Designer(s) Michael St Aubyn Initial release date 1986 | ||
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Similar Superior Software games, Platform games | ||
Imogen is a computer game released in 1986, originally only for the BBC Micro. It was written by Michael St Aubyn and published by Micro Power. It was reissued as the lead game of Superior Software / Acornsoft's Play It Again Sam 5 compilation in 1988 when it was also converted for the Acorn Electron. It is a platform game featuring puzzles.
Contents
Gameplay
The player takes the role of a wizard named Imogen who, according to the backstory, lost his mind and forgot his identity as a result of transforming himself into a dragon to save his town from another dragon. He is placed into a dungeon within a mountain and in order to escape he must utilize magic and puzzle-solving abilities that he was previously aware of as his former self. The upshot is that he will only be able to free himself once he is back to his old, sane self and no longer a danger to the townsfolk.
The game features sixteen levels which are played in a random order. To complete a level, Imogen needs to obtain a spell fragment which will warp him to the next level or, after all sixteen have been collected and the spell completed, to the outside world, thus completing the game. The spell fragments are always placed somewhere inaccessible at the outset of the level, and obtaining the spell fragments requires some lateral thinking on behalf of the player.
Imogen himself is able to transform into three different forms, each with an ability unavailable to the other two:
Each level (consisting of a sealed cavern 4 screens in size) requires transforming back and forth between the forms to complete it. While it is impossible for the player to actually die during the game, the number of transformations is limited to 150, and using them all before the game is complete renders it unwinnable.
Game Style
Imogen features cartoon-style graphics, with many of the non-player characters being cute versions of animals like rabbits, monkeys, parrots and frogs. One recurring character is a baby-like imp who impedes the progress of the player and is usually dispatched in a terminal way, although the cartoon graphics and humorous tone mean this doesn't become gruesome. The animation style of these supporting characters is also a big part of the appeal of this game.
Game Logic
The game logic occasionally resorts to puns. One level is solved by the player squashing a hamster with a log tied to a rope, then planting a tulip bulb in the remains, thus growing a plant that can be climbed to exit. The solution of "Tulips from Hamster-Jam" is a pun on Tulips from Amsterdam
Remake
In 2003 Ovine by Design created a freeware remake for PC which is highly faithful to the original, updating the graphics to full colour and adding background music, but leaving all the levels, puzzles and gameplay the same. Additions include a save game feature and an extra final level where you see Imogen actually escape from the mountain, as opposed to the original where you simply warp out of the 16th level and the ending message plays.