Beneath a Steel Sky is a 1994 science fiction point and click adventure game in the cyberpunk genre. It featured comedy elements and was developed by Revolution Software and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment. It was initially released for DOS and Amiga. Underworld was its working title. UK Cover Art of the 1994 Revolution Software adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... Revolution Software Logo. ... Virgin Interactive was a successful and influential British video game publisher. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... Charles Cecil. ... A game director is a person who is in-charge of significant creative aspects of a video game. ... A game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Dave Gibbons (born April 14, 1949) is a British writer and artist of comics. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... Tony Warriner wrote his first video game, Obsidian for Amstrad CPC, in 1986. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... A game engine is the core software component of a computer video game or other interactive application with real-time graphics. ... The Virtual Theatre engine was designed by Revolution Software to easily produce Adventure games for computer platforms. ... For other uses, see March (disambiguation). ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay. ... This is an article about the computer and video game genre. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... The ESRBs logo. ... The USKs official logo. ... The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (or ELSPA) is an organisation set up in 1989 by British software publishers. ... In computing, a platform describes some sort of framework, either in hardware or software, which allows software to run. ... This article is about the family of closely related operating systems for the IBM PC compatible platform. ... This article is about the family of home computers. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Dreamcast , code-named Dural, Dricas and Katana during development) is Segas fifth and final video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... RAM redirects here. ... A sound card (also known as an audio card) is a computer expansion card that can input and output sound under control of computer programs. ... A contemporary computer mouse, with the most common standard features: two buttons and a scroll wheel. ... 1994 1994 in games 1993 in video gaming 1995 in video gaming Notable events of 1994 in computer and video games. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Point and click describes the simple action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen (point) and then clicking a mouse button, usually the left one (click), or other pointing device. ... This is an article about the computer and video game genre. ... Berlins Sony Center reflects the global reach of a Japanese corporation. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... Revolution Software Logo. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Virgin Interactive was a successful and influential British video game publisher. ... This article is about the family of closely related operating systems for the IBM PC compatible platform. ... This article is about the family of home computers. ...

The game was the second to use Revolution Software's Virtual Theatre engine, the first being Lure of the Temptress. The Virtual Theatre engine was designed by Revolution Software to easily produce Adventure games for computer platforms. ... A game engine is the core software component of a computer video game or other interactive application with real-time graphics. ... Lure of the Temptress is a fantasy point-and-click adventure game with comedic elements, created by Revolution Software, published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment, and initially released in 1992 for Atari ST, DOS and Amiga systems. ...

The game's backgrounds and introduction sequence were designed by Dave Gibbons. The introduction sequence was also included as a separate promotional comic book in some releases of the game. Dave Gibbons (born April 14, 1949) is a British writer and artist of comics. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ...

The game is considered to be among the true classics in the early era of graphic adventure games for the early 1990s. This, in part, is related to the mature science fiction theme that was chosen for this game as compared to other games of the same era where fantasy themes (a la King's Quest) had been dominant. Some critics have attributed this difference to the different visions of the adventure game genre between American and European developers. Kings Quest IV screenshot Kings Quest is an adventure game series made by the American computer game company Sierra On-Line (currently known as Sierra Entertainment). ...

