Heiankyo Alien
Overview of the Game
Overview of the Game
Heiankyo Alien is a fixed-screen action game developed by the Theoretical Science Group (TSG) at the University of Tokyo in the summer of 1979.
The player controls the Kebiishi (police officer) and exterminates the aliens that have invaded Heian-kyo (the capital city, Kyoto in the 9th century.) All the Kebiishi can do is dig a pitfall and bury the aliens that fall in.
There is no "attack" and all they do is " wait " against the enemy.
However, since it is unpredictable how aliens will move around, this is a tactical game in which figuring out how to place trap holes is key.
The fact that the game was developed by a students' group in the University of Tokyo was picked up by various media outlets and became a hot topic.
It was also featured in episodes 6 and 7 of Mitsuru Sugaya's manga " Game Center Arashi ," and the technique itself became popular.
Additionally, various ports and remakes have been produced.
Basic Rules
You control Kebiishi through the grid-like streets of Heian-kyo, digging pitfalls and burying any aliens that fall into them.
The streets are laid out in a grid, just like the real Heian-kyo , but there are some places where they are impassable, and some are T-shaped or L-shaped. Neither the Kebiishi nor the aliens can set aside from the streets.
The Kebiishi have no direct means of attack, and can only "dig holes" and "fill holes." When you press the hole digging button, a hole will be dug in the direction the Kebiishi is moving. Each time the button is pressed, the hole gets bigger in five stages. Aliens will only fall into holes that are the largest and completed. Aliens will pass through smaller holes and the hole will disappear. On the other hand, the Kebiishi cannot pass over small holes.
The aliens cannot be repelled just by falling into the hole, but only after filling it in. Filling the hole also has five stages.
You can get points by burying an alien that has fallen into a hole, and the shorter the time it takes to bury it, the higher your score. In that case, you may also get bonus points.
If a certain amount of time passes without filling the hole that the alien fell into, the alien will crawl out and revive, and the hole will disappear. Also, if another alien comes into contact with the alien that fell into the hole, it will be rescued and the hole will disappear.
If a Kebiishi comes into contact with an alien, they will be eaten and their remaining lives will be reduced. When the game resumes, the number of aliens will be the same as before.
If you follow the above rules and defeat all the aliens, the stage will be cleared.
In the first stage , there are four aliens, but as the stage progresses, the number of aliens increases to four, six, and eight. In the next three stages, the number of aliens increases again to four, six, and eight, but the aliens move faster. In the next three stages, they move even faster.
If you spend too much time on one stage and a certain amount of time passes, the number of aliens will multiply to 16 and they will become as fast as possible.
system
In two-player mode, you can choose between "playing one at a time" or "playing two at the same time ( cooperatively ) . "
There is a scene where the kebiishi ascends to heaven after being eaten by an alien.
There are no timeouts during game play. After a certain amount of time has passed in one stage, when the number of super-fast aliens has multiplied to 16, the player will no longer be able to keep up and will effectively time out .
If you get a high score, you can enter your name (register your player name), which was becoming common around this time. The way to select characters is not just to move the cursor, but to move the Kebiishi through the path with the characters, which is an elaborate production.
technique
Since the strategy of how to place the traps is important, various techniques were developed. These were initially only written about in articles in the microcomputer magazine "I/O" and were only talked about among young microcomputer players, but they became well known after being featured in Mitsuru Sugaya's manga "Game Center Arashi." (It is stated that the source is "I/O.")
Retirement Digging
This tactic involved digging holes just before and just after the Kebiishi and simply waiting .
It is best to do this on the outer streets where there is a lot of alien traffic. The aliens may take a long time to come, and over time the aliens may multiply.
Also, if there are two or more aliens, even if the first alien falls into the hole, the next alien will rescue it, leaving it with no way to escape, and there is a high risk of being eaten, especially in situations where there are a lot of aliens.
Akihabara Digging
The strategy involved placing Kebiishi at an intersection and having them dig holes at the next intersection in each of the four directions.
It is called this because its shape resembles JR Akihabara Station . It is easier for aliens to fall into the hole than Inkyobori. It is better than Inkyobori, but it has the same drawback of having no escape route.
Nagano Digging
The tactic involved digging holes at intersections on the perimeter of streets and having the Kebiishi wait just inside .
It is efficient because the hole is dug on the outer street where there is a lot of alien traffic. Moreover, if two aliens come, the other side (inside) of the hole is open so they can escape.
Also, even if an alien comes while you are digging a hole, the alien will often head straight when it comes to an intersection, so there is a high chance that you will be able to pass it by if you stay inside the outer road.
The name was coined by a TSG member from Nagano Prefecture.
Heart Digging
The technique involves digging a hole while calculating the timing to prevent the approaching aliens. It's a heart-wrenching technique, hence the name. Also known as Arakawa Digging.
Ito Digging
If you bury the alien immediately after it falls into the hole, you can get a high score , but if you start burying it after a while, you may get a low score or risk being eaten by the alien that crawls out after a while. So you dig a new hole next to the one the alien fell into, and bury the alien as soon as it falls into the new hole.
The name was coined by TSG member Mr. Ito.
In "Game Center Arashi", there is a scene where Arashi uses this technique without being taught it, surprising the enemy, and these techniques are explained in that scene.
Igeta digging
This strategy involves digging eight holes in two directions adjacent to each of the four intersections in one plot (a total of eight directions) so that the completed shape forms the letter Igeta (#).
Unlike the Inkyo and Akihabara digging, there is an escape route for the aliens to enter. Moreover, it is also easy to dig Ito (even if the aliens crawl out of the hole in this position, they will always go straight).
Igeta digging was not included in the original publication of "I/O" (and therefore was not introduced in "Game Center Arashi"), but was introduced when it was reprinted in the special edition "Microcomputer Game Book 1," but it did not catch on widely.
