up when approached and begin shooting ball-shaped homing projectiles in the crafts direction. To destroy ground-based turrets the player's craft has to be in tank mode and to destroy elevated gun turrets the craft has to be in plane mode.
Some gun turrets are visibly destroyed with the first shot. Others can be shot once, after which the silo doors will close, then reopen and reveal a second gun turret that can be permanently destroyed with another shot.
At various points ground-based groups of metallic bug-like objects and air-based formations of crafts are encountered and dealt with according to the current state of the player's ship and immediate threat.
The mid- and end-of-level bosses (called Sentinels in the instructions of the Amiga/Atari ST versions) are large round objects that move in a repeating pattern and deliver sustained strings of the same ball-shaped projectiles. If the player collides with the projectiles or the boss itself, which he or she must take measures to avoid, energy will be rapidly drained, resulting in the loss of a life. When the boss arrives, if flying, the player will be forced into ground mode.
The boss has a pulsating coloured center which pulsates faster as the point of destroying it is getting near.
The second half of level one requires the player craft to be in plane mode for most of the time as it is navigated over more tightly populated groups of gun turrets, culminating in the end-of-level boss. This boss is similar to the first, although its repeating pattern of movement requires the player to perform more complicated avoidance moves.
Level 2
Following a similar theme to level one, this level with a green relief floor surface is also split into two halves each with a boss, but for almost all of this level the player is forced to remain in the air-based plane.The gun turrets of the first level are replaced with guns mounted in and around the side of the landscape. There are several different varieties, including guns that can aim, guns that fire continuous volleys, and guns that even move along the wall to stay by the plane. There is a much larger number of ground-based waves of ships and enemies, most with a different visual style, group arrangements and movement patterns. As well as ball-shaped projectiles the player also encounters longer laser-like projectiles.
Note that in some versions, most notably the Atari ST and Amiga, the player can ONLY be the plane in the entire level. Also, in this level, flying into walls results in damage, and in parts of the level, especially the second half, careful flying is important.
The boss is a long ship that fires lasers. It has a "walls and core" arrangement (similar to the first boss of Gradius
Gradius
The Gradius games, first introduced in 1985, make up a series of scrolling shooter video games published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper...
). The boss at the end is identical to the midpoint boss, except that its walls will fly downward when sufficiently damaged, requiring the player to keep shooting, or dodge if lacking firepower. Much like the bosses in the first level, the core of this boss will also pulsate more quickly as more damage is done.
Level 3
Level three has the same landscape and gun turrets found on level one except the floor is a pink colour. The arrangements of the gun turrets is also more complex and ground-based bugs can approach the player's ship from behind as well as from in front, and sometimes in both directions simultaneously. Also, certain enemies that just chased the craft in level one now have guns.This level necessitates much more strategic play and more frequent interchange between plane and tank mode in order to destroy the gun turrets and bugs.
The mid-level boss is a large black beetle-like object that delivers the ball-shaped projectiles seen on earlier levels. Periodically it delivers a burst of projectiles in eight directions simultaneously.
Again, similarly to the first level, the second half will require flying as a plane to deal with elevated turrets. Enemies from both levels one and two make an appearance here.
Near the end is a "cameo" appearance of the "ladybug" enemies first encountered on level one. The boss is identical to the mid-level version, except that it spawns a "ladybug" when performing the eight-way burst.
Level 4
This level has no background, and like level two, it requires flying. Here, the enemies have a more organic look (although certain laser-using ships from level two make an appearance). Even the bullets are different. The walls are organic also, resembling muscle tissue. Along these walls move eye-shaped guns that follow the plane and fire a three-way gun. There are also mouth-shaped guns that shoot destructible lasers. Some of the enemies resemble food, others internal organs. Small meatball-shaped enemies sometimes descend en masse, requiring a safe passage be blasted through them. There are also heart- and leaf-shaped enemies, and even scrambled-egg like creatures, some of which come from behind. Near the end of the first half, brain-shaped enemies that launch homing eggs must be dealt with. The mid-level boss is based on the boss of the second level, but with an organic, heart-like core, and it flies in a different pattern. All the other rules for the boss of level two apply, except that once all the "walls" are gone, the core will fire "organic bullets" of the type common throughout this level.Ports
Originally released for the Atari STAtari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, Xenon was quickly ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to other platforms: the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
.