Parsec (video game)

Parsec is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Jim Dramis and Paul Urbanus for the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A and published by TI in 1982.[1] Dramis also programmed Car Wars and Munch Man) for the TI-99/4A.[1]

For other uses, see Parsec (disambiguation).
Parsec
The ship moving through a refuelling tunnel
Developer(s)Jim Dramis
Paul Urbanus[1]
Publisher(s)Texas Instruments
Platform(s)TI-99/4A
Release1982
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter

Gameplay

The player in Parsec pilots a spaceship through sixteen differently colored levels which scroll horizontally across the screen. The objective is to destroy all enemy ships while avoiding being shot, colliding with any flying object or the ground, or overheating one's laser cannon.

Three waves of fighters alternate with three waves of cruisers; fighters pose only the threat of collision, while the cruisers fire on the player's ship. Enemy ships enter the screen one at a time. A new fighter can appear with others still on the screen, whereas a new cruiser will not come until the previous one is destroyed. A ship flying off the left edge of the screen wraps around to the right side and attacks again. The fighter types are named Swoopers, LTFs (Light Triangular Fighters), and Saucers. The cruisers are called Urbites, Dramites, and Bynites. Each level ends with an asteroid belt, in which an array of asteroids advance on the ship and must be avoided or shot. At the end of each asteroid belt, any remaining asteroids are cleared away and the color of the ground is changed; then a new wave of Swoopers begins. Starting with level 4, the Swoopers are preceded by a random number of Killer Satellites, which come without the usual computer warning.

The Urbites and Dramites appear to be named after the developers of the game; Paul Urbanus signed Internet posts as late as 2005 as "urbite".[2] The Bynites were likely named after Don Bynum (the manager of TI's Personal Computer Division) or possibly due to the fact that they have invisibility "by night".

Details

Parsec represented a leap forward in game technology for the platform, using the "graphics 2" mode of the TMS9918A processor (making it incompatible with the older TI-99/4) and, optionally, the speech synthesizer. The game featured:

  • An exhaustible fuel supply which must be refilled by navigating through refueling tunnels.
  • A choice of 3 "lift" settings, each corresponding to a different control sensitivity and offering a differing balance between large-scale maneuverability (for combat situations) and small-scale maneuverability (for navigating through refueling tunnels).
  • The danger of overheating the laser and thereby destroying the ship by firing too often over a given interval: Aspects of the game's difficulty curve include a reduction in both overheating threshold and cooling rate as the player advances to higher levels.
  • Smooth single-pixel horizontal scrolling: Numerous ground sections randomly appear to represent an infinite landscape. The landscape includes images of enemy ships, the Texas Instruments logo, and the programmers' initials and nickname respectively (JED / URB).
  • Warnings from the "on-board computer" of each impending attack wave. These include an alarm sound and flashing text, as well as a spoken warning (if the speech synthesizer is connected). Killer Satellites start appearing after the third asteroid belt at the beginning of level 4 with no warning. The manual incorrectly states that they appear at the end of each level, starting with level 4. In some Parsec cartridges, the warning text misspells Asteroid.

Speech

The optional speech synthesis, advanced at the time, added drama to the gameplay: Although it warns of advancing enemy craft (except for Killer Satellites) and of low fuel levels, both of these features are duplicated by on-screen visual cues and are easily predictable by an experienced player. The sole exception is in the asteroid belts between levels, whose length increases with the level number: The speech synthesizer provides a spoken countdown not duplicated by any on-screen display, such that without the speech synthesizer there is no indication of how long the asteroid belt will last.

The voice of the on-board computer was performed by Aubree Anderson, who at the time was a student at Texas Tech University.[3]

Quotations
  • "Press fire to begin."
  • "Alert! Alien craft advancing!"
  • "Alert! Ships attacking!"
  • "Nice shooting."
  • "Good shot."
  • "Great shot, pilot!"
  • "Laser on target."
  • "Enemy destroyed."
  • "Warning! Time to refuel."
  • "Congratulations." (when refueling, i.e., at halfway point of refueling tunnel)
  • "Nice flying." (after exiting a refueling tunnel)
  • "Extra ship."
  • "Caution! Asteroid belt."
  • "Countdown... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Advance to next level."
  • "Sorry, you are out of fuel."

Legacy

The speech data for Parsec, Alpiner and Moon Mine was later acquired by Plogue Art et Technologie, Inc.. The data for all three games was used for the software Chipspeech to create the voice of character "Lady Parsec".[4]

References
  1. Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. "mcse.ms". www.mcse.ms.
  3. "Twenty Questions with the Voice of Parsec" (PDF). 99'er Magazine - Feb 1983. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  4. "How A Plug-in Recaptured the Robot Voices of Your Childhood". January 14, 2015.
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