Rags to Riches (computer game)
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| Rags to Riches | |
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| Developer(s) | Bob Keener |
| Publisher(s) | Melody Hall Publishing Corp |
| Designer(s) | Bob Keener |
| Release date(s) | 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Action adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | C64 |
| Input | Joystick |
Rags to Riches is a side-scrolling game action adventure game released in 1985 for the Commodore 64, developed by Bob Keener and published by Melody Hall Publishing Corp. The game was well received and was considered highly original for its time.
[edit] Gameplay
The game starts with the player assuming the role of an unnamed homeless vagrant living in a fictional city, divided into four sections, titled North, South, West, and East. The player begins in the South section. To complete the game the player must accumulate $1,000,000 cash by progressing from the life of a vagrant, cleaning up by getting a haircut, securing odd jobs, attending High School, College, and eventually becoming an millionaire. Money is collected by finding dimes and $1 notes on the street and taking up employment. Bottles could also be found and exchanged for money at several stores.
Movement within the city was within a scrolling two-dimensional landscape containing non-interactive pedestrians and foes. A subway system with an entrance in each section of the city allows the player to travel between sections of the city. Before travel a ticket must be purchased, with a maximum of five tickets able to be held at any one time.
An alcohol, food/rest, and two education meters indicate to the player the current status of the respective area. If both your alcohol level and food/rest level reach zero, you die and the game ends. Restaurants, fast food outlets, and convenience stores offer the player nurishment, with price depending on the establishment; there is also a soup kitchen in which a filling meal is available for free. Some stores have limited opening hours displayed on store windows and others are open at all hours. At night, it is usually advisable that the player must find accommodation such as a hotel room, ranging in price from $2 per night to $40 per week; time passes more quickly when it dark which can put your food/rest levels at peril. Drinking alcohol is an inexpensive means of staying alive, however the player could not attend workplaces whilst affected and is also at risk of arrest.
Besides staying alive, the key focus in the game is accumulating money. The amount of currency possessed by the player is shown in three areas. The majority of it is represented in a green dollar readout at the bottom of the screen. However, that only shows multiples of $10. The balance of currency (dollars and dimes) are represented in unary notation. Up to nine dollar bills and up to nine dimes are shown, representing how many of those you are holding. Ten dimes are automatically upconverted to a dollar bill and a tenth dollar bill results in the equivalent amount being moved to the green dollar readout section. In late stages of the game, the player can make investments in increments of $10,000. Once an investment is made, the money is removed from game play, aside from the generous 20% interest paid every morning. However, investments don't count towards winning the game.
Robbers carrying guns steal any dollar bills you are currently holding (but not dimes or larger amounts).
IRS agents take all money the player is currently carrying in the game, except for dollar bills and dimes. Police arrest the player for drunkenness or for not having a recent haircut. (A haircut is also a precondition for employment.) On the fourth day your facial hair regrows and another haircut is required. If arrested the player is transferred to the City Jail for a brief period, which poses an inconvenience.
Doors located throughout the city could be entered for special purposes including purchasing alcohol, food, attending school and work, obtaining a haircut and travelling the subway. Bottles can also be collected from a junkyard and traded for money at an adjacent convenience store. Before entering the junkyard the player is required to purchase dog bones to appease a guard dog.
A problem with the game which many considered a bug made it at times impossible to avoid the IRS character when exiting the subway. As the IRS character would remove the bulk of money from the player, the player would be required to continue the game almost as if starting again. It is also at times impossible to evade a policeman or robber, but the consequences there aren't a dire. As was usual for many games of the era, no save game feature was available; there was also no pause function (troublesome for a live action game). Entering doors can also be a problem due to the player character requiring near perfect alignment to be able to enter.
