Maze games have always been popular puzzles, both
before and since the advent of personal computers. However, the
graphics capability of computers means that we can now travel through
a maze as though we were actually inside it-the 3D maze game. `The
Wanderer' is just such a maze.
TYPING IT IN
This is straightforward, but notice that there are
several groups of very similar lines contained in the program. You can
save yourself some typing time by using the Atari's editing facilities
to duplicate the first line of a group and then making changes as
appropriate.
PLAYING THE GAME
Brief instructions are summarised in the program
itself, but are amplified here.
On running the program, you are first presented with
a reminder of the instructions. Pressing the START button then shows
you the maze from a bird's-eye view complete with your starting
position and that of the exit. Note that the exit and start positions
change each time you play a new game, but that the maze itself is
constant.
Pressing start again puts you into the maze. You
move through the maze using the joystick (up = North, right = East,
down = South and left= West). The number of moves you have taken is
displayed at the bottom of the screen, as is the direction you are
facing. If you wish to look in another direction, simply press the
corresponding key (N,S,E,W). Note however that pushing the stick up
still moves you North. This can be slightly confusing until you get
the hang of it.
If you get stuck help is at hand. Pressing the 'H'
key gives you your position relative to the exit, while pressing 'M'
shows you the maze from above complete with the positions of yourself
and the exit. In order to prevent the game from being too easy, you
can only use these facilities a small number of times in each game.
Using the `M' key also adds 5 steps to your score as an additional
penalty.
Finally, pressing 'Q' allows you to quit the game
with an option to play again (with different start and exit
positions). If you don't want to play another game, the program will
erase itself from memory. Pressing 'I' allows you to remind yourself
of the instructions.
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