Pedestrian Panic

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Pedestrian Panic
Ppanic.gif

Release type: Shareware
Release date: 1993?
Levels: 9
Author: Sherwood Forest Software
Registration bonus: Bonus game
Registration price: $15
Related games: N/A

Many of Rob Sherwood's games seem more like thumbnail sketches of abstract concepts than dedicated attempts at game design. Pedestrian Panic is one of those games. The premise is classic arcade material; you're a tourist in Manhattan, and you need to find the subway before you get mugged or something runs you down. Cars don't stop for pedestrians, and miscreants may well lurk in any alley. The only controls are the arrow keys, which move your pedestrian in the four cardinal directions. It's like a free-range Frogger.

PedestrianSprite.gif

That's all fine, and a good beginning. The problem is all in the execution. On the most basic level, the collision is very strangely planned. The edges of buildings extend far past their depicted sides, into the middle of the sidewalk. In collision terms the sidewalk is much narrower than it looks, and the street is much wider. If the character strays one pixel off of center, a car will run him down.

On an actual design level, it does the player no good when the designer uses up an entire 100x100 tile level on a grid of functionally identical city blocks and fails to provide any sort of landmarks, pointers, or clues as to where to explore. Explore is hardly the word; if there is nothing to distinguish the terrain, there is nothing to explore. There is no way to tell where the player is, either in respect to the level goals or to where the player began.

Tempting fate in Pedestrian Panic

Even a basic level of city planning would help. Sherwood didn't need to obviously point the player toward the subway; all he needed to do was give the player some way to keep track of where things are in respect to each other. Make some blocks longer than others, or irregular in shape. Throw in some parks, and some wider avenues. Maybe some traffic islands. Shake up the appearance of one block to the next. One street might have all brownstones; the next might have shops.

Although the release date is unclear, Pedestrian Panic seems like one of Sherwood's earlier productions and not one of his fondest works. You can compare the effort involved here with games like Shootout at Dodge or Safari Sam: Jungle Explorer. When Sherwood cared about a project, it came through in his work. With Pedestrian Panic he seems to have been throwing paint at the wall.

Story[edit]

You have recently come to New York City. You have found the streets to be loaded with dangers. Speeding cars, manholes, and muggers are only a few of these perils that you must contend with. Good luck navigating the streets and avenues, as you look for the various subway stations.

Instructions[edit]

Here you are in the Big Apple, New York City. You are Joe Pedestrian, and you must make it from one subway station to the other.

You have to cross the streets without getting hit by a car. As you go from subway station to subway station, the cars go faster. Emergency vehicles start to go up the center lane. You also have to contend with manholes, muggers, oneway streets, and splashing puddles, all of which cause damage to you.

You control the man by pushing the appropriate arrow key, or pushing the joystick in the direction you want to go.

The goal of each screen is to enter the flashing subway station. By doing this you move to the next level.

Credits[edit]

Where do they get those wonderful toys? Yes, just when you thought it was safe to boot up again, Sherwood Forest Software comes out again. This time it is Pedestrian Panic, another fine product from the lunatic fringe.

Rob Sherwood and the rest of the crew wish to to thank you for your continued patronage. We are Rob Sherwood, Dan Whalen, and the rest, who we picked up at the local flea market.

Availability[edit]

This game seems to have been made available on several shareware compilation CD-ROMs. More precise details TBD.

Archive History[edit]

Pedestrian Panic was added to the archive on May 27, 2011. After searching for the title on the basis of clues left in the documentation of other Sherwood Forest Software releases, the game was located on a shovelware CD-ROM hosted on a now-defunct domain.

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