Jumpman

Scenario

The enemy has infiltrated JUPITER Headquarters! ALIENATORS have sabotaged all systems.. planted bombs throughout its thirty levels … ready to blast Headquarters to ashes at any moment. CAN THEY BE STOPPED?

Already, JUPITER #1 is starting to crumble. CAN IT BE SAVED? And, can the other two command centres be secured before the ALIENATORS over run their defences? IT’S UP TO YOU!

YOU, trained as the governments top secret weapon, are the only one able to defuse the bombs and restore the communication systems. YOU ARE JUPITER JUMPMAN! You have the speed, skill, and SEVEN LIVES necessary to outwit the ALIENATORS. You have the ability to scale ladders, girders, ropes, and mysterious mazes to quickly find the bombs. And, ONLY YOU KNOW HOW TO DEFUSE THEM!

BE ALERT… instantly able to dodge or jump over the ALIENATORS’ bullets. BE PREPARED… always ready to fight their evil backup forces of dragons, robots, and other destroyers. AND, CONSTANTLY WATCH OUT FOR… crumbling girders, falling objects, and many other nasty surprises!

Your joystick activates your jet boosters, enabling you to leap around each level of Headquarters, while avoiding deadly obstacles. JUMP ON TARGET, and you’ll succeed… restore power, defuse the bombs, and save JUPITER!

MISS YOUR TARGET, and you might find yourself dangling from a ledge, with all but your seventh life gone!

Jumpman offers a variety of ways to play: five game variations, thirty game levels and from one to four players can play. Also, you can choose how fast or slow you wish your Jumpman to move.

The object is to successfully complete all thirty game levels, scoring as many points as you can. You complete each level by making Jumpman collect all the bombs, before the many dangers wipe out Jumpman’s seven lives.

Playing the Game

You see the title, a game demo, and the high scores from previous games. Press RETURN to start your game, or press TL on THEC64 Joystick.

Game Variations

Choose one of the five games: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Grand Loop, or Randomizer. The first three represent the buildings that make up Headquarters. Successfully complete any of these games; you’ll see Headquarters, with the lights on in the appropriate building.

Difficulty Levels

The Beginner game has eight easy levels, (1-8). Intermediate has ten medium levels, (9-18). Advanced has twelve hard levels, (19-30). The Grand Loop lets you play all thirty levels in sequence. The Randomizer allows you to play a random selection of all levels , except the first level.

Press the corresponding number, then RETURN (or press TL on THEC64 Joystick) to select game variation.

Single & Multi-Player Games

Now you will be asked “NUMBER OF PLAYERS?’’. Answer this prompt by pressing the appropriate number on the keyboard. (1-4). Before each player’s turn, the computer will warn that player to be ready to play.

Multiplay is achieved by each player, using, in turn, just the one joystick. When a player successfully completes a level or all of his or her Jumpmen die, he or she passes the joystick to the next player. Then the next player plays the same level.

If all of any player’s Jumpmen die before he or she completes a game, then that player is eliminated from that game. The winner is the player who successfully finishes a game and has the highest Total Score. Or, the winner is the last remaining player who reaches the highest level and has the highest score.

What You See

The name of the level will be displayed and the player will be prompted. You’ll see a skyscraper made up of girders, ladders, bombs, and sometimes floating elevators, up-ropes, and down-ropes. The up-ropes extend a little above the girders; the down-ropes do not.

During play, you’ll encounter many hazards, such as speeding bullets, floating blocks, pesky robots, and other unpleasant visual shocks. You’ll also see across the bottom of the screen, from left to right:

Number of Jumpmen, Level Number, Speed Score, Player Number, Bonus

At the start of the game, Jumpman has seven lives to play the game. During play, the number of lives he has left is shown at the bottom of the screen. After the scene appears, the figure of Jumpman appears in the scene, and play can start.

Choosing Jumpman’s Speed

You can change Jumpman’s movement speed anytime it’s your turn. He has eight different speeds. 1 is the fastest and 8 the slowest. You change Jumpman’s speed by pressing the appropriate number on the keyboard (real or virtual), either just before he appears on the screen at the beginning of a turn, or anytime during play. When the present Jumpman dies and a new one appears, the new one will move at the new speed. If you do not select his speed, he will move at medium speed.