Story

The game takes place at an unknown point in a dystopian future in Australia, where the Earth has been significantly damaged by pollution or nuclear fallout. The game's backstory is introduced via a comic book, drawn by well-known comic artist Dave Gibbons, that tells the story of a young boy called Robert who is the sole survivor of a plane crash in "the Gap" (the name applied to the Australian Outback at the time of the game). Too young to fend for himself, Robert is adopted by a local group of Indigenous Australians, who teach him the skills he needs to survive in this harsh new environment; they name him Robert Foster, partly due to him being fostered by them and also because of the discovery of an empty can of Foster's Lager, an Australian beer, found near him at the crash site. This article is about the philosophical concept and literary form. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Air pollution Pollution is the introduction of pollutants (whether chemical substances, or energy such as noise, heat, or light) into the environment to such a point that its effects become harmful to human health, other living organisms, or the environment. ... Fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion, so named because it falls out of the atmosphere into which it is spread during the explosion. ... Dave Gibbons (born April 14, 1949) is a British writer and artist of comics. ... For the restaurant chain, see Outback Steakhouse; for the station wagon, see Subaru Outback. ... Language(s) Several hundred Indigenous Australian languages (many extinct or nearly so), Australian English, Australian Aboriginal English, Torres Strait Creole, Kriol Religion(s) Primarily Christian, with minorities of other religions including various forms of Traditional belief systems based around the Dreamtime Related ethnic groups see List of Indigenous Australian group... Fosters Lager is an internationally distributed Australian brand of beer. ...

After Foster has reached adulthood, he is kidnapped and his tribe annihilated by storm-troopers sent from Union City by its all-powerful computer LINC. Interestingly, Union City mentions prominent suburbs and train stations found within Australia's largest city, Sydney, leading some to speculate that Union City was once Sydney. This was confirmed in a 2005 interview with the Australian gaming magazine, PC PowerPlay. This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... PC PowerPlay (PCPP) is one of Australias best-selling PC games magazines. ...

Foster manages to escape from his captors as the helicopter transporting him back to Union City crashes just after entering the dome, leaving him and his robot friend, Joey, to find out why they were brought there and where to go next.

Joey's personality is stored on a small circuit board, which can easily be inserted and removed from many types of robot bodies. This allows Joey to change bodies as the situation requires, provided his circuit board is not damaged. Joey, however, is not always happy about Foster's choice of body for him.

Background

Screenshot of game play.

In the future world of Beneath a Steel Sky, the six states and two territories of Australia have been consumed by their respective capital cities and are described as "city states". Image File history File links Beneath_a_Steel_Sky_-_2. ... Image File history File links Beneath_a_Steel_Sky_-_2. ...

Union City is the second largest of the six remaining city states after the acquisition of Asio-City. Notably ASIO is Australia's national intelligence agency. ASIO Central Office, Canberra. ... An intelligence agency is a governmental organization that for the purposes of national security is devoted to the gathering of information (known in the context as intelligence) by means of espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public sources. ...

After the 'Euro-American War' all participants agreed upon a set of ideals described as the 'neo democratic principles' which removes all labour representation and social benefits. Ironically, those that subscribe to these principles are called 'Unions' contrasting the real world definition of what a Union pushes for. Those that oppose the Unions' ideals are called 'Corporations'. A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers. ...

All of the City States are described as either being Corporations or Unions.

The back-story involves a conflict between Union City and Hobart Corporation fighting over 'market' dominance by the use of sabotage which is used as a common theme throughout the story. Hobart is the capital city of the Australian state Tasmania. Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. ... For other uses, see Sabotage (disambiguation). ... Slogan or Nickname: Island of Inspiration; The Apple Isle; Holiday Isle Motto(s): Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product...

Critical acclaim

The game's initial release in the UK was met with critical acclaim, reaching the number one place in the GALLUP charts and receiving; A Gallup poll is an opinion poll frequently used by the mass media for representing public opinion. ...

• 95% from CU Amiga
• 94% from Amiga Format
• 93% from The One

The release in the USA was met with almost equal success with; CU Amiga Magazine was a monthly computer magazine published by EMAP in the United Kingdom. ... Amiga Format was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. ... Cover of The One from 1989 The One was a video game magazine in the UK covering 16-bit home gaming during the late 1980s and early 1990s. ...

• 4/5 from Computer Gaming World
• 91% ('Editors choice Award') and ('Best Dialogue') from PC Gamer in 1995.

