Hungry Horace
{{Short description|1982 video game}}
{{hatnote|This article is about the video game. "Hungry Horace" is also the name of an unrelated character from the UK's Dandy, Sparky and Topper comics.}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Hungry Horace
| image = Hungry Horace ZX Spectrum cover art.jpg
| caption = North American ZX Spectrum cover art
| developer = Psion Software Limited
| publisher = Sinclair Research
| series = Horace
| platforms = {{Unbulleted list|Commodore 64|Dragon 32/64|Timex Sinclair 2068|ZX Spectrum|Microsoft Windows|Android}}
| released = 1982
| genre = Action
| modes = Single-player
}}
Hungry Horace is a video game developed by Psion Software Ltd. and published by Sinclair Research in 1982 for Commodore 64, Dragon 32/64, Timex Sinclair 2068, ZX Spectrum, and later for Microsoft Windows and Android. It is the first game in the Horace series. The gameplay is noted to be very similar to Pac-Man, involving the collection of food pellets in a maze while avoiding enemies. Despite this, critical reception of the game was generally positive upon release.
Gameplay
The original Horace game, Hungry Horace was written as a simple Pac-Man clone,{{cite web|url=http://www.crashonline.org.uk/06/runit.htm |title=CRASH 6 – Run It Again |publisher=Crashonline.org.uk |date= |access-date=2011-02-06}}{{cite news |title=Escape! |url=https://archive.org/stream/popular-computing-weekly-1983-01-06/PopularComputing_Weekly_Issue_1983-01-06#page/n11/mode/2up |work=Popular Computing Weekly |issue=1983–01–06}} published in 1982. In it, Horace must gather food from around a park and move onto the next section while avoiding park guards. It is possible for him to collect a bell to panic the guards and render them vulnerable, like the power pills in Pac-Man. This title was available on the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Dragon 32. The ZX Spectrum original was marketed and distributed by Sinclair themselves, the Commodore 64 and Dragon 32 versions by Melbourne House.
The Commodore 64 version also included a level editor which allowed the game owner to create, edit and save to cassette tape their own levels of the game. These could be shared with other owners of the game.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}
A DOS-hosted level editor was written for the ZX Spectrum version in 2009.{{cite web |url=http://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/browse_thread/thread/92c2e9c14c2db7ca/42c7c925379aece9 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715023145/http://groups.google.co.uk/group/comp.sys.sinclair/browse_thread/thread/92c2e9c14c2db7ca/42c7c925379aece9 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 July 2012 |title=HHEDIT release announcement on Usenet |date= |access-date=2011-02-06 }}
Hungry Horace was released on Steam by Pixel Games UK on September 17, 2020.{{Cite web|title=Hungry Horace on Steam|url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1408630/Hungry_Horace/|access-date=2021-02-17|website=store.steampowered.com|language=en}}
Reception
Dick Olney for Personal Computer World said "The graphics are excellent, and there are some interesting, if rather limited, sound effects."{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1983-01/page/112/mode/2up|title=Personal Computer World (1983-01)|date=January 10, 1983|via=Internet Archive}}
John Scriven for Dragon User said "If you like maze chasing with a difference, then I can heartily recommend Horace."{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/dragon-user-magazine-14/page/n11/mode/2up|title=Dragon User Magazine Issue 14|date=June 10, 1984|via=Internet Archive}}
Computer and Video Games said "Horace is one of the stars of computer games. like Miner Willy, Cuthbert, and the Pi-Man, his latest games are looked forward to in the same way as the next instalment of the Star Wars or Rocky sagas."{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/Computer_and_Video_Games_Issue_0033a/page/44/mode/2up|title=Computer and Video Games Issue 0033a|via=Internet Archive}}
David Brudenall for Your Computer said "all things considered, it's a marvellous little game, especially for the graphics, and would be especially good for young children."{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/yc_1984_09/page/150/mode/2up|title=Your Computer (Australian) 1984 September|via=Internet Archive}}
Commodore Computing International said "Hungry Horace is undoubtedly a good and occasionally funny game."{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/Commodore_Computing_International_198312/page/42/mode/2up|title=Commodore Computing International 198312|via=Internet Archive}}
Reviews
- The ZX Spectrum Book{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/ZXSpectrumBook1982To199xThe/page/n19/mode/2up|title=ZX Spectrum Book - 1982 to 199x, The|date=March 10, 2006|via=Internet Archive}}
- Allt om Hemdatorer (Swedish){{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/AlltOmHemdatorer19841.5/page/n57/mode/2up|title=Allt om Hemdatorer 1984 1½|date=March 10, 1984|via=Internet Archive}}
- Popular Computing Weekly - Jan 06, 1983
- Popular Computing Weekly - Dec 22, 1983
- Happy Computer - Aug, 1984