A. Baggetta
P.O. Box 351
Feeding Hills, MA 01030-0351
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"Trust or Impulse"
By Albert Baggetta
I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the guy has got
me so bent out of shape that I got to talk to somebody.
It all started a couple of days ago, when I fully
realized I was always gonna be out of work. I was at the
arcade, playing my favorite game, "Space Spinners." You
want action, try this fast moving game.
Well, back to my story. I was holdin' on to the
joystick for dear life -- sweatin' an ocean -- when for a
flash of a moment, I realize that two men in trench coats
were staring at me. If you don't think this takes the edge
off my game....
I played for a while longer, but seeing them really
bothered me, so after I shot down one more spinner, I spun
around and eyeballed them. They looked at each other and
then walked toward me.
IRS I thought. Nawww, I haven't paid taxes in years.
I can't tell you who they were (top secret, you
understand), but they gave me something I have been looking
for for months -- a job.
They shuffled me off to some secret place, buried
under some mountain. They said they were CIA, and I had
something they wanted -- fast reflexes. Can you imagine
that.
This place was unbelievable. My job was to intercept
QUASARPODS. Don't ask me what they are. All I know is
that they come from two pipes that jut out from the ceiling
of this cave we work in.
These QUASARPODS come out with fast speed and the
interceptors (I control them) have to stop them at one of
three stages called FOLIAGE, WATER or ICE. Luckily for me
they were color coded. If the QUASARPODS get past these
three stages they are -- get this -- no good. Who knows
for what? Hey, I don't ask any questions when people offer
me a job.
My job was simple. All I had to do was wait for a pod
to come flying like a bat outta hell. I press a reaction
lever as soon as I can, to stop it in the earliest stage,
if possible -- I don't want to see 'em spoil. Besides, the
more I stop early the more I get paid -- they said it was
somethin' like piecework. That's why they were studyin' my
moves at the arcade for so long; they needed someone with
quick reflexes.
That brings me to my gripe. I can live with people
following me, I can bear the secrecy, I can even work with
the tension, but that nitwit they put me with is too much.
His name is Biff. This is a two man job, you see. I
handle the quick reflexes. Biff navigates and tells me
which tube the QUASARPOD will fire from. Ok, it's not an
easy task, but the guy is such a geek.
Basically he's workin' with two strikes against him.
His ego is one, and the fact that he is "the boss's son-in-
law" is another. This guy is the classic case. He can "do
no wrong," but I don't see him doin' anything right.
Naturally the boss doesn't see anything wrong with
Biff, and since I am the new man around here, all the blame
falls on me. Biff doesn't help things either. Whenever he
makes a mistake, he tries to cover it up. The irony is
that everybody believes him. So I'm stuck tryin' to make
things work, to save may own neck.
Oopps. There goes the lunch whistle. I got to go
now, but it was real nice talkin' to you. I think I can
even go back and bear that twit. If not, maybe I'll stuff
him in one of those QUSARPOD tubes and see if they work in
reverse. They can take Biff back where he came from.
The Game
So goes the game. In "Trust or Impulse" you are the
hapless gamester introduced above. You work for the SEPTER
Co. in the role of interceptor of the QUASARPODS, strange
alien-like pods that arrive unexpectedly through long tubes
that extend into the mountains and underground. Their
source is unknown, as is there whereabouts and contents.
It's bad enough that the job is filled with tension,
but you must also work with Biff -- sometimes a fool,
sometimes a liar (he wants your job), but sometimes he
really seems to know what he is talking about -- even
though his mouth is his biggest problem. You might even
have to depend on him. The decision becomes yours; will
you rely on trust or your own impulses.
"Trust or Impulse" is a low resolution game
exclusively for Atari ST computers. Boot the game by
clicking on TRUST.PRG After a
title screen you go right to work. Here are the rules:
You will work 10 QUASARPODS per round (if you choose
to play any other rounds). You won't know for sure which
tube will emit a pod until the pod comes flying out. The
pods are preceded by audio signals of different durations.
Listen carefully.
The uncertainty comes from the fact that you don't
know the correct pod at any time. This is where the boss's
son-in-law fits in. Biff (pushy fellow that he is) will
try to tell you which tube the QUASARPOD is flowing
through. Supposedly he has the technical knowledge to do
this, but one really wonders. You can go on his say-so or
take your own chances -- trust or impulse.
When the pod streaks out of the tube, it will shoot
across an electronic grid, traveling between different
colored interceptors which you control with the mouse
buttons. If the pod emits from tube number 1, press the
left mouse button. If it comes out of tube number 2, press
the right mouse button. It is important that you press the
button as soon as possible, to rescue the pod in an early
stage. Green is FOLIAGE, Blue is WATER, Aqua is ICE. If
the pod goes beyond these stages it is deemed worthless.
When you press your mouse button you activate the
electronic grid and interceptors, which immediately snag
the pod, assuming you pressed the correct button, that is.
If you are fast enough, sometimes you can recover from an
incorrect choice.
It will do no good to simply hold a mouse button down
in anticipation of a pod's arrival. First of all, it might
not come out of that tube. Secondly, if the pod is blocked
at the tube entrance, it is also deemed worthless. You
must stop it between the green, blue or aqua interceptors.
Since this is a game, you will receive points, instead
of money (darn!). The grid is divided into three sections
and each section is divided into two parts, an upper and a
lower. The further down the grid you go, the lower number
of points you will receive for interception. Here is the
breakdown:
Green: Top Half 100 Points
Lower Half 50 Points
Blue: Top Half 20 Points
Lower Half 10 Points
Aqua: Top Half 5 Points
Lower Half 1 Point
If you intercept the pod at its immediate exit from
the tube or if the pod goes to the bottom of the grid, you
do not receive any points. In fact, you will lose 10
points from the total.
Notice the scoreboard at the right of the screen. You
will be given a running record of all the points you
accumulate in each section (green, blue, aqua), but this
total might differ from the total at the bottom of the
board. Loss of points will be deducted from this total.
Whenever you get a loss, by the way, a little window will
open under the total, telling you that you have had LOSSES.
When the round is over (10 pods) you will be given the
option to quit, play again or check out your stats. It is
interesting to check the stats. This will tell you the
number of pods you captured, but more importantly, it will
tell you what your response time is, in fractions of a
second. The program keeps track of each reaction time
(from when the pod first emits until you snag it by
pressing a mouse button) for the 10 pods. This is then
averaged to give you your stats in the game.
"Trust or Impulse" is not a game of strategy. It is a
role-playing game of chance and reflexes. It is also a
good way to test your response time. After playing the
game a while, you might find that you are not as quick as
you thought you were. On the other hand, you might find
that you have the makings of a secret agent and should be
working for the CIA.