Pyramid Escape (ZX Spectrum 48K/128K)

Wee Knight, his chain-mail dusted with the clinging shadows of the forest he'd just escaped, surveyed the alien landscape. Gone were the oppressive darkness and the mocking glow of unseen eyes. In their place sprawled the stark majesty of countless pyramids, their golden caps gleaming under a double sun. Were these the forgotten monuments of a long-lost civilization, or the handiwork of extraterrestrial pharaohs? The answer, it seemed, lay within the very stones themselves.

Wee Knight's spaceship, a cobbled-together marvel, lay in smoldering ruins behind him. But despair was a luxury Wee Knight couldn't afford. The four chests hidden within the treacherous forest had yielded not just escape, but knowledge. Ancient blueprints whispered of a powerful artifact – the dragon stone – rumored to hold the key to interplanetary travel. The whispers also spoke of four scarab shaped keys, hidden within the largest pyramid, guarding the sarcophagi that held the dragon stones long forgotten location.

This, then, was his new quest. To navigate the labyrinthine depths of the colossal pyramid and claim the legendary dragon stone. Only then could Wee Knight escape this world of golden dunes. With a resolute glint in his eye, Wee Knight adjusted his helmet and strode towards the looming pyramid, its entrance a gaping maw whispering promises of adventure... and peril!

Controls

• Default Keys (can be redefined)
  • O - Left
  • P - Right
  • Q - Up
  • A - Down
  • M - Jump
  • Shift - Pause
    • Q - Quits game when paused
    • M - Toggles in-game music when paused
• Joysticks
  • Kempston
  • Sinclair

Tips

• Find the scarab-shaped keys and unlock the sarcophagi of the same color.
• Once all sarcophagi have been unlocked, locate and collect the Dragon Stone. 
•  Items collected within the pyramid may help or hinder your progress.
• Use Up/Down to traverse the snakes.
• Falling too far will drain your energy.
• Press Jump to climb off the top of the snakes.
• A flashing border signals the effects of a collected item are about to wear off.

Credits

• Coding - IrataHack
• Graphics & Level Design - Crayon, TRIXS
• Music & SoundFx - Aki
• Cover art - Richard Langford
• Quantra Font - DamienG

Tools and Utilities

• Level design - Tiled
• Tile, sprite, and screen conversion - Gfx2Next
• 48K sound FX - BeepFX
• 48K music - Beepola
• AY music - Vortex Tracker 2.5
• AY sound FX - AY Sound FX Editor (Improved)
• ZX0 Decompression - Einar Saukas
  
• Tilemap splitter/compressor - SplitMap
• Tape loader - zxctl

Bonus Items

The zip file contains mp3 and wav audio files of the game music by Aki.