
Master of the Lamps

Contents

 General Description   [ 1.0 ]
 How To Play           [ 2.0 ]
 Hints                 [ 3.0 ]
 Game History          [ 4.0 ]



[ 1.0 ] General Description

General Description

It tolls for thee.

Indeed, it summons you to the far reaches of fantasy. To ride a
magical roller coaster and solve mystical riddles. To banish devious
genies and rightfully claim a shimmering palace - and its powerful
throne.

It was once a land of peace. But now, the King is gone, and a
mischievous band of genies has escaped and ransacked the palace.

As the sands of his life drew their final measure, a brave king
bequeathed to his son an incredible throne - and a terrible trial.

Now, you can help the young prince return three genies back into their
lamps and regain his rightful place on the throne.



An Evil Upon the Land

"It has been our sad fate for centuries, my son. Upon a king's death
and the interruption of power, three evil genies escape from their
prison-like lamps and threaten our land.

"Only you, my young prince, can reconstruct the lamps and recapture
the genies. By surviving incredibly dangerous journeys. By entering
the genies' dens and solving their mystical riddles of sight and sound,
you will be rewarded pieces of the lamps.

"Three genies. Three lamps. Seven pieces each. If you, my eldest son,
can prove your mental and physical worth - prove the power of good
over evil - the genies will be banished once again. And the kingdom
will be saved.

"May the flame of strength and wisdom burn brightly in your young
heart!"

Even as the dying king's warning fell from his quavering lips, three
evil genies swarmed over his beloved land. And only a young, untested
prince could stand in their way.

------------------------------------

Embark on a spectacular journey through time and space.

Take an unbelievable, three-dimensional magic carpet ride into the
very dens of danger.

Solve unique, mystical riddles of music, memory, and color as you help
a young prince reconstruct magic lamps and recapture mischievous
genies.

Two years in the making. A masterpiece of computer design!



[ 2.0 ] How to Play

Basics

How to Start

Press F1 to start. Use the up and down controls to select your game.
If you have problems try holding down the control instead of tapping
them. Press fire to start the game.



The Task Before You

Luring those three genies back into their lamps is a two-part
challenge:

1. Fly the magic carpet through twisting tunnels of diamond-shaped
gates that lead to the genies' dens.

2. Once there, match the tones and/or the colors sent forth by the
genies.

Succeed at each level, and one piece of the genie's lamp will appear
on the screen. There are seven pieces to each lamp. Each completed
lamp will pull a genie back into its chamber. Complete all three lamps
to regain the throne and win the game.



Controller Selection

Controller one is a flight simulator. Push forward to fly down, pull
backward to fly up.

Controller two is an arcade simulator. Push forward to fly up, pull
backward to fly down.



Game Selection

At the game selection screen, you can choose Seven Trials (Beginner's
Game), Throne Quest (Standard Game) or Magic Carpet (Flying Practice)
by moving the joystick up or down. We recommend that new players start
with the Seven Trials. Once you have made your choice, press the
joystick button to begin that game.

Seven Trials - The tunnels are easier to navigate, and you are aided
by both colors and tones in the genies' dens. Mastery is achieved upon
completion of one seven-piece lamp.

Throne-Quest - Mastery is achieved upon completion of three seven-
piece lamps. Color and tones are given alternately:

In the Seven Dens of the First Genie - Color and tone are given, but
colors disappear quickly. In the Seven Dens of the Second Genie - No
tones are given, and the colors disappear as quickly as above. In the
Seven Dens of the Third Genie - No colors are given, just tones. Play
it by ear.

When, at last, the three lamps are completed, fly a final tunnel back
to the palace. You will see the palace in ruins, ransacked by the
mischievous genies. But, since you have now proven your abilities so
well, striking the gong three times will bring pleasing results.

Magic Carpet - For flying practice only. Select any of the 21 tunnels
used in Throne Quest (numbered 1 through 41, using odd numbers only).
When you move the dot down to this selection, keep pulling back on the
joystick until the desired tunnel number appears. Once flown, the same
tunnel will be repeated. (Note: The joystick button may be used during
this level to restart or select a new tunnel.)



Getting Underway

To begin, walk to your Magic Carpet by moving the joystick in that
direction, then watch the carpet rise.

Fly through the tunnel to the genie's den by maneuvering the Magic
Carpet with your joystick. If you miss a gate and fall off the carpet,
you'll begin that tunnel again.

Once in the genie's den, you must match the tones and/or colors the
genie sends forth. But first, practice moving and hitting gongs. You
can hop quickly from gong to gong by pressing the joystick button and
moving the joystick in the desired direction. To walk from gong to
gong, move the joystick left or right. To hit a gong, push forward on
the joystick.

When you're ready to summon a genie, hit any gong three times. He'll
materialize and blow colored tones into the air. When he is finished,
the first note will move to the top of the screen and begin to drop.
At this time, hit the gong which corresponds to the note which has
risen. Match each successive note in the correct sequence. Do not hit
the gong before the note reaches the top of the screen. But when it
does, move quickly! If you don't match the tones in time, you'll be
transported out of the den, back to the beginning of the tunnel. Then,
you must begin the same journey again.

If you match all the tones in one den, you'll go on to the next tunnel
and the next den, until all of the Lamps are assembled.



Keyboard

The keyboard can be made to act as a joystick. See the Game Options
section on how to configure the keyboard for use as a joystick.



Joystick

Joystick one is a flight simulator. Push forward to fly down, pull
backward to fly up.

Joystick two is an arcade simulator. Push forward to fly up, pull
backward to fly down.

You can hop quickly from gong to gong by pressing the joystick button
and moving the joystick in the desired direction. To walk from gong to
gong, move the joystick left or right. To hit a gong, push forward on
the joystick.

*********

[ 3.0 ] Hints

Special Tips From a Master's Notebook

The most important tip is to get to know the tunnels. There are 21 in
the Standard Game, and they always move in the same manner. Some move
up and down, some move left and right. So, if you always crash in
tunnel 29, select "Magic Carpet 29" on the menu screen and practice.

Hot Tip #2: A good navigator will keep his/her eye on the farthest
diamond and try to keep it in the center of the screen. You really
don't need to move around too much. Don't overcompensate when you're
trying to get back on track.

You can also play Master of the Lamps with a friend, since both
joysticks will work at the same time. For instance, while flying
through the tunnels, one of you can steer left and right while the
other steers up and down. Or, you can match half the notes the genie
sends forth and your friend can match the other half. Be careful,
though -- since both joysticks work simultaneously, you can cancel
each others' movements if you try to move in opposite directions!

*********

[ 4.0 ] Game History

Russell Lieblich - Designer

"I worked on Master of the Lamps with Peter Kaminski. He was the
programmer, and I did the music and the design of the game. Part of
the goal of Master of the Lamps was to create a digital sound-light
landscape to experiment with color-sound relationships, even with full
knowledge that the system had very finite limits."

"Master of the Lamps was originally scheduled to be released on the
Intellivision. But by the time it was finished, it was too late to
release on that system."

Before joining forces with Activision, Russ spent most of his time
studying music. He currently owns a recording studio in the San
Francisco area, and occasionally works on computer game projects. He
plays the keyboard primarily, but is also a professional saxophone
player. He also did the music for a CD game called "The Manhole".



