Classic Games

Atic Atac

Top-down dungeon exploration

Atic Atac trapped players in a haunted castle, searching for key pieces while managing depleting food supplies and avoiding supernatural horrors.

zx-spectrumbbc-micro actionadventureultimate 1983

Overview

Atic Atac confined players to a multi-floor haunted castle with one goal: find the golden key pieces and escape. Three playable characters offered different secret passages, food depleted constantly, and supernatural enemies relentlessly pursued. It established the top-down action-adventure formula Ultimate would later expand.

Fast facts

  • Developer: Ultimate Play the Game.
  • Publisher: Ultimate Play the Game.
  • Release: 1983.
  • Format: 48K Spectrum.

Character classes

CharacterWeaponSecret passages
KnightSwordBookcases
WizardMagic boltClocks
SerfAxeBarrels

Each character’s passages led to different castle areas.

Gameplay mechanics

ElementFunction
Food meterConstantly depletes
KeysOpen colour-coded doors
ACG key piecesThree pieces to collect
EnemiesDrain food on contact

The castle

FloorEnvironment
BasementDungeon, caves
GroundMain halls, kitchen
FirstBedrooms, chapel
AtticStorage, turrets
  • Colour-coded doors
  • Character-specific shortcuts
  • Trapdoors between floors
  • Random item placement

Enemies

EnemyBehaviour
GhostsFloat through walls
MummiesSlow pursuit
FrankensteinDirect chase
DraculaTeleportation
HunchbackBouncing movement

The Devil

Touching the Devil:

  • Instant death
  • Cannot be killed
  • Appears randomly
  • Must be avoided

Technical features

FeatureImplementation
Smooth scrollingRoom transitions
Colour useDistinctive, clear
AnimationFluid enemies
SoundAtmospheric effects

Reception

Critical acclaim:

  • Crash: 91%
  • Sinclair User: 5/5
  • Pioneering game design

Legacy

Atic Atac influenced:

  • Later Ultimate titles
  • Top-down adventure genre
  • Resource management design
  • Multiple character choice

See also