Software:Světák Bob
 | This article needs attention from an expert in Czech Republic. The specific problem is: Czech sources requires translator. (August 2019) |
| Světák Bob | |
|---|---|
 Světák Bob title screen | |
| Release | 1993 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
Světák Bob is a 1993 Czech adventure game developed by Bohewia and published by Petr Vochozka for the Amiga system.
Production
The game was programmed for the Amiga by a pre-18 Petr Vochozka.[1] After buying his own Atari 800 XL he began programming his own games that ended up in his desk drawer.[2] A year after the Velvet Revolution, Vochozka replaced his Atari with the Amiga, and created his first game intended for public release, Svetak Bob.[2] As he was younger than 18, distribution of the game was illegal as he did not have a trade license.[2]
Petr Vochozka marketed Světák Bob as the first ever Czech commercial adventure for the Amiga.[3] It was priced at 129 crowns and sold around 100[4] to 200[5] copies. This compares with Vochozka's follow-up Tajemství Oslího ostrova which sold 2,000 copies.[4][5]
Světák Bob was the first officially distributed Czech computer game for the Amiga, and arguably on any platform.[4][6][7]
According to the reviewer Tomáš Smolík in Excalubur, the game was programmed in the Amos Professional Kit.[8]
Prague Post notes that this achievement was a part of a wave of post-Soviet Union advances that saw the Czech video gaming industry quickly became more professional.[7]
In the 21st century the game gained a considerable cult following.[6]
Bonusweb notes that in 1994 it was still possible for a developer to review their own game, noting that Vochozka did this for Svetak Bob in the magazine Excalibur.[9][10] In an interview with Vochozka, Bonusweb wrote: ""No, I definitely didn't write it myself, but I worked a little bit on it," he says with a smile. "Moreover, there was a different time at that time, it wasn't a big deal if the Světák sold eighty pieces instead of forty ...".[10]
Plot and gameplay
The main hero, Bob, collapses after a fierce storm and finds himself on a desert island. He has to get off the island and continue his adventure.
A hybrid between the text and classic point & click adventure,[8] the game offers similar gameplay to text-based games, but includes graphics and music. The game is mouse-controlled.
Critical reception
According to Bonusweb.cz, the game's graphics were just a little better than horrible.[6] BRNO Region asserts that the game was not a true global success.[11] Vochozka later said the game wasn't "worldly".[12] Amiga Review unfavourably compared it to Testament.[13] At the time Exaclibur didn't give Czech games a rating to avoid discouraging local developers.[8] Som Hráč argues the game was "quite a good success".[14] Mafia felt the game was a "great success " that opened the door for other Czech games.[15]
SME notes that this post-Iron Curtain era of gaming is marked by a national technological backwardness that had a flow-on effect to "scant technological and artistic abilities of potential game developers", adding that while good ideas were a dime a dozen, it was difficult to find top wuality graphics in local games.[16]
References
- ↑ "Světák Bob | Visiongame.cz" (in cs). https://visiongame.cz/hra/svetak-bob/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Illusion Softworks: Pohádka s hořkým koncem" (in cs). https://gamifique.eurozpravy.cz/novinky/2610-illusion-softworks-pohadka-s-horkym-koncem.
- ↑ "From pen and paper games to multi-million selling titles – the story of the Czech video game industry". 1 March 2019. http://www.czech.cz/en/Life-Work/From-pen-and-paper-games-to-multi-million-selling.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Vzestupy a pády české herní scény" (in cs). 3 March 2015. http://objevit.cz/vzestupy-a-pady-ceske-herni-sceny-t121541.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ticháček, Petr (30 July 2011). "Historie adventur #4: česká stopa" (in cs). https://games.tiscali.cz/tema/historie-adventur-4-ceska-stopa-56482.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Fotogalerie: Světák Bob" (in cs). https://bonusweb.idnes.cz/foto.aspx?c=A161128_191100_bw-magazin_anb&foto=ANB679e5d_svetakbob.jpg.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Is the iGaming Industry in Prague on the Verge of a Velvet Revolution?" (in en-US). 10 April 2017. https://www.praguepost.com/prague-news/is-the-igaming-industry-in-prague-on-the-verge-of-a-velvet-revolution.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Čelár, Ľubomír (24 October 2016). "Zabudnutý klenot videoherného priemyslu – česko-slovenské point&click adventúry" (in sk-sk). https://gamesite.zoznam.sk/tematicke-clanky/26754-zabudnuty-klenot-videoherneho-priemyslu-cesko-slovenske-point-click-adventury.
- ↑ Zach, Ondřej (24 August 1999). "České adventury - díl 1" (in cs). https://bonusweb.idnes.cz/ceske-adventury-dil-1-0ri-/Clanek.aspx?c=A000125_ceskeadventury1_bw.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Illusion Softworks - profil" (in cs). 12 August 2002. https://www.idnes.cz/hry/magazin/illusion-softworks-profil.A020810_illusionsoftworks_bw.
- ↑ "Our hearts beat for games in #brnoregion". 17 January 2018. http://www.brnoregion.com/Live/Articles/Our-hearts-beat-for-games-in-brnoregion.
- ↑ Ticháček, Petr (23 June 2000). "Petr Vochozka popisuje své začátky" (in cs). https://www.idnes.cz/hry/magazin/petr-vochozka-popisuje-sve-zacatky.A000622_petrvochozkaczscena_bw.
- ↑ Zajpt, Tomáš. "Testament - AMIGA REVIEW.online" (in sk). http://amigareview.amiga.sk/amiga-review-20/testament.
- ↑ Moravec, Jozef (21 April 2017). "Začiatky tvorby hier v ČSR" (in sk-SK). https://somhrac.sk/2017/04/21/zaciatky-tvorby-hier-v-csr/.
- ↑ Horák, Aleš 'Alien'. "Mafia, Mafia 2 & Mafia 3" (in cs-CZ). http://mafia.czech-games.net/ostatni/cesky-skvost/jak-to-vsechno-zacalo/.
- ↑ "Lesk a bieda českých a slovenských komerčných PC hier" (in sk). https://www.sme.sk/c/1715707/lesk-a-bieda-ceskych-a-slovenskych-komercnych-pc-hier.html.
External links
- Czech review in Excalibur Issue 23, page 24 (Lewis is a pseudonym of Petr Vochozka)
- Raková, Michaela (2013). "Historie a kontext produkce počítačových her žánru adventure v České republice" (in cs). https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/52702/DPTX_2010_2_11230_0_322985_0_111952.pdf?sequence=1.
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