Apple Cider Spider
| Apple Cider Spider | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Sierra Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Sierra Entertainment |
| Designer(s) | Ivan Strand |
| Platform(s) | Commodore 64, Apple II |
| Release date(s) | Commodore 64: 1983 Apple II: 1983 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single Player |
| Distribution | Floppy disk |
Apple Cider Spider is a computer game for the Apple // and Commodore 64 that was released in 1983.
Summary
Apple Cider Spider is a platform game where the player takes the role of a spider in an apple cider factory. The object of the game is to simply progress through three screens to reach the top of the factory, to join the company of other spiders.
The structure of the three screens follows the production cycle of apple cider in a reverse order, starting from the bottling and sealing of cider and ending at the delivery of fresh whole apples. The first screen mainly concerns extracting the apple juice to be made into cider, the second screen concerns splitting the apples in two and crushing the halves, and the third screen concerns the actual import of the apples. Each screen is situated on top of the previous one, so the spider progresses upward while the apples are carried downward.
The challenge in the game comes almost completely in the form of natural obstacles in the cider factory. Contact with cider, apples, or cider-making instruments kills the spider instantly. All three screens feature a complex system of conveyor belts that the spider must travel along, in the opposite direction to the cider and the apples. Various cider-making instruments operate periodically to make the apples into cider. The entire factory is completely oblivious to the presence of the spider.
When the three screens have been completed, the game starts again, but with added dangers. These include various animals that hop along the platform, and blocker bars on the ladders that the spider uses to move upwards.
