ULTIMATE GUIDE

CHUCKIE EGG IS ONE OF 8-BIT COMPUTING’S MOST RENOWNED PLATFORM GAMES, ESPECIALLY ON THE ZX SPECTRUM AND BBC MICRO. JOIN RETRO GAMER AS WE CELEBRATE THIS EGG-SHELL-ENT GAME FROM THE SCRAMBLED MIND OF TEENAGE CODER NIGEL ALDERTON. [THAT’S ENOUGH EGG PUNS, THANKS – ED]

WORDS BY GRAEME MASON

Throughout the Eighties, rivalries ran deep and often within the UK home computing scene. Of course, ZX Spectrum versus Commodore 64 was one of the biggest conflicts; yet even within each computer’s sphere there were other, smaller skirmishes where fans of a particular game or genre would espouse its virtues over any competitor. [It’s never stopped -Ed] In the early days of the ZX Spectrum in particular, there was one such battle, instigated by the release of two classic platform games: the slower pace and puzzle-solving of Manic Miner versus the quick-fire bird-dodging of Nigel Alderton’s fantastic Chuckie Egg.

Chuckie Egg begins quaintly. The scene is a country farmyard, owned by a stout farmer named Hen House Harry. Within each segment of Harry’s hen enclosure there are a selection of eggs (between nine and a round dozen) which our brave agriculturalist must gather in order to sell at his local market. Also dotted around each screen are little piles of corn, collection of which is not necessary to complete a level; instead, these temporarily pause the timer while also giving Harry a small score bonus.

» [ZX Spectrum] Chuckie Egg includes the option to redefine its keys, a rare thing in 1983.

» [ZX Spectrum] Stage two includes the first gap in the floor, but otherwise it’s a simple affair.

But things have gotten a little weird inside Harry’s hen enclosure. While the Mother Duck hovers impatiently within her cage, tall ducklings – resembling aggressive ostriches – patrol each screen, waiting to corner Harry and remove one of his lives. Furthermore, each stage is craftily crammed full of platforms, ladders, gaps and lifts. While Harry is in possession of a limited jump and can scoot across the floor swiftly, falling between the lowest gaps on the screen is lethal to the diminutive egg collector. Conversely, he can fall the entire length of the hen house without penalty –a useful escape method if the ducklings are closing in.