AREA 51

DESCRIPTION

You are a citizen journalist, trying to obtain canisters of the mysterious "Element X" allegedly kept within a hangar in Area 51. Military personnel, an electrified fence, and poisonous snakes will try to prevent you and your companion from doing so.

Art & Design by intellikat
Sound Design by Lolo
Coding by erikmcx

CONTROLS

1. Select GAME A or GAME B by pressing right or left from the demo screen and then pressing the <SPACEBAR> to confirm. GAME B increases the starting difficulty slightly.
2. Left arrow moves character left. Right arrow moves character right.  
3. When player reaches hangar, one canister will automatically be collected. When player returns to truck, this canister will automatically be stored on the truck. Each canister is worth one point. Collect all four canisters to advance to the next level.
4. Evade all hazards. If player comes into contact with a hazard, any canister carried will respawn in hangar, one miss will be given, and player will respawn at truck.
5. After three misses, the game will be over.

REWARDS & SECRETS

There are 10 animations to be discovered by successfully completing each progressive level. See if you can discover them all!

A secret GAME C with alternate gameplay can be unlocked from the demo screen if you can figure out how...

BACKGROUND

Area 51 pays homage to the 1980s Game & Watch series* created by Nintendo's Gunpei Yokoi, yet is a wholly original design. It draws upon some of the basic mechanics of games like Octopus and Mario's Bombs Away, though increasing the complexity and difficulty just a bit. The artwork is original, but was inspired by games like Mario Bros. (which was my favorite Game & Watch handheld as a kid). And of course, my love for shows like the X-Files often filter down into a game like this...

* This is not a licensed Nintendo product, a Game & Watch game, nor a port of one. It is an original homage to a great series that moved handheld gaming forward with a big leap, introduced players to the first D-pad, and paved the way for the Game Boy.