Delta 4 was a British software developer founded by Fergus McNeill, writing and publishing interactive fiction.[1]
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | Fergus McNeill |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Fate | Defunct |
| Headquarters | |
| Website | Delta4.co.uk |
Delta 4 designed games between 1984 and 1992. Some were self-published, others were released by CRL Group, Piranha Software, Silversoft, or On-Line Entertainment. Delta 4 were also credited with providing the code for Jonathan Nash's tape magazine YS2 which was given away free with Your Sinclair magazine and published by Future Publishing.
History
editDelta 4 was formed by McNeill with a few friends whilst still at school. Their debut text adventure games were the Dragonstar trilogy ("...like Classic Adventure but without the interesting bits"[1]) and two Holy Joystick comedy adventures, self-published in 1984. Gilsoft's The Quill was the design software.
Their first critical success was Bored of the Rings, inspired by the Harvard Lampoon novel of the same name.[1] Published in 1985, it received a Sinclair User Classic award.[2] They also published Robin of Sherlock.
In the early 1990s, Delta 4 developed several CD-based games. The Town with No Name, Psycho Killer and The Hound of the Baskervilles were all developed using D.U.N.E. (Developers Universal Non-programming Environment),[3] and all games were panned by both critics and players.
Games developed
edit- Sherwood Forest (Delta 4, 1984)
- The Dragonstar Trilogy (Delta 4, 1984)
- Quest for the Holy Joystick (Delta 4, 1984)
- Return of the Holy Joystick (Delta 4, 1984)
- Bored of the Rings (Delta 4/CRL Group, 1985)
- Robin of Sherlock (Silversoft, 1985)
- Galaxias (Delta 4, 1986)
- The Colour of Magic (Piranha Software, 1986)
- The Boggit (CRL Group, 1986)
- The Big Sleaze (Piranha Software, 1987)
- Murder Off Miami (CRL Group, 1987)
- The Town with No Name (Delta 4/On-Line, 1992)
- Psycho Killer (Delta 4/On-Line, 1992)
Psycho Killer
edit
| Psycho Killer | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Delta 4 |
| Publisher(s) | On-Line Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | Commodore CDTV, MS-DOS |
| Release | 1992 (CDTV) and 1993 (MS-DOS). |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure, graphic adventure |
Psycho Killer is a graphic action-adventure game released by On-Line Entertainment in 1992 for the Commodore CDTV.[4] A version for MS-DOS was released in 1993.[5]
The game involves the protagonist (unnamed in game but listed in credits as "John Schulz") going on a quest in order to save a woman (listed as "Sarah Collins") from a murderer ("Morgan James"), and to save himself. The graphics for the game were created using digitised still photographs that were taken in the suburbs of London.[6][7]
Gameplay of Psycho Killer is restricted to a point-and-click interface, such as clicking certain arrows to go their respective direction.[6] There are multiple times in the game where the player must respond promptly to a quick time event in order to proceed to the next scene. Failure to do so can result in the game ending with the protagonist's death.[6][7]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Amiga Format | 13% |
| Amiga Joker | 3/5 |
In issue 32 of Amiga Format, the reviewer gave the game 13% and complained of "poor gameplay",[6] comparing it to an "interactive home movie" and asked who would want to play a game featuring a "spotty herbert who drives a Vauxhall Chevette". The game was reviewed again in issue 39 of the same magazine; the review gave it the same score,[7] and complained again about the poor gameplay.
Amiga Joker reviewed the game more positively. The magazine gave the game a 3/5,[8] stating, "with a little bit of goodwill, the game could be described as a interactive movie". The magazine ended the review calling the game "the best pure CD game ever."
Amiga Magazine also reviewed the game positively, but did not give a score. The magazine spoke about the "forgiving reaction time".[9] The magazine also said that the game is well-tuned to the CDTV. The magazine complained that the mouse pointer was black which made it "impossible to see" during some scenes.
References
edit- ^ a b c "Hit Squad". Sinclair User (45). December 1985. Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
- ^ "Adventure". Sinclair User (40). July 1985. Archived from the original on 12 August 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2007.
The humour can be fairly schoolboyish at times and there are a couple of occasions when it is both distasteful and unnecessarily unpleasant. On the whole though the game is great fun and well-produced too.
- ^ "D.U.N.E. (Developers Universal Non-programming Environment)". Hall Of Light. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ "Psycho Killer Credits (CDTV)". MobyGames. Blue Flame Labs. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ "Psycho Killer Credits (DOS)". MobyGames. Blue Flame Labs. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Psycho Killer". CD Games. Amiga Format. No. 32. March 1992. p. 27.
- ^ a b c Noonan, Damien (October 1992). "Psycho Killer" (PDF). Amiga CD Titles. Amiga Format. No. 39. pp. 38, 41. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 January 2019. Alt URL
- ^ Labiner, Michael; Löwenstein, Richard (October 1991). "Psycho Killer". Amiga Joker. pp. 58, 59.
- ^ van Rijn, Lawrence (January–February 1993). van Die, Jan; et al. (eds.). "Psycho Killer". Amiga Magazine. No. 19. p. 89.