Scarab of Ra
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Scarab of Ra is a classic Macintosh shareware game. It was originally written for the Macintosh in 1987 by Semicolon Software, who also made the quite popular title Solitaire Till Dawn. It is an adventure game set in a pyramid in Egypt.Image:Scarab.gif
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Gameplay
Gameplay is essentially a very simplified Roguelike. Each new game is randomised, and you can only save by quitting. Movement is turn-based, yet setting a speed alters how many moves other characters can make after the player. Each level is a maze, the first ones starting very simple with each getting larger as you descend levels, simulating the design of a pyramid. Every level has a key which must be found in order to descend the next level. Once there, ascension is impossible which can make players stuck if they left an important item behind.
In order to complete the game, one must gather all three major treasures. Once this has been accomplished, an exit is revealed, yet the player can choose to continue playing if they wish to risk death and increase their score.
Despite being much simpler in design than other Roguelikes, it's still incredibly difficult and quite complex. Death comes frequently and quickly, forcing players to make the most of their survival skills and items they come across. The game is filled with tense moments when players are on the brink of death, desperately hoping a needed item will be found while avoiding and fleeing from the many hazards. Very careful and clever use of intentory is required if players wish to survive, and experimentation can have very rewarding results.
Weapons and items available in the game include:
- A lantern, used for lighting the passages in the pyramid (which you start with)
- Keys to open the door to the next level
- Food, which the player must eat to stay alive
- Gold, which increases the player's score
- Oil to refill the player's lantern
- Ten-foot poles, used to set off traps from a distance
- Bullwhips, used to drive away animals
- Charcoal to write messages on the wall (to make the pyramid easier to map)
- Nets, used to entangle animals
- Tranquiliser dart guns, used to sedate animals
- Darts, ammunition for the gun
- Snake bite cure, which cures snake poison with one gulp
- First aid kits, used to heal wounds
- and the three Treasures: the Scarab, Crown, and Staff of RA, none of which have any direct use. A player must find all three to win the game.
It's important to note that many of these items have several uses to aid players survival that the player must either discover themselves via experimentation or by using the in-game help and hint system. Virtually all items are crucial to survival.
The pyramid also contains traps, which can harm the player in various ways, and animals, including cobras (which can bite you, causing slow damage and eventual death), lionesses (which will also attack if disturbed), monkeys (which steal items, but can be bribed with gold), and an undead mummy, which appears only to users carrying the Scarab. Of the four types of enemies, only the mummy can be destroyed - the game's author notes that he finds violence distasteful, but "the mummy was dead anyway".
The Guardians
Death came in many flavours in Scarab Of Ra, but the most terrifying would be at the hands of the Guardians. Perhaps one of the more memorable enemies in gaming, they were without a doubt the source of much fear within the pyramid halls.
Once players picked up the Scarab Of Ra (an item needed to win the game), defiling it with a mortal touch, the Guardians immediately begun their hunt. With a mummy like appearance, the slow but relentless Guardians would hunt players delivering an electrifying shock upon touch. Many players hesitated picking up the Scarab on its discovery, knowing that once they did, a Guardian may be around any corner or perhaps even behind them.
There was one Guardian on each level, and it was quite possible to destroy them (the in-game hint system offering a very important clue). However, a new one would be waiting with each new level and the weapon used against them would eventually expire and turn to dust. Not only did this render players defeneless against the Guardians, it also made the game unwinnable.
Story
A freak sandstorm in Egypt has uncovered the top of the Great Pyramid of RA the Sun-God. Already dozens of explorers, singly and in teams, have entered the pyramid through the door at the very top. None have ever returned. You, a lowly undergraduate student in Archaeology, have decided to enter the pyramid on your own and learn its secrets, and (if you can) survive to tell the outside world of its wonders.
In the dark of night, you have crept out of camp and into the Great Pyramid. You have stolen a little food, a lantern, and some oil for it, but that's all the equipment you were able to take on short notice. However, you expect to find abandoned food and equipment left behind in the pyramid by the other, earlier expeditions. (The ones that didn't make it out — remember?)
You'll find that the pyramid is divided into floors or levels, and each level is a maze whose exit leads to the entrance of the next level down. The exit doors are locked, so before you can leave a level, you must find the key for its exit. You'll also find other things as you explore: the lost and abandoned detritus of earlier explorers, piles of gold left by ancient RA worshipers, dangerous animals, hidden traps. You must use your ingenuity and the tools you find to avoid the worst of the hazards.
Engine
The game is viewed from first person, however the engine is basic and only allows grid-based frame-by-frame movement. It was originally black and white only, but a colour version was later released.
The game is played via a point-and-click icon driven interface, in combination with keyboard shortcuts.
Trivia
- Rip Rapacki managed to play the game all the way to level 199, stopped only by the limitations of version 1.2. Later versions allowed players to go even further, but it's currently unknown if anyone has.
Press
- "The game is graphically appealing because of its excellent design, its use of perspective, its detailed monsters, and its real hieroglyphics written on the walls." Rusel DeMaria, Macworld
- Selected as one of the "200 Best Macintosh Products" MacUser
- "It's a fascinating game -- you can spend many hours exploring the Great Pyramid of RA." Bob LeVitus, Marvelous Mac Games
- "It's a very challenging and fun game - well worth trying!" Roberta Dulay, SharewareJunkies.com
- "An impressive adventure. Anyone over the age of eight should find this game enjoyable." Bernard J. David & Maria L. Langer, The Mac Shareware Emporium
- "Aficionados of the genre will become engrossed." Gregory Wasson, ZiffNet
External link
- Semicolon Software (author's website)