| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984; 41 years ago (1984) |
| Founder | Fergus McNeill |
| Defunct | 1992; 33 years ago (1992) |
| Fate | Defunct |
| Headquarters | |
| Website | Delta4.co.uk |
Delta 4 was a British software developer founded byFergus McNeill, writing and publishinginteractive fiction.[1]
Delta 4 designed games between1984 and1992. Some were self-published, others were released byCRL Group,Piranha Software, Silversoft, or On-Line Entertainment. Delta 4 were also credited with providing the code for Jonathan Nash's tape magazineYS2 which was given away free withYour Sinclair magazine and published byFuture Publishing.
Delta 4 was formed by McNeill with a few friends whilst still at school. Their debut text adventure games were theDragonstar trilogy ("...likeClassic Adventure but without the interesting bits"[1]) and twoHoly Joystick comedy adventures, self-published in 1984. Gilsoft'sThe Quill was the design software.
Their first critical success wasBored of the Rings, inspired by theHarvard Lampoon novel of the same name.[1] Published in 1985, it received aSinclair User Classic award.[2] They also publishedRobin of Sherlock.
In the early 1990s, Delta 4 developed several CD-based games.The Town with No Name,Psycho Killer andThe Hound of the Baskervilles were all developed using D.U.N.E. (Developers Universal Non-programming Environment),[3] and all games were panned by both critics and players.
| Psycho Killer | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Delta 4 |
| Publisher(s) | On-Line Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | Commodore CDTV,MS-DOS |
| Release | 1992 (CDTV) and 1993 (MS-DOS). |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure,graphic adventure |
Psycho Killer is agraphicaction-adventure game released by On-Line Entertainment in 1992 for theCommodore CDTV.[4] A version forMS-DOS was released in 1993.[5]
The game involves the protagonist (unnamed in game but listed in credits as "John Schulz") going on a quest in order to save a woman (listed as "Sarah Collins") from a murderer ("Morgan James"), and to save himself. The graphics for the game were created using digitised still photographs that were taken in the suburbs ofLondon.[6][7]
Gameplay ofPsycho Killer is restricted to a point-and-click interface, such as clicking certain arrows to go their respective direction.[6] There are multiple times in the game where the player must respond promptly to aquick time event in order to proceed to the next scene. Failure to do so can result in the game ending with the protagonist's death.[6][7]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Amiga Format | 13% |
| Amiga Joker | 3/5 |
In issue 32 ofAmiga Format, the reviewer gave the game 13% and complained of "poor gameplay",[6] comparing it to an "interactive home movie" and asked who would want to play a game featuring a "spotty herbert who drives aVauxhall Chevette". The game was reviewed again in issue 39 of the same magazine; the review gave it the same score,[7] and complained again about the poor gameplay.
Amiga Joker reviewed the game more positively. The magazine gave the game a 3/5,[8] stating, "with a little bit of goodwill, the game could be described as a interactive movie". The magazine ended the review calling the game "the best pure CD game ever."
Amiga Magazine also reviewed the game positively, but did not give a score. The magazine spoke about the "forgiving reaction time".[9] The magazine also said that the game is well-tuned to the CDTV. The magazine complained that the mouse pointer was black which made it "impossible to see" during some scenes.
The humour can be fairly schoolboyish at times and there are a couple of occasions when it is both distasteful and unnecessarily unpleasant. On the whole though the game is great fun and well-produced too.