Booty - Arrrr Tape Loading Error
I must admit , dear reader, the ZX Spectrum game Booty ( from Firebird Software LTD in 1984) and I have had a long acquaintance . Let me first tell you about the game, you play Jim the cabin boy and your task is to collect Booty from a pirate ship. You have to collect numbered keys, that unlock numbered doors. Pirates, rats and a flying parrot patrol the ship and to add to the excitement some treasure you collect is booby trapped .....kaboom.
Now reading about that type of exciting game in a computer magazine was reason enough for me to want to play it.
Now reading about that type of exciting game in a computer magazine was reason enough for me to want to play it.
Just look at that loading screen, look at how the artist has given us reflections on the water. I know this picture very well, very, very , well. Because for a few months that is all we could get out of this game.
Now, I'm sure many of you also borrowed computer games from friends and possibly these tapes may have fallen into another cassette recorder and might have accidentally become copied at some point. Of course I couldn't possibly comment on this , as this is piracy and criminal activity and I would in no way endorse any of that kind of thing.....Besides I was far too young to have the knowledge to do that ......But I think you can guess who in my household may have had the knowledge....You might think that but I couldn't possibly comment!
Now, I'm sure many of you also borrowed computer games from friends and possibly these tapes may have fallen into another cassette recorder and might have accidentally become copied at some point. Of course I couldn't possibly comment on this , as this is piracy and criminal activity and I would in no way endorse any of that kind of thing.....Besides I was far too young to have the knowledge to do that ......But I think you can guess who in my household may have had the knowledge....You might think that but I couldn't possibly comment!
Let me take you back to the saga of loading a program on the ZX Spectrum, it usually involved something like the above . The good old tape recorder, in my case usually one that had been around for many years and had been passed down when my father had upgraded to something better. But they usually worked, a little fiddling of the volume was always required. As I recall most things loaded at volume 8 , but not Booty.
Whether it was a clever anti-piracy tactic on behalf of the software company or just my father's antique sound equipment I couldn't say. But kids, piracy doesn't pay , so don't copy tapes ( tapes, really Julie? Who uses them anymore?)
But at last a few years later I did acquire the game , I think it came as part of a magazine cover tape. It was so strange to see that cursed loading screen again, but joy, this time the game did load. So, was it worth the wait?
But at last a few years later I did acquire the game , I think it came as part of a magazine cover tape. It was so strange to see that cursed loading screen again, but joy, this time the game did load. So, was it worth the wait?
I have to say yes, this game is ingenious, it makes you think. It's worth studying each screen before you blunder off through it. The numbered keys give you the route you need to take but those pirates still need to be avoided.
Let's talk about the music.....as befitting a nautical game it's a sailors hornpipe. It's unrelenting, continuous. But watch the pirates move , they seem to be moving in time to the music. Still not sure if they are actually doing this or if my brain is trying to cope with that music!
Let's talk about the music.....as befitting a nautical game it's a sailors hornpipe. It's unrelenting, continuous. But watch the pirates move , they seem to be moving in time to the music. Still not sure if they are actually doing this or if my brain is trying to cope with that music!
As a child my life had been full of pirates. So it was no real surprise that I loved this game. Very much like Atic Atac where I always favoured the Serf, I loved the idea of playing the cabin boy. Let the others run around waving their cutlasses and drinking the grog, I would be the one creeping around the hidden places on the ship saving the day ! Very much like Tom the cabin boy in Captain Pugwash (yes, he was called Tom , even if urban legend favours the fact he was called Roger!)
It was a game that I didn't revisit until a few months back when I stumbled upon Nick's review of it . That loading screen, those blue game screens and that music brought back so much nostalgia. Not just for the game , but also for those other pirates. For Benjamin the Blue and his blond hair and ponytail that turned many a 7 year old school girl's head and also for poor bumbling Captain Pugwash and his merry band of incompetents who blundered across the seven seas.
I was surprised to find when I did replay it that even these days it is just as addictive as it was back when I was much younger. Perhaps it's the numbered keys element or the jeopardy of the exploding treasure, it just seems to offer something different to other 'exploration' type games.
I was surprised to find when I did replay it that even these days it is just as addictive as it was back when I was much younger. Perhaps it's the numbered keys element or the jeopardy of the exploding treasure, it just seems to offer something different to other 'exploration' type games.
It's a great little game to escape into , to remind yourself of childhood school playtimes when we all played pirates (yes, even us girls liked to play pirates!) It's amazing how the pirate theme brings people together and invokes nostalgia. Sometimes you just have to hoist that Jolly Roger and sail away on the good ship nostalgia to find your own deserted island for a few hours.