Mister Spiff IV - Revision history

Aderack at 01:11, 14 August 2016

2016-08-14T01:11:25Z

Aderack: /* Archive History */

2016-03-11T04:34:55Z

Archive History

Aderack: /* Archive History */

2016-03-01T01:38:39Z

Archive History

Aderack: /* Archive History */

2016-02-29T21:25:16Z

Archive History

Aderack at 19:27, 26 February 2016

2016-02-26T19:27:05Z

Aderack at 14:25, 22 February 2016

2016-02-22T14:25:58Z

Aderack at 14:25, 22 February 2016

2016-02-22T14:25:44Z

Aderack at 14:24, 22 February 2016

2016-02-22T14:24:54Z

Aderack at 19:40, 20 February 2016

2016-02-20T19:40:15Z

Aderack at 02:41, 14 February 2016

2016-02-14T02:41:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:11, 14 August 2016
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	''Mister Spiff'' begins and ends in a dream and a haze. In between, the games expand and contract and quietly muse on the nature of game design. As a culmination of the series' motifs and ambition, ''Mister Spiff IV'' brings the series to a satisfying, and characteristically odd, conclusion.		''Mister Spiff'' begins and ends in a dream and a haze. In between, the games expand and contract and quietly muse on the nature of game design. As a culmination of the series' motifs and ambition, ''Mister Spiff IV'' brings the series to a satisfying, and characteristically odd, conclusion.
		+
		+	{{SeriesNav\|Mister Spiff III\|Mister Spiff IV\|CGA Hell\|[[Mister Spiff series]]}}

	== Story ==		== Story ==

@@ Line 187: / Line 187: @@
 After an earlier wave of rediscoveries, on July 13 2011 Alan Caudel provided another archive of previously missing Game-Maker material, including the following:
-{|
+{| style="color:black;"
+|
 * ''[[Alan!]]''
@@ Line 196: / Line 196: @@
 * ''[[Benny]]''
 * ''[[Bone!]]''
 * ''[[CGA Hell]]''
 * ''[[Doom]]''
 * ''[[Off The Page]]''
 * ''[[DD4: Canadian Boxing Day]]''
@@ Line 204: / Line 204: @@
 * ''[[Godzilla]]''
 * ''[[Hamsterman]]''
 * ''[[Jon '95]]''
 * ''[[Kozmo Kat]]''
 * ''[[The Legend of Budd]]''
 * ''[[Mr. Berkel Derkel!]]''
 * ''[[Mister Spiff IV]]''
 * ''[[Nathan Rocks]]''
 * ''[[Ninja]]''
 * ''[[Palladia: The Game]]''
 * ''[[Power Budd!]]''
@@ Line 218: / Line 219: @@
 * ''[[Ski]]''
 * ''[[Star Avenger]]''
+|
 * ''[[Star Avenger 4]]''
 * ''[[Star Wars]]''

@@ Line 197: / Line 197: @@
 * ''[[Bone!]]''
 * ''[[CGA Hell]]''
+|
 * ''[[Off The Page]]''
 * ''[[DD4: Canadian Boxing Day]]''
 * ''[[Godzilla]]''
 * ''[[Jon '95]]''
 * ''[[Kozmo Kat]]''
@@ Line 208: / Line 210: @@
+|
 * ''[[Mister Spiff IV]]''
 * ''[[Ninja]]''
 * ''[[Palladia: The Game]]''
@@ Line 220: / Line 223: @@
 * ''[[Star Wars]]''
 * ''[[Stickman!!! Die]]''
 * ''[[Trees]]''
 * ''[[Twister, argh!]]''

