Impossible Mission is a platform computer game for several home computers. The original version for the Commodore 64 was programmed by Dennis Caswell and published by Epyx in 1984. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... Epyx, Inc. ... 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. ... In computing, a platform describes some sort of framework, either in hardware or software, which allows software to run. ... An original press advertisement for the Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron was a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... The 1977 Apple II, complete with integrated keyboard, color graphics, sound, a plastic case and eight expansion slots. ... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in June 1986 (a test market release occurred two years earlier). ... The BBC Microcomputer System was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers Ltd for the BBC Computer Literacy Project operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... C-64 redirects here. ... The Nintendo DS (sometimes abbreviated NDS or more commonly DS) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. ... The Sega Master System ) or SMS for short (1986 - 2000), is an 8-bit cartridge-based video game console that was manufactured by Sega. ... The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... The PlayStation Portable (officially abbreviated PSP)[5] is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... Nes is: A municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway, see Nes, Akershus. ... This article is about Nintendos emulation feature and download service. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the year. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year 1987. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... Further information: Game classification Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay interaction. ... A simple platform sequence from the game Wonder Boy Platform game, or platformer, is a video game genre characterized by jumping to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles. ... This article is 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. ... A video game content rating system is a system used for the classification of video games into suitability-related groups. ... A 104-key PC US English QWERTY keyboard layout The Dvorak Simplified Keyboard layout A standard Hebrew keyboard showing both Hebrew and QWERTY. A computer keyboard is a peripheral partially modelled after the typewriter keyboard. ... For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ... A simple platform sequence from the game Wonder Boy Platform game, or platformer, is a video game genre characterized by jumping to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... This article is primarily about a certain class of Personal computers from the late 1970s to mid 1980s, see Domotics or Home servers for home computers used in home automation. ... C-64 redirects here. ... Game programming, a subset of game development, is the programming of computer, console or arcade games. ... Epyx, Inc. ... 1984 1984 in games 1983 in video gaming 1985 in video gaming Notable events of 1984 in video gaming. ...

Description

Impossible Mission has the user play a secret agent - sometimes dubbed as "Dork" - attempting to stop an evil genius. Professor Elvin Atombender is believed to be tampering with national security computers. The player must penetrate Atombender's stronghold, racing against the clock to search the installation for pieces which form a password, all the while avoiding his deadly robots. Once in possession of all the password pieces, the player must correctly assemble the password pieces together and use the completed password in the main control room door - where the evil professor is hiding. One finds password pieces by searching furniture in the rooms. When searching, one can also find "Lift Resets" and "Snoozes." They are used at computer terminals. The former will reset all moveable platforms, the latter will freeze all enemies in the room for a limited time. There are also two special rooms where additional lift resets and snoozes can be awarded for completing a musical puzzle. A password is a form of secret authentication data that is used to control access to a resource. ... For other uses, see robot (disambiguation). ... A puzzle undone, which forms a cube Puzzle cube; a type of puzzle For other uses, see Puzzle (disambiguation). ...

The location of puzzle pieces, arrangement of the rooms and elevators, and abilities of the robots are randomly distributed each game, providing replay value. Caswell cites Rogue as his inspiration for the randomised room layouts.^[1] Rogue is a dungeon crawling computer game dating from 1980. ...

The Commodore 64 version is notable for its early use of digitized speech. The digitized speech was provided by the company Electronic Speech Systems ^[2], who drastically raised their prices after Impossible Mission became a successful test case. Epyx did not deal with ESS again as a result.^[1] The digitized speech included the player character's death scream and Professor Atombender's opening line: "Another visitor. Stay awhile... staaaaay FOREVER!" Other prominent lines are his exclamation, "Destroy him, my robots!" and admitting defeat shouting, "NO! NO! NO!" as he falls into a lift shaft. This scream was later re-used in another game Beach Head II: The Dictator Strikes Back]].

Enemies

Impossible Mission, as seen on the Commodore 64, was one of Epyx's most popular titles.

Impossible Mission had only two types of enemies. The first were the robots. These had a cylindrical main body, much like R2D2 or a Dalek. Their defense was high voltage: their bodies were electrified, and some were able to use a short range death ray. According to the instructions, the robots used linear induction motors to move around, and different robots had different features enabled. Some would be stationary; others move in patterns, and others would specifically hunt the player. Some would shoot and others would just try to ram the player. Some had to actually see the player, and others knew where the player was at all times. The robots' abilities were randomized, so that a room that was easy to explore in one game might be much more difficult in another. screenshot C64 Impossible_Mission, made myself. ... screenshot C64 Impossible_Mission, made myself. ... C-64 redirects here. ... Epyx, Inc. ... R2-D2 (also spelled Artoo-Detoo, called R2 for short), is an astromech droid and colleague of C-3PO in the fictional Star Wars universe. ... This article is about the fictional species. ... The death ray or death beam was a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon of the 1920s through the 1930s that was claimed to have been invented independently by Nikola Tesla, Edwin R. Scott, Harry Grindell Matthews, Graichen [1], as well as others. ... A linear motor is essentially an electric motor that has had its stator unrolled so that instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. ...