Moving Jumpman

Leaping around a skyscraper, while avoiding hazards is dangerous work. One mis-step and - POW!

You move Jumpman with your joystick. Pushing your stick UP/forward makes him climb up ladders. Pulling your stick DOWN/back toward yourself makes him climb down ladders. Push the stick LEFT; he moves left… to the RIGHT and he moves right.

Jumpman jumps \xB7when you press the FIRE button. If the stick is pushed UP/forward, he will jump straight up, (often a necessary manoeuvre when a bullet suddenly changes direction).

When you press the FIRE button and, at the same instant, push the stick to the RIGHT, Jumpman will leap to the right. Press the FIREbutton, push the stick LEFT, and Jumpman will jump LEFT.

Experiment. Try him at different speeds. Test all of his abilities before you get into serious competition with other players. But, beware: if Jumpman fails to touch the structure he is leaping toward, or leaps off the screen… falls just a couple feet lower than the level from which he started - KERPOW!… another Jumpman bites the dust.

Game Scoring

Two scores are kept: the Total Score, and the Bonus Score. The Total Score is the sum of all points scored during the game, including the final Bonus Score.

Players receive 1500 Bonus Points at the start of most levels of play. Every few seconds, 100 points are deducted from these points. When the player successfully completes a level, the remaining Bonus Points are added to both the Total Score and the Bonus Score.

When the player successfully finishes the game, then for each Jumpman left, extra bonus points are added to both final scores:

Each time Jumpman collects a bomb, 100 points are added to the Total Score, except in the Grand Puzzles. In the Grand Puzzles, four special bombs are hidden along with the other bombs. Each special bomb is worth 500 points.

Killing creatures also scores points. A bonus Jumpman is awarded each time a player scores an additional 10,000 points.

Recording High Scores

After the game ends, whether or not the player completes it, the High Score screen appears. lt displays the top 20 Total Scores and the top 20 Bonus Scores of previous games. If the player hasn’t beat the lowest scores, the program goes to the Options, screen. If the player qualifies, then he or she may enter a maximum of three initials opposite his or her score. They do so by cycling through the alphabet, by pushing the joystick UP/forward or DOWN/back until the letter they wish to enter appears. Then, they press FIRE to enter it.

If they have successfully completed a game. then the first letter of the game’s name will appear to the right of their score, such as B for Beginner. R will always be awarded for Randomizer, even if the game was not completed.

Turn off the computer before you record the game’s high scores (using THEC64’s MENU button and ‘save’ option), then that game’s high scores are lost.

How to Play Again

When a game ends,, the program will! automatically return to the options screen. You can then start a new game. At any time, during a game or during other modes, press the RETURN key (or press TL on THEC64 Joystick) to return to the Options screen and start a new game.

##Additional Hints

From RANDY GLOVER, Jumpman’s Author

Jumpman is the ultimate test of your reflexes versus instant Visual surprises. It’s impossible for a new player to remember all the ugly hazards and bad forces his or her Jumpman will meet.

Only experience playing, and playing again will gain you the skill and proficiency you need. These hints will get you started:

1. Each of the thirty levels can be completed without losing a Jumpman.

2)When you first play, try Jumpman at medium to slow speeds, (4-6). Then. as soon as you successfully complete a level, increase his speed the next time you play that level. You are penalised Bonus Points for the length of time it takes you to complete a level. The less time you take; the more Bonus Points you’ll score.

3. Jumpman can leap amazing distances. See how far you can make him jump. When he is grabbing for something a ladder or girder, keep your joystick pushed in the direction you wish him to leap. If you let your stick flip back dead centre too soon, Jumpman might slip and fall to his doom.

4. Watch more than Jumpman on the screen. Constantly scan all four edges. Especially when he is vulnerable, like climbing a rope or ladder; or at the end of a girder. Expect the unexpected to happen… an object to suddenly shoot out from either side or drop from above - and KERCHUNK, another Jumpman bites the dust!

5. Try to remember each level’s action… the structural layout and obstacles. Keeping track of their names might be a good way.

Credits

PROGRAMMER: Randy Glover
MUSICIAN: Randy Glover