VIC-20 Caves
Commodore Vic-20 versions of Caves for the TI-85 by Chris Busch (c) 1996
Caves was written for the TI-85 calculator by me 30 years ago! This port is an color and sound enhanced version.
These .prg files are individually compiled games for the VIC-20 with 32K. Each with a different story, maps, and
pictures compiled with the Caves engine. Pick a prg in the list
below. In VICE use xvic -memory all. Works on a real Vic-20 too!
Story
Because there can be many games, the story can change from one file to the next. The best-known story is this:
You need to retrieve the artifact of wisdom from a deep secret world. At your disposal is a pellet gun and strong jumping legs.
Beware: monsters will hurt you if they find you. If they do not get you, the fire will burn you.
When you retrieve the artifact (the scroll), you travel to another land and the quest continues.
Caves games:
- BUGGY.prg DBuggy LVL — Dune Buggy - CB — Find the lost kids!
- CASTLE.prg Castle LVL — Creepy Castle — Chris Busch (c)2024
- CAVED2.prg Caved! LVL — Explore the Caves — to find glory!
- DEEP.prg Deep LVL — DEEP Caves v2 - CB
- ENTRPRZE.prg EntrPrze LVL — NCC 1701-D (4 Levels) — Caves LVL - C Busch
- GRAVITY.prg Blank — Gravity Wins! — Chris Busch
- MRDIG.prg Mr Dig! LVL — Mr Dig! - Can you dig your way out?
- PIT2.prg Pit LVL — Dive into the pits! — Fortune awaits!
- STARTREK.prg StarTrek LVL — The Enterprizer! — d5w@aegis.nitco.com
- STARTRK2.prg StarTrk2 LVL — StarTrek2-Nick Leskiw — d5w@mail.nitco.com
Tips
- You can only carry one key at a time. Use keys wisely.
- Extra lives when your score hits 50, 150, 250, ... (max 9 lives).
- Some walls are shootable and may reveal secret passages.
- Stomp monsters (and bombs) by landing on them.
- Stand on a cloud and press Down to bounce high.
How to Play (keyboard and joystick)
Keys and joystick may be used together. Fire is Shift and jump is C= so you can hold them and still walk (the VIC only reports one letter key at a time). Bottom row: Joy or Shift C= M,. Press fire or any key at the title to start; hold time seeds the random numbers.
| Key / stick | Action |
|---|---|
| C= / joy up | jump if grounded |
| M / joy left | walk left |
| . / joy right | walk right |
| , / joy down | fall faster, or bounce high on a cloud |
| Shift / fire | shoot (facing stays; you do not walk while firing) |
| Q | quit this run./td> |
| P | pause; press P again to continue |
| W | open the warp entry and type a secret code to jump to another level |
Each time a level starts, the screen shows New Level! SCODE: and a two-character code. Write that code down. Press W during play, then enter the code to warp back to that level later.
After a scroll the next level begins.