In May 1995 Beneath a Steel Sky was also awarded the prestigious Golden Joystick Award for 'The Best Adventure'. Computer Gaming World Computer Gaming World (CGW) is the oldest video game publication still in continuous circulation. ... PC Gamer is a magazine founded in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The three different beer labels used. Top: UK Release, Middle: US Release, Bottom: Promotional Comic

Screenshot of Robert Foster being taught to hunt kangaroos.

• The society of the city is a cross between many futuristic, 'dystopian' stories, including George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. The game's introduction was likely influenced by the film Mad Max, also set in a post-nuclear Australia. Another dystopian movie influence is Fritz Lang's Metropolis. The setting is similar to that of Beneath a Steel Sky. However, in the upper class lived in the skies and poor on the ground, while in Beneath a Steel Sky it is vice versa.

• Foster's true surname, Overmann, is a reference to German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's famous Ubermensch concept described in the book Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

• The computer system featured in the game, LINC, may refer to the Laboratory Instrument Computer. However, in the game, LINC means "Logical Inter-Neural Connection".

• The game came either on a set of floppy disks, or on a CD-ROM with full speech (the 'talkie' version). The dubbed version of the game uses actors sporting a variety of British accents, despite the game being set in future Australia. One character, Eduardo the gardener, does have an Australian accent. Robert Foster himself has an American accent, making some of his British English phrases sound incongruous. At one point the subtitles say "JUMPER" but Robert does say "sweater". At another, a dialogue choice is a distinctly British "it's well smart!" but the voice actor says "It's totally cool".

• The first two games in the Broken Sword series, also by Revolution, feature many references to the game. A similar character to Mrs. Danielle Piermont appears in Revolution Software's game Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars. The two coincidentally share the same surname and voice-actress. In the Security locker, Robert discovers a locker for a man named Ultar. This is also the name of a character in BS1 (it presumably took its name from it).Robert Foster appears in a comical Easter egg in Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror (though voiced by a different actor). Finally Broken Sword II includes a puzzle which involves dunking a dog.

• The first title proposed was Underworld, perhaps because it was set in the land Down Under. However it was decided the name too closely resembled Origin Systems game Ultima Underworld.

• In some countries (such as the USA) due to copyright issues the beer label displayed in the introduction is altered to show a generic beer brand in place of the Fosters label. One of the brands read "SS IPM (RAW)", which is "warm piss" spelled backwards.

• In the St. James club, a request to talk with the band will make Foster shout "Play some Joy Division!" or ask "Do you know "Stairway to Heaven"?"

• Foster makes reference to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics; Joey replies that they are "only fiction".

• When he first gets his welding body Joey cries "Exterminate!" a reference to the catchphrase of the Daleks from BBC show Doctor Who.

• One of the band members at the St James Club confirms that the saxophonist "OD-ed on too much sax", a lift from Douglas Adams novel Life, the Universe and Everything.

• In the Anchor Insurance shop, a partially visible wall mural reads: "Don't be a w| Just use an|" -- i.e. "Don't be a wanker. Just use an anchor."

