I never really intended these blog entries to be as ‘reviewy’ as they have become. I don’t have a problem with it, it’s natural to lean that way when writing about a game you’ve just played, especially when the method of writing is as unstructured as mine is. (Play game - Open blog - Write until I’ve got nothing else to say - Pass to wife to edit).
In the case of 'Gyron' I’m going to get the review out of the way early and in far fewer words than usual:
It's a fascinating feat of programming with incredibly creative tools to aid your navigation around a fully realised 3D labyrinth. It’s devious, it’s hard, it’s impressive, it’s addictive, and it looks utterly amazing for a 48k Spectrum game from 1985 [a year older than the aforementioned wife! - Ed]
The rest of this post is just going to be some stuff I find fascinating about this game.
By the way, this is all info I’ve gleaned from the internet so if you are familiar with the game already then there’ll be nothing new here. Sorry.
I came by my copy of 'Gyron' in a box of games I bought from the internet. I don’t remember the specifics, I do this kind of thing rather a lot.
When I get bundles of games I usually pick out the good ones and then sell, or give away, anything I don’t want.
If there’s a game I’m not familiar with, I'll do some research and keep it if it sounds interesting - 'Gyron' sounded very interesting.
The booklet in the box details a backstory that is fascinating, especially for what is ostensibly a 3D maze game, with a creativity and depth that is simply awe-inspiring.
To save me typing it all out, here's a picture of my manual, give it a read and tell me that’s not a game you want to play.
My interest was further piqued by the sticker you can see on the box that tells of the opportunity to ‘win a Porsche 924’. Sadly, 30 years later the ‘details’ were not ‘inside’, but that sticker alone was enough for me to get my pipe and deerstalker (and laptop) and investigate...
'Gyron' had taken a four-man team a year to program. In 1985 this was a lot of resources and, although no-one could argue with the technical brilliance of the finished product, management at Firebird - the game’s publishers - were unconvinced of its mass appeal, so the promotions team were brought in and a competition was devised.
Do you remember a couple of years ago there was that Peter Molyneux mobile game “Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube?” where you had to click at tiny cubes that made up a bigger cube and eventually whoever clicked the last cube would win ‘a life changing prize’? Well, this was kind of like that...
Only rather than a token role in a non-existent game and Peter Molyneuax’s cold shoulder, the winner would actually get a Porsche 924, or its equivalent twelve-and-half-grand value. (Side note, it’s amazing how many websites get the car model wrong. I’ve seen it listed as a 923, a 911, and a 925 among others.)
'Gyron' features two maps, one on each side of the cassette, and somewhere in the harder, ‘Side B’ map (named Necropolis) there was a code. Players were challenged to find the code and submit it via a provided form for their chance to win.
There were apparently about 60 entrants.
The fact that the form is missing from my box fills me with hope that the previous owner was one of those sixty. It’s highly unlikely and impossible to ever know, but I choose to believe it anyway.
Rather than just pick one of the sixty names out of hat a second round of the competition was created.
This time the format was essentially a speed run by all sixty competitors, that took place simultaneously at venues in England, Denmark, and Spain.
The winner was a sixteen year old Spaniard who took some nice publicity shots with the car - and then opted for the cash prize.
And who could blame him? It’s unlikely he could even afford the insurance on a Porsche, let alone drive it - and £12,500 is the better part of £40k in today’s money; not bad for eighteen minutes work!
The story would normally end there but despite all these (and more) promotional efforts, the game never really achieved much success. The four man team, named ‘Torus’, had wanted to make more original games but were instead press-ganged into converting a recently acquired license for Firebird - that licence was ‘Elite’, one of the most successful and critically acclaimed games of all time.
Later, the level created for the prize run was released as 'Gyron Arena', I played that today too and honestly, if you offered me forty grand AND a Porsche to complete it in 18 minutes I’d tell you to keep them. It is bonkers hard.
Oh, and one final titbit, the much better-known game 'Tau Ceti' only exists because it's creator was trying to figure out how the Torus team got aspects of 'Gyron' to work!
