Cadaver (video game)
| Industry | Video game development |
|---|---|
| Products | Cadaver (video game) |
Cadaver is an isometric action-adventure game crafted by the Bitmap Brothers and published by Image Works in August 1990 for platforms including Atari ST, Amiga, and MS-DOS. Although a version for the Mega Drive was planned, it never saw release. Players assume the role of Karadoc, a dwarf tasked with exploring Castle Wulf.
Plot and levels
Driven by the lure of wealth and treasure, Karadoc’s objective is to eliminate the necromancer Dianos, who remains the sole occupant of Castle Wulf. The game is structured across five stages, each corresponding to different floors of the castle. Players begin their journey in the sewers and advance through dungeons, guard quarters, the royal hall, king’s chambers, and finally reach the battlements within Dianos’s sanctum.
The gameplay heavily revolves around manipulating various objects—such as lifting, throwing, pulling, pushing, and stacking—to solve intricate puzzles and uncover new paths. While weapons like rocks and shuriken are available, they play a secondary role compared to puzzle-solving elements.
The scripting system enables sophisticated interactions; for instance, a key tainted with poison can be purified using water, and potions may be enhanced through spells. Multiple approaches to solving puzzles exist, often requiring creative or unconventional reasoning. Additionally, secret locations and hidden spells enrich the overall gaming experience.
Movement
Karadoc’s movement is controlled via an eight-direction joystick with rotated directional inputs: pushing up moves him "north" (which appears as right-up on the screen), while moving up on screen (corresponding to "north-west") requires pushing left-up on the joystick. The joystick’s fire button is used to make Karadoc jump.
Interaction with objects
Objects can be pushed by Karadoc unless their weight exceeds his strength; a potion of strength grants the ability to move heavier items. When touching an object, a context menu appears where pressing the fire button selects actions instead of initiating a jump. Available actions depend on the object type and include investigate, pull, pick-up, drink, open, insert, and give. Items that are picked up are stored in Karadoc’s inventory and may have additional options such as cast for magical spells. Only one item can be actively equipped at any time—usually a weapon—allowing its use or throwing via the fire button.
Development
Cadaver began as the Adventure Level Editor (ALE) on the Atari ST, a tool designed for constructing adventure game levels. ALE enabled designers to create 2D maps composed of rooms ranging from 3x3 to 10x10 tiles, establishing connections between rooms before converting these layouts into 3D environments where further details were manually added.
The game was programmed using ACL, a language created by Steve Kelly of Bitmap Brothers. Each object within the game has an assigned number linked to ACL scripts that determine its behavior—such as whether it can be opened or used as a container—and control events like locking or unlocking doors.
Expansion pack
Released in 1991, the expansion pack titled Cadaver: The Payoff continues Karadoc’s narrative as he returns to discover his employers missing and the city overrun by hostile creatures. The gameplay style remains consistent with the original but features only four levels that are more intricate and demanding, characterized by a higher concentration of monsters and scarce healing resources during the second level.
Demos
In addition to the nine official levels, three demo levels were made available:
- Gatehouse, an early preview featured on Amiga Format Cover Disk #13
- Temple
- The Last Supper, distributed on Zero Coverdisk #15, set within the "Zeigenhoff" building and sometimes referred to by this name
Reception
Upon its release, the game garnered positive feedback. In 1990, the Atari edition was honored with a "C+VG HIT" distinction by Computer and Video Games magazine. That same year, the Amiga version achieved recognition as a "CU Screen Star" from CU Amiga Magazine and was also celebrated as an "Amiga Joker Hit" by Amiga Joker magazine.
The Amiga expansion, Cadaver: The Pay-Off, received an 88% rating from The One, which described it as a "worthwhile" follow-up featuring enhancements in multiple areas. The review emphasized the fresh content and consistent difficulty, suggesting it would be especially engaging for fans of the original title.
According to the official website, the game earned several accolades, including:
- Golden Chalice 1990 Adventure Game of the Year
- Generation 4 1990 Best Foreign Adventure
- Golden Chalice Adventure Game of the Year