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Top two are screenshot of the 1994 Revolution Software adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky. ... Top two are screenshot of the 1994 Revolution Software adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky. ... Image File history File links Beneath_a_Steel_Sky_-_hunting_kangaroos. ... Image File history File links Beneath_a_Steel_Sky_-_hunting_kangaroos. ... Species Macropus rufus Macropus giganteus Macropus fuliginosus Macropus antilopinus A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning large foot). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the Red Kangaroo, the Antilopine Kangaroo, and the Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroo... Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 [1] [2] – 21 January 1950), better known by the pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist. ... This article is about the Orwell novel. ... Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. ... For other uses, see Brave New World (disambiguation). ... Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30, 1937 in South Shields, South Tyneside) is a British film director and producer. ... This article is about the 1982 film. ... For other uses, see Mad Max (disambiguation). ... Friedrich Christian Anton Fritz Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-German-American film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known émigrés from Germanys school of Expressionism. ... Metropolis is a very early science fiction film that was produced in Germany during the brief years of the Weimar Republic. ... A family name, or surname, is that part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ... Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) (IPA: ) was a nineteenth-century German philosopher. ... In Thus spake Zarathustra (in German, Also sprach Zarathustra), the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche explains the three steps through which man can become an Übermensch (literally, overman or superman): By his will to destruction By re-evaluating or destroying old ideals By overcoming nihilism The will to destruction Nietzsches... “Also sprach Zarathustra” redirects here. ... The LINC (Laboratory Instrument Computer) was a 12-bit, 2048-word computer. ... The LINC (Laboratory Instrument Computer) was a 12-bit, 2048-word computer. ... The LINC (Laboratory Instrument Computer) was a 12-bit, 2048-word computer. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ... In filmmaking, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture. ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... British English (BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere in the Anglophone world. ... The header for Broken Sword: The Angel of Death For other uses, see Broken Sword (disambiguation). ... A virtual Easter egg is a hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. ... The term Down Under is a colloquialism referring to all things Australian, which is known as the land Down Under for its position in the southern hemisphere. ... Origin Systems, Inc. ... Ultima Underworld is a series of two computer role playing games published by Origin Systems in the early 1990s. ... This article is about the band. ... For other uses of Stairway to Heaven, see Stairway to Heaven (disambiguation). ... Isaac Asimov (January 2?, 1920?[1] – April 6, 1992), IPA: , originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as Айзек Азимов) was a Russian-born American Jewish author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ... This cover of I, Robot illustrates the story Runaround, the first to list all Three Laws of Robotics. ... For other uses, see Dalek (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... This article is about the television series. ... Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... Life, the Universe and Everything (1982, ISBN 0-345-39182-9) is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy science fiction series by Douglas Adams. ...

Legal status

In August 2003, the game was released as freeware - software available free of charge, and support for it was added to ScummVM, allowing it to be played on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Windows CE and other compatible operating systems and platforms. The data files for both the disk and CD version are available from the ScummVM website. The files on the ScummVM website do not include the original program executables since they are not needed by ScummVM. Though not included, these executable files are also legally distributable now. The term Freeware refers to gratis proprietary software with closed source. ... ScummVM is a multi-platform stack-based virtual machine which was originally made to allow one to play LucasArts adventure games that use the SCUMM system on platforms other than those for which they were originally released. ... Windows redirects here. ... Mac OS X (pronounced ) is a line of graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. ... This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. ... Windows CE (sometimes abbreviated WinCE) is a variation of Microsofts Windows operating system for minimalistic computers and embedded systems. ...

Sequel

"Beneath a Steel Sky 2 is a project Revolution has been considering for a while, and has started to move forward on, but we are unable to comment beyond this.” company boss Charles Cecil said in 2004. On March 4, 2004, Revolution purchased the domain name steel-sky2.com, although this has now seemingly been sold. Revolution Software Logo. ... Charles Cecil. ... is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The term domain name has multiple related meanings: A name that identifies a computer or computers on the internet. ...

However, in September 2005 Tony Warriner stated in Revolution’s forum that the game wasn’t cancelled, and that he would not lose hope that there would be a Steel Sky 2 at some point in the future. More recently, Charles Cecil spoke in an interview dated August 10, 2006 on Eurogamer of his admiration for the work done by Scumm VM and the resulting interest in a sequel. He also stated that if he were to make the game he "would dearly love to work with Dave Gibbons again"[1]. Eurogamer homepage Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news and reviews. ...

If released, the game will likely be in 3D, like Revolution Software’s latest installments of Broken Sword. This article is about process of creating 3D computer graphics. ... The header for Broken Sword: The Angel of Death For other uses, see Broken Sword (disambiguation). ...

External links

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Beneath a Steel Sky

• Official Site
• ScummVM - Download game and interpreter.
• View intro online - Video from the Amiga version.
• Review at Adventure Classic Gaming
• game Manual at DJ OldGames
• Game-Nostalgia, Beneath a Steel Sky Demo, Screen-shots, Transcript and game Music