In the case of 'Gyron' I’m going to get the review out of the way early and in far fewer words than usual:
It's a fascinating feat of programming with incredibly creative tools to aid your navigation around a fully realised 3D labyrinth. It’s devious, it’s hard, it’s impressive, it’s addictive, and it looks utterly amazing for a 48k Spectrum game from 1985 [a year older than the aforementioned wife! - Ed]
The rest of this post is just going to be some stuff I find fascinating about this game.
By the way, this is all info I’ve gleaned from the internet so if you are familiar with the game already then there’ll be nothing new here. Sorry.
I came by my copy of 'Gyron' in a box of games I bought from the internet. I don’t remember the specifics, I do this kind of thing rather a lot.
When I get bundles of games I usually pick out the good ones and then sell, or give away, anything I don’t want.
If there’s a game I’m not familiar with, I'll do some research and keep it if it sounds interesting - 'Gyron' sounded very interesting.
The booklet in the box details a backstory that is fascinating, especially for what is ostensibly a 3D maze game, with a creativity and depth that is simply awe-inspiring. To save me typing it all out, here's a picture of my manual, give it a read and tell me that’s not a game you want to play.
My interest was further piqued by the sticker you can see on the box that tells of the opportunity to ‘win a Porsche 924’. Sadly, 30 years later the ‘details’ were not ‘inside’, but that sticker alone was enough for me to get my pipe and deerstalker (and laptop) and investigate...
'Gyron' had taken a four-man team a year to program. In 1985 this was a lot of resources and, although no-one could argue with the technical brilliance of the finished product, management at Firebird - the game’s publishers - were unconvinced of its mass appeal, so the promotions team were brought in and a competition was devised.
Do you remember a couple of years ago there was that Peter Molyneux mobile game “Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube?” where you had to click at tiny cubes that made up a bigger cube and eventually whoever clicked the last cube would win ‘a life changing prize’? Well, this was kind of like that...
Only rather than a token role in a non-existent game and Peter Molyneuax’s cold shoulder, the winner would actually get a Porsche 924, or its equivalent twelve-and-half-grand value. (Side note, it’s amazing how many websites get the car model wrong. I’ve seen it listed as a 923, a 911, and a 925 among others.)
'Gyron' features two maps, one on each side of the cassette, and somewhere in the harder, ‘Side B’ map (named Necropolis) there was a code. Players were challenged to find the code and submit it via a provided form for their chance to win.
There were apparently about 60 entrants.
The fact that the form is missing from my box fills me with hope that the previous owner was one of those sixty. It’s highly unlikely and impossible to ever know, but I choose to believe it anyway.
Rather than just pick one of the sixty names out of hat a second round of the competition was created.
This time the format was essentially a speed run by all sixty competitors, that took place simultaneously at venues in England, Denmark, and Spain.
The winner was a sixteen year old Spaniard who took some nice publicity shots with the car - and then opted for the cash prize.
And who could blame him? It’s unlikely he could even afford the insurance on a Porsche, let alone drive it - and £12,500 is the better part of £40k in today’s money; not bad for eighteen minutes work!
The story would normally end there but despite all these (and more) promotional efforts, the game never really achieved much success. The four man team, named ‘Torus’, had wanted to make more original games but were instead press-ganged into converting a recently acquired license for Firebird - that licence was ‘Elite’, one of the most successful and critically acclaimed games of all time.
Later, the level created for the prize run was released as 'Gyron Arena', I played that today too and honestly, if you offered me forty grand AND a Porsche to complete it in 18 minutes I’d tell you to keep them. It is bonkers hard.
It's a fascinating game. I;ve done a video review over on Retro Spectrum Gaming... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv-bJgWZSJQ
ReplyDeleteHi Ewan! I watched your video yesterday :-)
DeleteI accidentally tried to play 'Gyron Arena' before the original and was trying to figure out if I was doing something wrong or if it was just really hard - thanks to you I realised I had loaded the wrong version!
So thank you! Great video!