Beneath a Steel Sky / 2017-02-22 14:20:15

Beneath a Steel Sky is a computer game designed for MS-DOS and Amiga. It was developed by Revolution Software and published by Virgin Interactive in 1994. It is a point-and-click sci-fi adventure game. Set in a dystopian future divided between the Gap and Union City, it leads its hero, Robert Foster, from the industrial and residential sectors of Union City all the way to the old subway tunnels where evils lurked...

Story

The story of BaSS is actually quite elaborate and could have been without a shame from a very good book! Although the story revolves around Foster's adventures to save Union City from its mad computer (more on this below!) and to understand his past, the story has a deep background.

The story is set in a dystopian future where some catastrophe, maybe a nuclear war or climate change, has devastated our planet. It takes place specifically in Australia where the states have become city-states. There seems to be four "factions" fighting for survival or power: in "The Gap", a wasteland outside Union City, Aboriginals try to survive. A band of Aboriginals have adopted Foster and raised him. Inside Union City, members of Union City are fighting against the Hobart Corporation an economic war, using sabotage and cheap gimmicks to win over the market. The fourth faction has only one member and is LINC, the computer running Union City. However, there is a twist: in this future, "union", like Union City, are actually against labour representation and social securities of any kind while "corporation", like Hobart Corporation, support workers and want greater protection for them... If anything, Hobart Corporation is the good "guy". Finally, opposite to "usual" stratification, like typically in Metropolis, poor workers live and work in the upper levels of Union City, amid factories and pollution, while the "elite" members of Union City live in the lower level, surrounded by trees, palaces, and select night clubs. At the lowest level are abandoned subway tunnels inhabited by strange creatures...

Now that the scene is set, the story... it starts with Foster being kidnapped from The Gap and the helicopter transporting him crashing in some industrial area of Union City. Foster escapes in a recycling plant and hides there to overhear a security officer, Stephen Reich, threating to arrest or worse... From this point on, the aim of the player is to unravel clues regarding Foster's past, present, and future. The player will first direct Foster to rebuild his sentient robot, Joey, using (fist) a vacuum cleaner. Then, she will help foster navigate through Union City (using ropes and elevators), discuss with the many characters in the game (from factory manager to Diva to insurance salesman to evil computer), and perform various actions (collecting anchor, videotapes, fixing robots, playing with a nuclear core). At the heart of the story, the player must understand the role played by LINC (Logical Inter-Neural Connection), the mad, evil computer that is running Union City. Through various encounters and clues, she will find that LINC is actually half-machine, half-biological and that it needs a human to function. Currently, Foster's father plays the role of human host to LINC but with his death approaching, LINC sought Foster to replace his father as human host due to their genetic compatibility. Fortunately, Joey, now in the body of an android, will save the day by taking Foster's place and, thus, changing LINC into a benevolent computer.
 

Realisation

Graphic Design

BASS is a point-and-click adventure game based on the Virtual Theatre engine, also used in Lure of the Temptress. It allows easy interactions through a smart, intuitive user interface and also various characters to "have a life" independently of Foster.

First, it is very easy and intuitive to control Foster with the mouse by clicking here or there on the screen. The mouse pointer changes into an arrow or a cross to control Foster and interact with objects and people. When the mouse is an arrow, it indicates the place where Foster should go. It can also change into a large arrow to exist a particular screen. When the mouse is a cross, it can be used to look or to use/pick an object or talk to a person. As far as I can remember, I never got stuck in a particular place because of some hidden exit or forgotten object.

Talking to people is a major part of the fun! First, I don't recall any dialogue that didn't make me smile... Usually, upon clicking on a person, a list of 4-5 sentences appear on the top of the screen. Any sentence will do because, as far as I can tell, they provide information but do not need to be told in a particular order. Some dialogs are very, very funny! I let you read the dialogue between Joey and Foster when Foster ask him to crank some robot...

Using objects is also very easy. Some object can even be combined in Foster's inventory by selecting one object and clicking a second one. The best example is, of course, the grappling hook made of an anchor and a rope; very useful for Foster to play Tarzan later! All-in-all, the Virtual Theatre engine makes it very easy to play the game and control Foster and interact with object and people.

Another thing made easy by the Virtual Theatre engine is the lives of other characters. Each character seems to have her/his/its own life and will go about the game minding their own business, even sometimes interacting with one another and, of course, with Foster when needed if Foster talks to them or if the game scenario calls for some action... Sometimes, a character will actually block Foster, like this annoying robot at the beginning of the game, but generally, they integrate well in the scenario of the game, giving it a "life-like" feeling.

In addition to the game engine, BASS is well-known and recognized for the quality of its graphics. Simply, its graphics are awesome! The first cinematic scenes are amazing, setting the tone for a Blade Runner-like dystopian future... The characters move are life-life and each level / places has its own feeling, from run-down factories to chic apartment building to organic/technoid horror... See below for many screenshots that just show how gorgeous is the game.

The graphics were drawn by a small team of graphicians, including Adam Tween and Stephen Oades who both also worked on Lure of the Temptress! Despite the limitations (as of today) of the OCS/ECS chipsets (state-of-the art at the time!), the team managed to convey an atmosphere in the game, at each level nd place... Never missing or leaving out one detail that could have broken the "spell". They also used the details to support the funny-side of the game, with, for example, a video of cats... maybe the first in the history of the Internet! Somewhere else, the organic/technoid horror in the underground level always reminds me of Darkseed for some reason...

Music and Sounds

Animations

Gameplay

Point-and-Click, Interactions

Quality

Misc

Solution

In Text

In Pictures

Conclusion

Marks

Summary

Further Reading