The second enemy was an enormous hovering electrified ball. Much rarer, most of these would chase the player (with a couple of exceptions). They were inspired by the Rover 'security guard' from the Prisoner TV series.^[1] While it would be affected by a "snooze", unlike the robots it still had a high voltage when disabled. The hovering ball would disappear if it came in contact with a robot. The Rover is a fictional entity from the 1967 BBC television program known as The Prisoner. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ...

Gameplay

The player has six hours of game time to collect 36 puzzle pieces. Every time the player dies, 10 minutes is deducted from the total time. The puzzle pieces are assembled in groups of four. The puzzle pieces overlap, so three pieces can be assembled before the player realizes he must start over. Pieces may be in the wrong orientation, and the player may have to use the horizontal or vertical mirror images. Additionally, the puzzle pieces are randomized in every game. A completed puzzle forms a nine letter password which allows the player to reach Professor Atombender.

Ports and sequels

Though originally developed for the Commodore 64, Impossible Mission was ported to the Apple II, Atari 7800, ZX Spectrum, Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, NES and Sega Master System. Not all of the ports had the same features as the C64 edition, such as speech. 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 (e. ... The 1977 Apple II, complete with integrated keyboard, color graphics, sound, a plastic case and eight expansion slots. ... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in June 1986 (a test market release occurred two years earlier). ... The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. ... An original press advertisement for the Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron was a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. ... The BBC Microcomputer System was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers Ltd for the BBC Computer Literacy Project operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... Nes is: A municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway, see Nes, Akershus. ... The Sega Master System ) or SMS for short (1986 - 2000), is an 8-bit cartridge-based video game console that was manufactured by Sega. ...

The NTSC Atari 7800 version has a confirmed bug that makes the game impossible to win; it places some of the code pieces underneath computer terminals, which the player cannot search (since attempting to do so will access the terminal). The bug was fixed in the PAL version. Rumors of a bug fix for the NTSC version were put to rest when Atari formally announced the retirement of the Atari 7800 on January 1, 1992. NTSC is the analog television system in use in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and some other countries (see map). ... A software bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from behaving as intended (e. ... For other uses, see PAL (disambiguation). ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ...

The sequel, Impossible Mission II, followed in 1988. It further complicated the quest with new traps and items. Elvin's stronghold also grew in size, now divided into a number of towers which the player had to traverse, all the while picking up pieces of the password (an aural one this time around). Impossible Mission II is a 1988 computer game for the Commodore 64 and Amiga computers, published by Epyx. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Hearing is one, the auditory, of the traditional five senses, and refers to the ability to detect sound. ...

In 1994, Impossible Mission 2025, the final game in the series (so far), was released for the Amiga. It kept the same idea as the previous games, and mainly featured updated graphics and audio, as well as allowing the player to choose between three different characters. The game also contains the original Impossible Mission. 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. ... Impossible Mission 2025 is a side scrolling platform and action game for the Amiga computer system. ... This article is about the family of home computers. ...

In 2004, Impossible Mission was one of the games featured on the C64 Direct-to-TV. The C64 Direct-to-TV, called C64DTV for short, is a single-chip implementation of the Commodore 64 computer, contained in a joystick with 30 built-in games. ...

Impossible Mission was to be remade for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance by Oceanic Studios under license from Ironstone Partners in 2004. The development deal seems to have been put on hold^{[citation needed]}. The Game Boy Advance is a best-selling handheld. ... This article is considered orphaned, since there are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... 2004 2004 in games 2003 in video gaming 2005 in video gaming Notable events of 2004 in video gaming. ...

Developers System 3 are revamping Impossible Mission for the Sony PSP, Nintendo DS and Wii (it is often mistakenly believed to be the first Wiiware game, but is a budget title released on the 31 August in the UK). ^[3] In the US, the Nintendo DS version was released exclusively at Gamestop stores by Codemasters^[4] and the Wii version was released in March 2008. A System 3 punch card. ... The PlayStation Portable (officially abbreviated PSP)[5] is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... The Nintendo DS (sometimes abbreviated NDS or more commonly DS) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. ... The Wii (pronounced as the pronoun we, IPA: ) is the fifth home video game console released by Nintendo. ... The Wii Menu as displayed on a widescreen television The Wii Menu is the top level menu interface of the Wii game console. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Codemasters (earlier known as Code Masters) is one of the oldest British video game developers. ...

Gallery

References

GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. ...

External links

• The Impossible Mission series at MobyGames
• Speech Box - dedicated area to Commodore 64 speech (inc. Impossible Mission) at The-Commodore-Zone
• Impossible Mission at World of Spectrum
• Linux game based on puzzles of Impossible Mission
• Impossible Mission manual in HTML