Contents

The Players

The Objects

How To Play

Keyboard Movement

Menu Commands

Ordering Reproduction Man


The Players

  Reproduction Man

Reproduction Man is the hero of our game.  You manipulate him on the playing grid.  Your object is to help the sperm reach the egg.  Reproduction Man can move up, down, left, or right using the arrow keys.  He cannot go through rocks, bubbles, walls, or any other character on the grid.

On occassion, Reproduction Man will have extra powers to aid him in his quest.  SWAPS allow Reproduction Man to switch places with any object on the grid.  Press an arrow key while holding down the SHIFT key to activate a swap.  CLEARS allow Reproduction Man to clear any object on the grid.  These are especially useful for getting through walls or getting things out of the way.  Press an arrow while holding down the the CTRL key to activate a clear.  BLOCKS allow Reproduction Man to place a doughnut-shaped block on any black space, rock or bubble on the grid.  Press an arrow while holding down the B key to place a block.

  The Egg

The Egg is an inanimate object, except when it falls down (don’t worry, you can’t break it) or when Reproduction Man pushes it left or right.  The Egg pulsates while you play, so you can’t miss it.

  The Sperm

Unlike the Egg, this little critter can’t stop moving.  Your job is to clear a path to the Egg.  But be careful, the Sperm follows strict rules of movement.  It will only move in the direction of the Egg, and when it does, it will go in the same direction as long as it can.


The Objects

  Gunk

Gunk is the stuff that you can walk through but the sperm can’t swim through.  When you walk into some Gunk, a space will be created.

  Rock

Although this is actually a “Heavy Cell,” it’s much easier to call it a rock.  Rocks fall downwards if an empty space is created.  Rocks will fall left or right then down if they are stacked two or more high and an open space exists.  You can push rocks left or right.  Don’t let a rock fall on you or the sperm (you can walk up underneath a rock -- it will only fall when an empty space is created).

  Bubble

This is actually a “Light Cell,” but Bubble is so much cuter.  Bubbles move just like rocks, except they go up instead of down.  A bubble can’t hurt anyone.  A bubble will also hold a rock up in the air.

  Wall

Walls don’t do much of anything besides get in the way.  You can’t move a wall, and it won’t move anywhere by itself.  You can swap spaces with a wall, and you can clear a wall (if you have those powers).


How To Play

The object of Reproduction Man is to lead the Sperm to the Egg.  You need only clear a path through which the Sperm can (or will) move, manipulating the various objects along the way as the need arises.  See the sections on Players and Objects for more information.

The best way to get used to the game is to play around a bit on the first couple of levels.  We’ve given you extra powers on these so that you can waste them at will.

One thing you may notice is that there is no sound.  Sound was disposed of because it slows down the animation.  Plus, Windows doesn’t interface well with the good old PC Speaker -- you have to have a sound card.  The Windows 95 version of Reproduction Man will include sound effects, since it features a vastly improved gaming environment.

Another thing you may notice is that there’s no scoring.  That is because the author of the program is really a puzzle programmer, and says that scores bring him down.  He also says he’s sorry and hopes you’ll have fun advancing to the next level without him grading you based on some arbitrary measure of success.


Keyboard Movement

Keyboard movement is extremely simple.  Use the arrow keys to move Reproduction Man up, down, left or right.

To activate powers, use the following “control” keys:

SWAPS -Hold down the SHIFT key, then press the arrow key for the direction in which you wish to swap.

CLEARS - Hold down the CTRL key, then press the arrow key for the direction of the object you wish to clear.

BLOCKS - Hold down the B key, then press the arrow key for the direction in which you wish to place a block.

To push a rock, bubble or the Egg, keep moving in the direction you wish to push.


Menu Commands

Not much to figure out here.  There are three menu titles: Game, Options, and Help.  Obviously, you already figured out the Help one.  Here are the others:

File Menu

-- New Game starts the game over at level one.  It’s a handy way to start the game from the title screen.

-- Restart Level starts the current level over.  It is useful if you get hit by a rock or if you moved something someplace you shouldn’t have moved it.

-- Toggle Pause puts the game on hold or releases the hold if the game is paused.  You can tell the game is paused if the Egg isn’t pulsating and the Sperm isn’t wagging.

-- Go To Level takes you to the level of your choice.  You have to know the password to go to a level.  Passwords are shown in a message box before the level starts, and are fairly easy to remember.

-- Exit leaves the program.

Options Menu

-- Speed is a very important option.  Reproduction Man uses a standard event loop to monitor and update events on the.... Oh, I’m getting technical.  Okay.  Click the scroll bar left to make the game move faster and right to make it slower.  Different players will have different tastes, but I’ve found the best speed is when the Sperm wags out a half second with each thrash of his little tail.  If Reproduction man’s movement is jerky, try speeding things up a bit.  If you press the arrow key and Reproduction Man goes twelve spaces instead of one, try slowing things down.  Reproduction Man should run decently even on a 386 SX/16.

--Show Password shows you the password for the current level, in case you forgot it or would like to write it down.


Ordering

If you enjoyed playing the Reproduction Man demo, why not get the REAL version?  There are fifty groovy levels, plus some new objects (the Virus and Pneumatic Tubes) and powers (Goo Bomb and Egg Decoy).  And it’s only fifteen dollars, plus one dollar for shipping and handling.

To order, you can either print the order form (ORDER.TXT) and fill it out or send the same information, along with a check or money order to:

Muse Computer Services

507 Marjorie Mae Street

State College, PA 16801

(PA residents, don’t forget to add applicable sales tax)

Your questions, comments and criticisms are always welcome.  You can write or post to the author (David Kilmer) at CompuServe address 75374,104.