- Interphase (video game)
Infobox VG
title =
developer =The Assembly Line
publisher =Image Works
released= 1989
genre=3D shooter and puzzle
platforms=Atari ST ,DOS ,Amiga
media =Floppy disk
input= Keyboard, mouse"Interphase" is a 1989 3D first-person and puzzle
video game developed byThe Assembly Line and published byImage Works for multiple platforms.The developers were licensed to use concepts from
Neuromancer , reflected in the virtual-reality cyberspace concept and theme of a powerful corporation.The game is considered an early
first-person shooter , pre-datingCatacomb 3-D andWolfenstein 3D . However, the game primarily focuses on puzzle-solving using the interaction between a 3Dcyberpunk environment and its conceptual relationship with a 2D zoomable blueprint in which anon-player character is indirectly guided through the floors of a high-security building.Later games that have a similar style to the 3D elements in "Interphase" include
Pyrotechnica andRez .toryline
In a dystopian cyberpunk future, "The Dreamtrack Corporation" has cornered the entertainment market, selling "DreamTracks", dreamed or imagined adventures and experiences which can be enjoyed by consumers. The player is "Chad", a DreamTrack "Dreamer" who has discovered that Dreamtrack Corporation is using the DreamTracks to destroy people's minds. He decides to break into Dreamtrack HQ. To overcome the high-tech security systems, his girlfriend, "Kaf-E", agrees to break into the building physically, while "Chad" enters a virtual reality world, inspired by
Neuromancer , in order to hack into and disable the computer-controlled defences.Gameplay
The action mostly takes place in two modes: a 3D cyberpunk environment and a 2D schematic map where puzzles are encountered. 3D objects in the cyberpunk environment represent objects such as security doors and cameras. To disable the real-world devices, the 3D objects must be destroyed. Puzzle-solving involves determining which objects to disable and in what order. The player must also deal with virtual defences, represented by enemy ships which pose a threat to the player's ability to jack in to the system, and which must be defeated.
While viewing the 2D schematic, the action in the 3D world continues, so it's essential that enemy ships have been dispensed with before puzzle-solving can proceed. Otherwise, the player becomes a sitting duck.
Graphical style
The 2D environment is a polygon-based schematic closely resembling an animated blueprint. A very deep zoom-in is possible and necessary. The progress of "Kaf-E" and the positions of moving objects -- e.g. security guards -- and fixed objects such as cameras can all be monitored in this view.
The 3D environment is a first-person view from the front of a virtual ship navigating a multiple-level environment. The virtual levels do not represent the floors of the building, they simply represent parts of the computer system. Navigation between levels is accomplished by flying through square panels.
Platforms supported
The game runs on
DOS ,Atari ST andAmiga . On the PC platform it requires a 286 processor andVGA graphics.ee also
* "
Neuromancer (video game) "External links
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/interphase/ "Interphase" at MobyGames]
* [http://amigareviews.classicgaming.gamespy.com/interpha.htm Reviews of "Interphase" at GameSpy]
* [http://www.angusm.demon.co.uk/AGDB/DBA1/Interph.html Review at The Amiga Games Database]
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