1984 Sheep In Space
Sheep in Space is a surrealist computer game released for the Commodore 64 computer in the 1980s by Jeff Minter's Llamasoft. It is a horizontally scrolling shooter in the style of Defender.
Platforms & ports
| System | Year | Region | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| C64 Commodore 64 ★ original | 1984 | — | — |
Screenshots
2 images — scroll sideways, click to enlarge
Video
Story
The player controls a small flying sheep and has the task of defending the planet by shooting down aliens, and preventing them from charging up their "planet buster" gun.[3]
Like Llamasoft's 1984 release "Ancipital", the game makes use of multiple gravitational fields - there is a landscape across the bottom of the screen as per a normal shoot 'em up, but also an inverted one across the top. If the player is in the centre of the screen, the projectiles the sheep fires fly straight. Getting closer to the land at the top or the bottom of the screen will cause the projectiles to curve up or down respectively, allowing the shooting of aliens close to the surface. Proximity to the upper and lower surfaces also affects movement speed which becomes slower when near either surface. The player can land the sheep on areas of grass on either the top or bottom of the screen, in order to reduce its hunger. A stomach meter shows the player's current state of hunger - overfeeding or allowing the sheep to starve will result in the loss of a life. Feeding also replenishes the sheep's shields. Destroying all of the aliens advances the player to the next level, which has different topography and is slightly more difficult. There are 48 levels in total.
History
Sheep in Space is a video game written by Jeff Minter for the Commodore 64 and published in 1984 by Llamasoft. It is a horizontally scrolling shooter which borrows gameplay from Defender re-themed to involve sheep. The title screen features an arrangement of Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze" by pianist James Lisney.
Gameplay
The player controls a small flying sheep and has the task of defending the planet by shooting down aliens, and preventing them from charging up their "planet buster" gun.
Like Llamasoft's 1984 release Ancipital, the game makes use of multiple gravitational fields - there is a landscape across the bottom of the screen as per a normal shoot 'em up, but also an inverted one across the top. If the player is in the centre of the screen, the projectiles the sheep fires fly straight. Getting closer to the land at the top or the bottom of the screen will cause the projectiles to curve up or down respectively, allowing the shooting of aliens close to the surface. Proximity to the upper and lower surfaces also affects movement speed which becomes slower when near either surface.
The player can land the sheep on areas of grass on either the top or bottom of the screen, in order to reduce its hunger. A stomach meter shows the player's current state of hunger - overfeeding or allowing the sheep to starve will result in the loss of a life. Feeding also replenishes the sheep's shields.
Destroying all of the aliens advances the player to the next level, which has different topography and is slightly more difficult. There are 48 levels in total.
Influenced games and clones
Just as Sheep in Space was influenced by Defender, it in turn inspired the Sensible Software title Insects in Space.
Adapted from Wikipedia , licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text may have been shortened.