He cares not how many innocents can perish by both the hordes of monsters under his command nor the nightmarish contraptions he creates and uses to deadly effect. Presumably, he is brought back to life.ĭiabolical, exceptionally intelligent, a severely twisted sense of humor and more than likely insane, Tökkentäkker is a shining example of two horror villain tropes merged into one a mad scientist, and a horrific circus ringmaster. Though presumed dead at first, the game's protagonist reinserts the token. After enough damage has been dealt, Ludwig falls into the blades of the ship, chopping him to bits and causing the airship to explode. Eventually the player corners him at the end of the airship, where he resorts to tossing bombs and shooting fireworks. When Umlaut dies, the player chases Ludwig around his airship, miles above the carnival, while avoiding his gunshots and skeleton soldiers. Perhaps someone called shenanigans on the developers.After the player (or players, depending on whether one or two people play) manage to get through the first three areas (Haunted House, Rickety Town and Freak Show), they will gain access to the main area, the Big Top.Īfter surviving his onslaught of killer clowns, mimes, poodles and clown doctors (where it's revealed that he has planned to put the protagonist's brain into a gorilla), he reveals himself and sends his flunky Umlaut to take care of him. It didn't have any new features, however, it was just an easier version of the same game. Interestingly, Universal released a sequel, Magical Spot II, in the same year. Perhaps they were trying to follow in the tradition of carnival operators rigging their games. This is too fast to expect people to respond to, and really just randomizes outcomes. Even worse, there are intermediate stages that feature fast-flying bugs that can both target the player and shoot you in under 12 frames. The centipede-like monsters each take two hits to kill and can restore themselves after being hit. Magical Spot has another similarity with carnival games in its very high level of difficulty. In the case of Magical Spot, you’re shooting insectoid aliens springing from a UFO, but the cartoonish presentation and grid layout are highly reminiscent of games like Whack-a-mole. Nevertheless, carnival influence is clear in many of them. Magical Spot (Universal, 1980)Īside from Carnival, most of the shooters from this era shied away from explicit carnival themes, choosing instead war or science fiction. Finally, the music speeds up as the rounds progress, adding an element of tension that borrows more from Space Invaders than real carnival games.Īn amusing side note: apparently, the developers were so concerned that the carnival music would annoy players that they gave players the option to turn it off by shooting the musical note on the right side of the screen. Also, points will be awarded differently depending on when you shoot particular targets. For one, the descending ducks will eat away at your bullets if you let them pass, forcing the player to prioritize them over the scrolling targets. There's no time for complex strategic considerations, just give the player a quick thrill and move on to the next one.Ĭarnival does have some awareness of itself as a video game, and several gameplay elements are present that distinguish it from standard carnival fare. It’s all about efficiency - a carnival booth should cycle quickly through its customers to maximize profit and excitement. The gameplay is also consistent with carnival games, which tend to be simple and challenging, with mechanics that deliberately deemphasize depth. Carnivals tend to make heavy use of the primary colors to create a festive atmosphere and grab the attention of patrons, so the game uses a simple palette of red, green, yellow, and blue (technically cyan - blue probably wouldn’t stand out enough against the black background). The graphical systems of early arcade games were generally very limited in the colors they could produce, but this is okay for the carnival setting. The music, "Over the Waves", is also a tune well known for its use in carnivals. Of course, there won't be any birds flying at you in a real carnival booth, but the pipes, ducks, and rabbits are all standard fare for that setting. There’s no ambiguity about the inspiration for Carnival, since it presents a near direct reproduction of a shooting gallery.
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