@@ Line 187: / Line 187: @@
 After an earlier wave of rediscoveries, on July 13 2011 Alan Caudel provided another archive of previously missing Game-Maker material, including the following:
 * ''[[Alan!]]''
 * ''[[Alan B-Day]]''
@@ Line 195: / Line 197: @@
 * ''[[Bone!]]''
 * ''[[CGA Hell]]''
 * ''[[Doom]]''
 * ''[[Off The Page]]''
@@ Line 203: / Line 206: @@
 * ''[[The Legend of Budd]]''
 * ''[[Mr. Berkel Derkel!]]''
 * ''[[Mister Spiff IV]]''
 * ''[[Ninja]]''
@@ Line 211: / Line 215: @@
 * ''[[Ski]]''
 * ''[[Star Avenger]]''
 * ''[[Star Avenger III]]''
 * ''[[Star Avenger 4]]''
@@ Line 216: / Line 221: @@
 * ''[[Stickman!!! Die]]''
 * ''[[Trees]]''
 * ''[[Twister, argh!]]''
 * ''[[What the...?!?]]''
 == Links ==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 '''Author:''' [[Adam Tyner]]<br />
 '''Related games:''' ''[[Mister Spiff I]]'', ''[[Mister Spiff II]]'', ''[[Mister Spiff III: Freeze! Mother! Freeze!]]'', ''[[CGA Hell]]''
-}} [[Category:Pending articles|Mister Spiff 4]]<center>'''FULL ENTRY COMING SOON!'''</center>
+}}Thus far, ''Mister Spiff'' has been an enigmatic series. With game four, we begin to see the truth.
-With game four, we begin to see the truth. Whereas the original ''[[Mister Spiff I|Mister Spiff]]'' is a grab-bag of different level and game concepts, [[Mister Spiff III: Freeze! Mother! Freeze!|the third Spiff]] expands on level one of the original, by focusing its energy on a series of lock-and-key mazes. ''Mister Spiff IV'' brings that premise step further, toward total abstraction. This series is no longer about narrative representation, but rather about pure mechanics. Paradoxically, in the midst of this abstraction the game presents its most concrete evidence as to the identity of its lead character.
+[[File:Spiff4Sprite.gif|center]]
-Though the ''Spiff'' series has always gloried in the odd and the unexpected, never has it been quite so consciously surreal.
+Though the ''Spiff'' games will glory in the odd and the unexpected, never have they been quite so consciously surreal. The character is a bit larger in his frame, and has become so stylized that his face consists almost entirely of eyes, leaving just a few pixels for a mouth and some hair. The levels have shed any pretense at representation, and are now best distinguished by color and pattern.
-Character is more stylized than ever, with his face consisting almost entirely of eyes.
+In design terms, the game is a heavy refinement of ''[[Mister Spiff III: Freeze! Mother! Freeze!|Spiff III]]''. The game is much bigger and more elaborate than earlier chapters. The levels are further developed, with more complex logical and spatial puzzles. The controls are a bit smoother. In the event of death, Tyner has even employed a trick to reset key counters at the start of each level -- a regular issue for Game-Maker games.
-[[File:Spiff4Sprite.gif|center]]
+Furthermore, in a throwback to the strange warps of the original ''Mister Spiff'', Tyner included a few bonus stages that take a step back to engage in postmodern commentary on the game. The stages replace Spiff's head with that of Alan Caudel (in much the fashion of ''[[Alan '95]]''), and put him through a gauntlet of CGA visuals, harking back to PC games of the early 1980s.
-A heavy refinement of ''[[Mister Spiff III: Freeze! Mother! Freeze!|Spiff III]]'', with more complex logical and spatial puzzles, smoother controls, and a trick to reset key counters at the start of the level, in the event of death.
+Was our hero Alan all along? So it would seem. Those CGA levels are revelatory, and the clear highlight of ''Spiff IV'' -- so much so that Tyner later would expand them and spin them off into a standalone game, ''[[CGA Hell]]''.
 == Story ==
 "WHOA!"
@@ Line 229: / Line 229: @@
 * '''''[http://www.aderack.com/game-maker/downloads/spiff4.zip Mister Spiff IV]''''' (290 kB)
 [[Category: Shareware|Mister Spiff 4]]
 [[Category: Adam Tyner|Mister Spiff 4]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:25, 22 February 2016
Line 13:		Line 13:

	Though the ''Spiff'' series has always gloried in the odd and the unexpected, never has it been quite so consciously surreal.		Though the ''Spiff'' series has always gloried in the odd and the unexpected, never has it been quite so consciously surreal.
		+
		+	Character is more stylized than ever, with his face consisting almost entirely of eyes.

	[[File:Spiff4Sprite.gif\|center]]		[[File:Spiff4Sprite.gif\|center]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 }} [[Category:Pending articles|Mister Spiff 4]]<center>'''FULL ENTRY COMING SOON!'''</center>
 A heavy refinement of ''[[Mister Spiff III: Freeze! Mother! Freeze!|Spiff III]]'', with more complex logical and spatial puzzles, smoother controls, and a trick to reset key counters at the start of the level, in the event of death.
@@ Line 31: / Line 35: @@
 Okay, the bus is flipping around in space.  Everyone else has their safety-harness fastened but you. I mean, the light for it came on! Noooo...that online issue of Video Freak was just too good to put down.
 Well, you fly out the door, still holding your bag of jewels. Lotta good they'll do you if you're -- Hey!  You landed on an old mattress! Too bad it was on a bunch of rusty nails.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:40, 20 February 2016
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	}} [[Category:Pending articles\|Mister Spiff 4]]<center>'''FULL ENTRY COMING SOON!'''</center>		}} [[Category:Pending articles\|Mister Spiff 4]]<center>'''FULL ENTRY COMING SOON!'''</center>

		+
		+	Here we come to the truth. Refined logical abstraction of the nature of Spiff, getting to the heard of what this design is about. And, a possible revelation about the character's true identity.

	A heavy refinement of ''[[Mister Spiff III: Freeze! Mother! Freeze!\|Spiff III]]'', with more complex logical and spatial puzzles, smoother controls, and a trick to reset key counters at the start of the level, in the event of death.		A heavy refinement of ''[[Mister Spiff III: Freeze! Mother! Freeze!\|Spiff III]]'', with more complex logical and spatial puzzles, smoother controls, and a trick to reset key counters at the start of the level, in the event of death.

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:41, 14 February 2016
Line 13:		Line 13:
	A heavy refinement of ''[[Mister Spiff III: Freeze! Mother! Freeze!\|Spiff III]]'', with more complex logical and spatial puzzles, smoother controls, and a trick to reset key counters at the start of the level, in the event of death.		A heavy refinement of ''[[Mister Spiff III: Freeze! Mother! Freeze!\|Spiff III]]'', with more complex logical and spatial puzzles, smoother controls, and a trick to reset key counters at the start of the level, in the event of death.

−	Contains a couple of bonus stages that Tyner later expanded into the ''Mister Spiff'' spin-off ''[[CGA Hell]]''.	+	Contains a couple of bonus stages that Tyner later expanded into the ''Mister Spiff'' spin-off ''[[CGA Hell]]''. Those levels also replace Mister Spiff's head with that of Alan Caudel (in much the fashion of ''[[Alan '95]]''). Was our hero Alan all along? The mystery deepens.
−
−