The Adventures of Robby Roto! Game Sample - Arcade
14"The Adventures of Robby Roto!" (Robby Roto for short) is a 1981 Arcade title produced by Bally Midway. If I had to describe it in simple terms, you could chalk it up as a combination of "Pac-Man" (which predates this) and "Dig Dug" (which this predates) but with a few bells and whistles that distinguishes it from either game. If you're feeling froggy, you can also throw other titles in like "Mr. Do!", "Lady Bug", "Boulder Dash" and various other maze games of their ilk, but the 70s and 80s were full of clones or variants. Developed by Jamie "Jay" Fenton and Dave Nutting, the game subverts the more aggressive playstyle found in those games with quick-spawning enemies and really aggressive, sometimes unpredictable enemy characteristics, often putting players on the defensive. As a result, it was deemed more difficult and complex than some other early 80s coin-op titles, and deterred most casual Arcade enthusiasts. It is also one of the few games made available (publicly and legally) for download to use in Arcade emulators. No other port of the game was made available officially.
As the titular Robby, your goal is to go underground and rescue your fellow miners from the clutches of the evil Voltar and his minions while retrieving buried treasure. Each level has three miners to rescue who give you a large bonus if you can rescue them all, although it is not required. Levels also have a key which must be collected before you can exit with any people or items you find and not all ground can be dug up (small arrows will help guide the way in terms of where you can dig). The longer you stay on a level, the more baddies that will appear to stop you, and the more difficult it will be to avoid being captured. All adversaries including the most one, the spiders, can detach any hostages you have if they get too close to you which will require you to retrieve them or leave them behind. You also have a one-time-per-level special ability in the form of a "Magic Roto" which will make you temporarily invulnerable as well as eliminate the dreaded Jawbones from maze. Bonus "Rotos" will be awarded every few stages to help keep you in the game.
The game's "music" is generated as Robby moves, similarly to Dig Dug, though it is not nearly as good. The graphics are also rather crude with uneven linework and a decidedly MS-Paint look to the overall package as opposed to precision sprite work, which helps it stand out a bit, for better or worse. The visuals were primarily bitmapped which allowed for the easier creation of certain shapes and geometry compared to spriting, but the potential of this is not on fully display with Robby Roto. I don't think anyone would've especially minded this during the early 80s as the gameplay was actually ahead of its time and it is still interesting to play compared to some of its peers, but where most Arcade titles capture the imagination of its audience with dazzling sights and sounds which usually elicits a powerful first impression, Robby Roto is not one of those games and must bank solely on its playability. That said, it is fun in doses.
This is a simple video of the game in action. Enjoy.
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