Trap Door

Trap Door was written by Don Priestley and released in 1986 by Piranha for the C64, Spectrum and Amstrad. It is a puzzle game based on the children’s television series of the same name and for those unfamiliar with said program, it was Wallace and Gromit-style show with plasticine characters and based around the idea of many monsters living under the trap door of a castle with a different one featuring in each episode.
So, the game. You control the main character from the television series, Berk, a portly blue chap with large hands and feet.

As in the show, Berk’s duty is to provide for his master, the voice of whom can be heard bellowing quite clearly from all over the castle, yet the man(?) himself is never seen. Berk needs to accomplish four main tasks during the game, each of which is set in varying order and must be completed within a set time frame. These are to fetch his master: a can of worms (this is always the first task, the others are more arbitrarily assigned); fried eggs; some eyeball squash; and some boiled slimies. He needs to achieve these via usage of the various items strewn around the castle and with the help of several creatures which can be freed by opening the trap door (NB only one may be free at any time. To access another monster, the previous one must be coaxed back into the trap door or must be destroyed, which can be a challenge in itself!). In addition, in the more difficult Super Berk mode a fifth bonus task is to crack the safe containing Berk’s wages. Boni the skull and Drutt the Spider, two other characters from the television show, are in attendance throughout. Boni may be picked up to be consulted for advice, although the usefulness of that said is often questionable while Drutt is merely a nuisance and will eat the worms Berk needs to catch.
Concerning the gameplay, Berk is maneuvered via usage of the keyboard or a joystick and if using keys, these may be redefined at the start of play. It is often useful if using a joystick to know some of the key functions, as this will greatly speed up your ability to perform the required tasks. Berk himself is rather slow and clumsy in terms of movement and while this suits his character, it can be exceptionally frustrating when trying to work to a short timescale. It can also be incredibly difficult to persuade certain creatures from the trap door to return home and this in itself can eat up a lot of time.
In regards to graphics and sound, the graphics are pretty tidy for a game of the era and the player can quite easily tell what objects are, while the 3D aspect is well done in the majority of places (going up and down stairs is the only dodgy part, but hey, this was 1986). Color is also used to good effect. The sound, well, there isn’t any. Not really, anyway. There are some sound effects, but these are limited and not particularly inspiring. The lack of music during play is a shame, as the composition on the title screen is fairly catchy.
In conclusion, this game had potential which was never quite realised. It was a good idea and was done in 3D which at the time was a brave move. Unfortunately, its awkward control lets it down to the extent that gameplay is hindered significantly and as mentioned previously, messing about with trying to get monsters in and out of the trap door can be a pain in the neck. There is always the option of throwing Boni down there as a therapeutic measure...