Oxyd
252970
203504417
2008-04-05T12:17:56Z
Megata Sanshiro
6733433
/* External links */
'''''Oxyd''''' is a [[computer puzzle game]] released for the [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]], [[personal computer|PC]], and the [[NeXT]] platform by [[Dongleware Verlags GmbH]] in [[1990]].
It is a game of puzzles and tests that challenge the player to restart all the oxygen generators (called Oxyds) on his/her home planet. The Oxyds must be restarted by "opening" them in pairs of matching patterns, and (in colour versions) matching colours.
The player controls a small black marble that rolls around, touches things to activate them (Oxyds are opened by touching them), and bashes things to move them. The player has an inventory and can add some items to the inventory by rolling over them. The game's playfield is called a landscape. The player must open all of the Oxyds to progress to the next landscape. Oxyds must be matched in pairs. An unpaired Oxyd will close if an Oxyd of another pattern or colour is opened.
Some landscapes also contain textual clues, which the player can place in their inventory by rolling the marble over them. They can then be selected and read. There are clues on many landscapes: some are helpful, but others are confusing or not so helpful. Other useful items include are bombs, dynamite, spades, keys and computer disks. These items may be placed in the inventory, and can create or destroy blocks, create holes, fill holes, and open doors. There are other interactive blocks, including movable wooden blocks, lasers, mirrors, hidden passages. There are also dangerous areas, including bottomless pits, crumbling floors (which collapse if the marble has been rolled on them several times), slides, pools of water to drown in, quicksand (which the marble will slowly sink in), and assorted traps.
Some levels invert the player's controls, and in the sequel games, the player has to control several balls, which shatter if they touch each other.
At the time of its release, ''Oxyd'' gained enough popularity to spawn a number of sequels: ''Oxyd Magnum'', ''Oxyd Extra'', and ''per.Oxyd'' (also known as ''Oxyd 2''). Additionally, ''Oxyd'' itself was a sequel to a lesser-known game, called ''Esprit''.
The ''Oxyd'' series is no longer maintained by Dongleware.
[[Mad Data]], with the permission of Dongleware, has produced an official [[Freeware]] game with the name "Oxyd extra v2.0" (see external links below).
==Marketing==
The ''Oxyd'' series had a quite unique marketing method: the entire games were free to distribute, thus being easily obtainable from [[shareware]]-CDs or bulletin boards. The first ten levels could be played without restrictions. From the eleventh level onward, at various intervals throughout the games, so-called "Magic Stones" blocked crucial parts and passageways of the landscapes, mostly rendering progress impossible. These stones could only be removed by entering a code. A code book called the "Oxyd Book" was sold separately for the price of a budget video game. This book contains approximately 150 pages of code tables matching the information given on the Magic Stone. This form of software protection is effectively using the book as a [[dongle]]; however, unlike other games which use the code book protection approach, the game itself was free.
==See also==
*[[Enigma (game)|Enigma]] : [[Open source games|Open source]] [[fangame]] with over a thousand different landscapes.
==External links==
*[http://www.dongleware.de www.dongleware.de]
*[http://www.oxyd-game.com/news_eng.html www.oxyd-game.com] Download page for the official Freeware version "Oxyd extra v2.0".
*[http://members.chello.at/theodor.lauppert/games/oxyd.htm members.chello.at/theodor.lauppert/games/oxyd.htm] A more detailed overview of the Oxyd games
[[Category:Amiga games]]
[[Category:Atari ST games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:Mac OS games]]
[[Category:Puzzle video games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Germany]]
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[[ru:Oxyd]]