A downloadable game

The game in the press:
Many thanks to RETRO GAMER magazine from the United Kingdom. In issue #266 (published on November 21, 2024) a first report on the game SABOTEUR appeared. We are so pleased!
Link: our Blog post with a scan of the magazine

I was always fascinated by a weird ninja game on the CPC 464, I've bought as a 12 year old. Inspired by that, I want to make a game for the NES that is roughly based on the concept of it. Please welcome SABOTEUR on NES. Follow the development process, if you like.

Fun fact: I have often referred to the game as a maze game. At the moment, I'm realising more and more during development that it fulfils a lot of the characteristics of a ‘Metroidvania’.

The story of the game

An unnamed dictator has planted mercenaries as sleepers in governments and strategic locations around the world.

The mercenaries are aware of their activities, but not of their respective targets.

In order to activate the mercenaries and assign them their respective tasks and time periods (attacks, espionage), certain news texts are published in the media.

The information about these news texts (times, locations, Name of magazines) are stored in an encrypted database.

The key to this database (in form of a 12-word phrase) is stored in a blockchain wallet. The 12-word phrase must be found.

The aim of the game

Find the digital key to the database and obtain information about the mercenary orders in order to prevent them. Find six pieces of paper with two words each (this results in a 12-word phrase), hidden in a bunker below a manor.

The 12-word phrase enables access to a blockchain wallet in which a password for decrypting the documents is stored.

About the game

The game is loosely based on the 1985 classic of the same name by Clive Townsend. The world will consist of individual rooms (no scrolling) that are freely interconnected. There will be barriers, enemies and collectable items that can be used as keys or weapons. One of the biggest enemies is time. Randomly distributed terminals are planned, which the player can use to reset the constantly ticking clock or to unlock certain doors remotely.

Some rooms will not be linearly accessible, but will be randomly connected.

The backstory they led to the project

In 1990, a Schneider CPC 464 came into our house, originally as a workstation for my older sister. She used it quite sporadically, mostly as a typewriter replacement.

I (nine years old at the time) fell in love with this machine quite quickly and, in addition to playing numerous games that we got as cassettes from friends, started to try out the BASIC commands printed in the manual. It took a while to understand what was happening on the screen, but studying various CPC print magazines, including the printed source code, also helped me to test ever crazier things.

We also happened to own a Dk’tronics Lightpen, so the inhibition threshold for getting graphics into the computer was low. My experimentation later turned into my first own game project called Singh’s Revenge. Similar in structure to Roberta and Ken Williams’ game Mystery House.

In our small town there was an electronics shop where you could still order games for the CPC at that time. You were given a list of several pages with game names and prices and could choose what you wanted. I can’t remember exactly why I ordered SABOTEUR back then. Perhaps it was reported in one of the print magazines, or the game was highlighted in the list.

Whatever the reason, at the age of twelve I was fascinated by it.