Emu's Massive Hunt - Vic 20 + 35k

Emu's Massive Hunt (EMH) is a new game for the Vic 20 with a full +35K memory expansion. 

In EMH, you play the emu who must rescue Rod of THE FUTURE WAS 8 BIT. Rod is locked away behind the Jelly door and you need to find all the green jelly to get through to him.

Find 255 items spread over over 4 zones and 64 individual locations. Some items are special and are crucial to allow you to progress. Some items will give you new abilities, like the snorkel for swimming under water or the shoes for better jumps.

Not everything is as it seems, there is much to discover along the way. Try pushing or jumping on things!

You can rescue Rod without finding everything if you have enough Jelly. The game has three difficulty levels to match your abilities. For example, the easiest level will give you extra lives and you won't have to find all the Jelly to open the Jelly Door.

There are two endings to the game, collect all 255 items to get a perfect game and ending!

How to load

The game can be obtained here on itch.io as a free download, or physically on tape (cassette number 38) for a bit of green jelly (or in truth a few of his majesties pounds sterling) from THE FUTURE WAS 8 BIT. By the way, there is a secret bonus to be found exclusively on the tape version ;) Plus the tape is pretty cool to display on your shelf.

Loading From Tape

If you have the tape you can load it on a real Commodore Vic 20 computer. You need a Commodore datasette, a joystick and a 35K RAM expansion. With the computer switched off, firmly insert your expansion in the slot at the back. Connect the datasette and the joystick and then turn on your Vic.

Put the tape in the datasette drive and rewind to the beginning. Hold the SHIFT key and press RUN STOP. You will be asked to PRESS PLAY ON TAPE, so press play on the datasette and EMH will proceed to load. Follow any instructions on screen as the game loads.

Loading From the Digital Download

The digital download found here on itch.io can be loaded into a real Vic 20 with a SD2IEC device or on an Emulator.

On a real Vic 20

Copy the D64 file to your SD card and place this in your SD2IEC. With the computer switched off, insert your 35K RAM expansion and joystick. Connect your SD2IEC to the Vic 20 and then power everything on. Follow your SD2IEC instructions on how to mount and load the game from the D64 image.

On an emulator

VICE is the recommended emulator to use, but I'm sure the game runs fine in any other Vic 20 emulator you prefer. Ensure you configure the emulator to have the full compliment of extra RAM (35K). Configure a Joystick either as keys or with a real gamepad attached to your computer. Then just drag and drop the D64 file onto your emulator window to start it up automatically. Follow any instructions on screen.

Controlling Emu 

A joystick is required to play. The default controls are:

• Push left and right to walk
• Up to jump
• Fire to dash

This control scheme is even better if you have a joystick that allows you to map the 'up' direction to a second fire button. If this doesn't feel right, there is an alternative joystick control scheme you can try...

When starting a new game you can chose to change the controls so Fire causes Emu to jump and pushing up or down, or diagonals will make him dash. You can also press the 1 key in game to change between the two control methods.

Initially, Emu can only jump a small way, or a little further in combination with a dash. Later on new abilities can be found to double jump.

Dashing into monsters will usually make them change direction. Be careful as your dash only lasts a second or two and you are vulnerable if you collide with a monster when it runs out. However, good timing with a dash and a jump into a monster can help you reach higher ground as you bounce off them.

Keyboard Control Options

There are some useful key controls you can use during the game.

• 1 = toggle between the two joystick control schemes.
• 2 = toggle sensory levels between low and normal. Low setting reduces the light flickering in dark places.
• RUN STOP key and Q = if you can stuck somewhere, press this combination to sacrifice a life and respawn at the starting location.
• RUN STOP and C = Quit the game and return to the title screen.
• M = toggle music on and off. Sound effects will still play.

Emulator note: The RUN STOP key is usually the Esc (Escape) key on modern keyboards. 

Special Items

Some of the items you will find in the game are special.

• Jelly
  Collect all the jelly you find in the game. Rod luuuuuuuuuves green jelly, but it is also required to open the jelly door in order to rescue him.
• Keys
  There are several coloured keys to find. These open doors of the same colour.
• Snorkel
  At the start of the game Emu will drown if he enters water. Find the snorkel to help him breath under water. You don't need any trunks and Emu doesn't wear them anyway.
• Shoes
  Not just any shoes, but magic high heels. They grant their wearer the ability to jump while in mid-air. Now that's magic!
• Pickaxe
  It's just a tool, but in Emu's ...erm... hands, it can be used to break through some fragile blocks.

Getting Started Hints

WARNING! Don't read this section if you do not wish to have any help, close your eyes and haphazardly scroll on...otherwise continue reading for how to find the first key and the snorkel (it still won't be a walk in the park to get there).

From the starting location, follow the red arrows on the map. You need to head up the stairs, up through the Skullery, around to the left and then down. Don't trust your eyes if you can't see a way forward. Your reward is a red key, good for a red door not far away and, what's that? a snorkel?!

By the way, this is only a tiny portion of the map. I'm not going to give everything away but this will open up new areas and get you WELL on your way in the adventure.

Thank you

Thank you for coming here and I hope you enjoy Emu's Massive Hunt as much as I have making it. EMH is completely free for you to download and enjoy. 

If you'd like to help out, tell your friends and send them links to this page. My games are free, but I do have an Amazon wish list with a load of cool things I'm saving up to get if you really want to support me more.

Credits

Game design, coding and graphics by Andy H, muzak by Mince: Unknown.

Huge thanks to everyone who helped test the game and a special thank you to Rod for the support, ideas and for making the physical tapes for those that want the real 1980's experience!

The cool tape display stand by MuckyPaws Labs. Also find them on Facebook.

More on Memory Expansions

On a real Vic 20, the simplest way to get the full 35K RAM upgrade needed for the game is to use The Penultimate+2 cartridge, but any modern RAM upgrade will usually support this memory requirement. We like the Penultimate+2 because it also contains loads of games, including Emu's Massive Hunt!