Oil's Well
| Oil's Well | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Sierra On-Line |
| Publisher(s) | Sierra On-Line |
| Programmer(s) | Atari 8-bit Thomas J. Mitchell [1] Apple II Ivan Strand [1] |
| Composer(s) | Ken Allen |
| Platform(s) | Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, IBM PC, MS-DOS, MSX, Sharp X1 |
| Release | 1983: Apple, Atari, C64 1984: ColecoVision, IBM PC 1985: MSX, Sharp 1990: MS-DOS |
| Genre(s) | Maze |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Oil's Well (a pun on "all's well") is a video game published by Sierra On-Line in 1983. The game was written for the Atari 8-bit computers by Thomas J. Mitchell.[1] Oil's Well is similar to the 1982 arcade game Anteater, re-themed to be about drilling for oil instead of a hungry insectivore. Ports were released in 1983 for the Apple II and Commodore 64, in 1984 for ColecoVision and the IBM PC (as a self-booting disk), then in 1985 for MSX and the Sharp X1. A version with improved visuals and without Mitchell's involvement was released for MS-DOS in 1990.
Gameplay
[edit]
The player collects oil for a drilling operation by moving the drill head through a maze using four directional control buttons. The drill bit is trailed by a pipeline connecting it to the base. Subterranean creatures populate the maze; the head can destroy the creatures, but the pipeline is vulnerable. As the player traverses the maze, the pipe grows longer, but pressing a button quickly retracts the head. There are 8 levels to play through.
Reception
[edit]ANALOG Computing said that Oil's Well for the Atari 8-bit was a "truly different and challenging" variant on the "'gobble the dots' theme", with good gameplay and graphics.[2]
Dave Stone in Computer Gaming World stated that "The action's well-paced, the difficulty progressive. While getting to a higher level is somewhat dependent on getting the right breaks — good eye-hand coordination, timing, and strategy are essential".[3]
Ahoy! stated that while the Commodore version's graphics and sounds were only "serviceable; gameplay is, in my experience, unique ... Recommended".[4] InfoWorld called the IBM PCjr version "a clever, basic game",[5] and InfoWorld's Essential Guide to Atari Computers cited the Atari 8-bit version as "Sierra's trickiest".[6]
The U.S. gaming magazine Computer Games awarded Oil's Well the 1984 Golden Floppy Award for Excellence, in the category of "Maze Game of the Year."[7]
Legacy
[edit]Despite already being a clone of Anteater, several additional clones borrowed the theme of Oil's Well: Pipeline Run for the Commodore 64 in 1990[8] and Oilmania for the Atari ST in 1991.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
- ^ Kelley, Patrick J. (February 1984). "Three New Games". ANALOG Computing. pp. 115–116. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ Stone, Dave (April 1984). "Micro-Reviews". Computer Gaming World. Vol. 1, no. 15. pp. 44, 46.
- ^ Davies, Lloyd (April 1984). "Oil's Well". Ahoy!. pp. 57–58. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
- ^ Mace, Scott (1984-08-13). "PCjr: Back to Basics". InfoWorld. p. 38. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ Mace, Scott (1984). InfoWorld's Essential Guide to Atari Computers. Harper & Row. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-06-669006-3.
- ^ "Computer Games Magazine 1984 Golden Floppy Award for Excellence". Computer Games Magazine: 18. July–August 1984.
- ^ Pipeline Run at Lemon 64
- ^ "Oil's Well". Atari Mania.
External links
[edit]- Oil's Well at Atari Mania
- Oil's Well at Lemon 64
- The Atari 8-bit family version of Oil's Well can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive
- Commodore 64 video at archive.org
- Review in GAMES magazine