Chuckie Egg®

BACKGROUND

More than 40 years after its original release, Chuckie Egg’s being revived as a perfectly formed recreation of the much-loved home computer game, with 3D voxel-style graphics and with Leaderboards.

ORIGINS

Chuckie Egg® is a platform game released by A&F Software in 1983 initially for the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and Dragon 32/64 home computers.

The game was written by Nigel Alderton, then 16 years old. After a month or two of development, Nigel took a pre-release version of his Spectrum code to the two-year-old software company A&F, co-founded by Doug Anderson and Mike Fitzgerald (the "A" and "F", respectively).

Consequently, the game inspired dedicated fan sites, such as The Chuckie Egg Professional’s Resource Kit. https://bagshot-row.org/chuckie-egg

REVIVAL AND RECREATION

The revival and the recreation of Chuckie Egg® have been inspired by factors including but not limited to:

- its enduring popularity with many of the millions who have played the various versions of the original game
- artists' ‘re-imaginings’ of their game-inspired fan art, such as that of Metin Seven and
- the widespread adoption of game enhancing technologies, such as Leaderboards.

GAMEPLAY AND OBECTIVES

As Hen House Harry, the player must collect the twelve eggs positioned in each level, before a countdown timer reaches zero. In addition, there are piles of seed which may be collected to increase points and stop the countdown timer for a while, which will otherwise be eaten by hens that patrol the level, causing them to pause. If the player touches a hen or falls through a gap in the bottom of the level, they lose a life. Each level is made of solid platforms, ladders, and occasionally lift platforms that move upwards and when they reach the top of the screen wrap around to the bottom. Hitting the top of the screen while on one of these lifts, however, will also cause the player to lose a life.

Eight levels are defined and are played initially under the watch of a giant caged duck. Upon completion of all eight the levels are played again without hens, but Harry is now pursued by the freed duck flying around the screen and homing in on him. A second completion of all eight levels yields a third play through with both hens and the duck. A fourth pass introduces additional hens. Finally, a fifth pass has the duck and additional hens moving at a greater speed. If the player completes all forty levels, then they advance to 'level 41' which is in fact exactly the same as level 33.

The player starts with five lives, and an extra life is awarded every 10,000 points.

The goals are simple:

- unlock all the levels
- achieve your best score.

GAME CONTROLS

Chuckie Egg® is playable on iOS devices, such as Apple iPhones and Apple iPads, by touch screen and with MFi peripherals and accessories.

Chuckie Egg® is playable on tvOS devices, such as Apple TVs, with MFi accessories and peripherals.

Currently supported MFi accessories and peripherals are limited to game controllers, such as Steelseries Nimbus+ and keyboards, such as the Recreated ZX Spectrum. App updates may add others.

Tip: when playing Chuckie Egg® whether by touch screen or with MFi accessories and peripherals, using the Direction input and the Jump input simultaneously (when appropriate) offers the greatest degree of control over Hen House Harry’s movement.

For example, when on a platform in the game:

- simultaneously using Left or Right + Jump causes Harry to run and jump
- simultaneously using Left or Right + Jump + Up or Down causes Harry to run and jump, and (if it’s in his ‘flight path’) grab and ascend / descend a ladder.

Similarly, when on a ladder in the game:

- simultaneously using Left or Right + Jump causes Harry to jump off a ladder
- simultaneously using Left or Right + Jump causes + Up or Down causes Harry to jump off a ladder, and (if it’s in his ‘flight path’) grab and ascend / descend an adjacent ladder.