Driller (video game)

Driller
Developer(s)	Major Developments
Publisher(s)	Incentive Software
Distributor(s)	Incentive Software
Engine	Freescape
Platform(s)	ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, IBM PC
Release date(s)	1987
Genre(s)	RPG, puzzle game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Media/distribution	Cassette, floppy disk

Driller (also known as Space Station Oblivion in the United States) is a 1987 computer game. It was written by British developers Major Developments and published by Incentive Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST and IBM PC. The game was notable for its early 3D game engine, Freescape.

Story

In the far future, the human race has abandoned Earth for the reaches of outer space, having ruined the planet in the relentless quest for resources and in endless conflict. In a desperate search to find a new home, they found Evath, a life-sustaining planet with two moons, Mitral and Tricuspid. They sent a ship, named "Exodus" to colonize this new planet with explorers, embryos and supplies. Generations passed, and the colony on Evath was formed. Without the rule of law, the oldest members of the Exodus' crew, the Elders, were forced to take control, form an army and bring the rule of law to Evath.

Generations passed and the original survivors of the Exodus died, leaving new generations of Elders. With each new generation their power weakened, as did the law. The colony was once again in a fluid situation, and finally the Elders, with their last remnants of respect, formed an army to reverse that condition. Martial law was declared, and all criminal acts were dealt with swiftly with the death penalty.

As time went by, the death penalty became less frequent in its use, and banishment from the planet was used as an alternative. These criminals were nicknamed "Ketars", a title associated with pity, scorn, and later, anger. The Ketars formed a colony on Mitral, one of Evath's moons. This colony was exactly that which one would expect from a grouping of murderers, thieves and rapists - death and destruction reigned to begin with, but eventually a hierarchy formed, with the strongest and most wily of the population in leadership. Dissent and betrayal were punished swiftly and harshly. Paranoia was rife, and an intricate system of security devices were installed throughout Mitral.

The colonization of Evath brought with it "rubicon" crystals, which provided energy in abundance. Later in Evath's history, scientists had discovered that these crystals were formed by obtaining their energy from Evath's sun. With this knowledge they were able to manufacture these crystals artificially and mining ceased. The Ketars had little knowledge of mining or science, and continued to mine Mitral to exhaustion, until, one day, explosions and fires began to break out all over the colony.

A gas build-up had formed under the surface of Mitral. The Ketars attempted to release the gas in a controlled fashion, but their lack of knowledge and experience prevented them from doing so. Eventually, they were forced to evacuate the planet and populated an uninhabited continent on Evath, hoping to evade detection in the process. Before leaving, they set all of their security systems to attack anyone who approached.

However, they were detected, and the problems were known to the Evath intelligence services.

Lesleigh Skerrit aspired to work for the Driller Federation. His grandfather had been a member of the Federation, but he was falsely accused of murder and banished as a Ketar. Only later did the evidence contesting his guilt surface, but it was too late - the law did not allow someone banished as a Ketar to return to Evath. Lesleigh was not bitter and did not seek retribution. He wanted to study law to prevent this kind of mistake happening again.

Called in by his superior, Montigue Yarbro, he is offered a lifetime opportunity - to complete his training and gain a promotion to Elite within the Driller Federation in one fell swoop. His experience on Mitral bore him well - he was to go to Mitral and attempt to avert the coming catastrophe. Mitral, having been abandoned in its unstable state by the Ketars, was going to explode within four hours, and the explosion would take Evath with it. Skerrit's mission was to use the excavation probe "Last Hope" to place eighteen drilling rigs around Mitral to allow the gas to dissipate harmlessly into space and prevent this disaster. Things are not so simple though, with the security systems activated prior to the Ketars' departure.

Gameplay

The game requires the player to maneuver the excavation probe, through a first-person view, through eighteen regions (in the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron) of the moon Mitral, and place a drilling rig in each of them to allow a minimum of 50% of the gas to escape. The position is established by a mixture of clues from the landscape (including an "X marks the spot" in the first zone) and trial and error. The security systems will attack Lesleigh upon sight, and he must disable or avoid them by any means possible. Only a few can be destroyed by shooting, the rest must be dispatched by mechanical means through switches or similar.

The eighteen regions are actually platforms above the true surface of Mitral; the excavation probe cannot fly or hover (although it can rise and lower itself slightly on hydraulics), and moving off a platform causes the player to fall onto the surface, where he is marooned. However, in one area the player can find a garage containing a hovering vehicle that can be used to explore and attack security systems, though not to place drilling rigs.

Packaging

Driller was lavishly packaged compared to much game software available at the time. As well as having a large box, it also came with an instruction manual, a novella detailing the game's plot and background and a cardboard "map" of Mitral that could be folded into a 3D representation of the eighteen platforms around the moon, and used by the player to mark successful drilling locations.

Engine

Driller was the first game to use the Freescape engine, which allowed the production of full three-dimensional environments using filled polygons in which the player could move around freely. It also gave the player the ability to look up and down, as well as rotate left and right, something which was rare amongst 3D games of the time^[1] . The same engine was used for Driller's sequel, Dark Side, as well as Total Eclipse, The Sphinx Jinx, Castle Master and Castle Master II: The Crypt. In 1991, Domark released 3D Construction Kit which allowed games to be produced based on the Freescape engine with no programming knowledge. This was then followed by 3D Construction Kit II.

Impact

The game can be considered a precursor to the modern first-person shooter. Although examples of first-person shooters can be found dating back to the early 1980s, this was the first game on mainstream home computers that permitted free 360 degree movement within an open area with filled polygon 3D graphics. It was considered an exceptional feat, especially on the 8-bit Spectrum, C64 and CPC, as these computers were seen to be incapable of producing 3D graphics with this kind of detail, although the 8-bit versions produced frame rates of around 1-2frame/s that would be considered unacceptable today.

Critical reaction

Praise for the game was unequivocal and unanimous. CRASH awarded the game 97%, stating that "with a stunning use of 3D graphics, very challenging gameplay, and the fascination of exploring a FreeScape world, Driller is one of the best games CRASH has seen."^[2]

Your Sinclair gave Driller 9/10 with reviewer Phil South stating "The game took a year to build, and it shows in the quality of the workmanship and the gameplay. I can tell that people are going to be sending in tips for this for months to come. Superb!"^[3]

Zzap!64, a Commodore 64 gaming magazine, awarded the game 96% ^[4]

Amstrad Action reviewed the game in the January 1988 issue with an overall rating of 96% and earned the AA 'Mastergame' accolade. Is joint 3rd highest rated game in Amstrad Action's run.^[5]

References

1. ^ "First Person (video games)". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_person_%28video_games%29. 
2. ^ "CRASH review of Driller from 1987". http://www.crashonline.org.uk/47/driller.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-27. 
3. ^ "Your Sinclair review of Driller, Jan 1988". http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/driller.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-27. 
4. ^ "Lemon64 Driller entry". http://www.lemon64.com/?game_id=783. Retrieved 2007-01-29. 
5. ^ 'Amstrad Action', issue 28, January 1988, pages 50-51

External links

• Driller at MobyGames
• Driller at World of Spectrum
• Review in Crash
• Review in Your Sinclair
• Review of the re-release in Your Sinclair
• Driller (video game) at Lemon 64
• The Full Resource about Driller At Nexus23 Corp