Software:Mad Nurse
| Mad Nurse | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Publisher(s) | Firebird Software Ltd. |
| Designer(s) | Simon Pick |
| Platform(s) | Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1984[1] |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Mad Nurse is a video game programmed by Simon Pick and published by Firebird Software Ltd. for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1984.
Gameplay
The player controls a nurse overseeing three floors of a children's ward, moving between them via a lift to pick up babies who crawl out of their cots and return them before they can drink medicine, touch power points, or fall down lift shafts; the player manages three trainee nurses who can each sustain three mishaps, uses stun‑gas to subdue unruly children, and navigates rooms whose furniture layouts change each game.[2]
Development
Mad Nurse had a budget of £650.[1] Firebird initially refused to publish the game, because dying babies were too controversial, but changed their minds when their post of head of development changed hands. Some outlets also refused to sell the game.[3] Firebird released a package that included Mad Nurse and Olli & Lissa in fall 1987.[4]
The music in the game is adopted from Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt (the friska in the second section) and Brahms' Lullaby by Johannes Brahms.[5]
Reception
| Reception | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Crash called Mad Nurse a dull game covered up with a few neat graphics.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bannister, Nicholas (November 12, 1994). "Sonic the Hedgehog's biggest challenge". p. 2. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20250514075319/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian/163134461/. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Cheap Thrills". June 1987. p. 58. https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gamer_Issue_27_1987-06_Argus_Press_GB/page/n57/mode/2up. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
- ↑ "An interview with Simon Pick". Lemon64.com. Archived on 2019-09-22. Error: If you specify
|archivedate=, you must also specify|archiveurl=. http://www.lemon64.com/?mainurl=http%3A//www.lemon64.com/interviews/simon_pick.php. Retrieved 2015-06-26. "At first the guys at Firebird refused to publish [Mad Nurse] - saying it was in really bad taste [..] Then a new head of development arrived [and] he got it released. [..] A couple of high street chains banned it, but other than that it went without any comments." - ↑ "Firebird's Starglider licensed to Bally-Sente". Computer Entertainer. July 1987. p. 6. https://archive.org/details/computer-entertainer-6-4/page/n5/mode/2up. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
- ↑ "SID info". http://www.lemon64.com/music/sidinfo.php?sid=25578.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Mad Nurse". Crash: 18. April 1987. https://archive.org/details/crash-magazine-collection-1984-1992/Crash39-Apr87/page/18/mode/2up. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
- ↑ "Mad Nurse". December 1986. p. 132. https://archive.org/details/zzapp_64_issue_020_600dpi/page/n131/mode/2up. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
External links
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