2019-04-01_Retro_Gamer

» [Amstrad PCW ] Despite its

black and green display, the

Amstrad PCW boasts a ver y

faithful port of Batman.

I would make one physical problem and

one mental problem within each room to

give players a choice

Jon Ritman

» [Amstrad CPC] As well as permanent abilities, Batman can also obtain
temporary power-ups represented by tiny effigies.

» [ Z X Spectrum] The Speccy original of Batman plays identically to the more

colour ful CPC 4 6 4 version.

quite talented,” Jon considers. “He had already
written code for Superhero, he just needed
somebody to help him with the graphics. So I
suggested that he might like to work with Bernie,
and that’s how that came about.”
Looking back to his first meeting with Jon and
Bernie, Paul recognises the influence that the pair’s
games had on the design of his own isometric title
Superhero. “I was a huge fan of Ultimate, and was
influenced by Knight Lore,” Paul enthuses. “So
when I visited Jon, and he and Bernie showed me
the new game they were working on – Head Over
Heels, I was hooked. Obviously I could see how
Jon was progressing beyond Batman, which I had
loved playing prior to meeting him. So I finished
the title I was working on and decided that I really
wanted to tackle an isometric game.”

As Paul started putting together ideas for

Superhero, Jon and Bernie were finishing work on

Head Over Heels, which quite rightly caused quite

a stir on its release. “Head Over Heels was my best

8-bit work, “ Bernie beams. “The public reaction

was that the graphics were far better than Batman,

and if not for the release of Sentinel with its 3D

scrolling scenario Head Over Heels would have

been voted ‘Best graphics of the year’ in at least

one publication.”

B

ernie didn’t have too long to savour these
plaudits, however, as Paul soon required
the artist to visualise hybrid gameplay
that would take Superhero to places
that Head Over Heels hadn’t gone. “Ultimate had
moved on from static puzzle rooms in Knight
Lore to creating scrolling isometric environments
devoid of puzzles,” Paul points out, “but I couldn’t
see why the two systems couldn’t be compatible,
with navigable scrolling corridors full of monsters
connecting static puzzle rooms.”
But unlike Paul’s previous titles, which he had
created the graphics for himself, he now had
access to arguably the most imaginative computer
games artist of the day. “The key influence that
Head Over Heels had on Superhero was Bernie’s
art style,” Paul acknowledges, “I gave very little
direction. I loved Bernie’s work, he knew the
genre that the game would be in, and it was more
a case of me saying: ‘We need a main playable
character, some bad guys, a selection of props and
obstacles, and some décor for the rooms.’ Bernie
kept sending me stuff and I loved it. All of it. It was
really hard not to use something, to be honest.”
But the influence of Head Over Heels on
Superhero was far from just aesthetic, and this
could be seen most obviously in Paul’s use of
collectible abilities in his game, although he
» [C6 4] Superhero’s beautiful visuals are squashed in the C6 4 version, and it suf fers from gameplay concessions, too. decided against employing an alternating

RETRO GAMER | 39

THE EVOLUTION OF: HEAD OVER HEALS