Thin Ice (C64)

INTRODUCTION

From the team that brought you perennial C64 classics such as Bounder, Re-Bounder, Bulldog, Future Knight, and Skate Crazy, comes a fun new arcade action experience for the Commodore 64!

GAME OVERVIEW

Deep below Camp Nice 'n' Icy, the endless ice caverns of Freezia stretch for hundreds of miles in every direction. These caverns are home to Binky the Ice Dragon, a friendly creature whose clan have lived in peace for generations... 

...until one day the ancient portals dotted around the caverns started spewing out all manner of nasties. As the guardian of the caverns, it's Binky's job - under your guiding hand - to exterminate the nasties before diving headlong into the exit.

GAMEPLAY

Thin Ice is deliciously simple: the aim of each level is wipe out the nasties and head for the EXIT portal before the timer reaches zero. Binky can move freely around each level while dispatching the nasties, either by squashing them with ice cubes, or freezing them with his icy breath and smashing them to smithereens.

ICE CUBES

• Stand next to an ice cube, push against it, then press fire to slide it.
• Ice cubes will slide across the floor, crushing anything in their path.
• If an ice cube cannot move, pressing fire will smash it instead.
• Some ice cubes contain frozen nasties which will thaw over time!
• Ice cubes containing frozen nasties leave a bonus when smashed.

BONUSES

• The ice cubes marked " ? " contain B-O-N-U-S letters.
• Collect all B-O-N-U-S letters to boost your score.
• Binky's Fire Breath activates when all B-O-N-U-S letters are collected.

FIRE BREATH

Once all the B-O-N-U-S letters are collected, Binky's powerful Fire Breath ability is activated for a short time. Take full advantage of this and rush quickly around the level torching everything in your path! 

TELEPORTS

Each level features a pair of teleports which allow Binky to travel quickly across the screen (or evade danger, if he's in a bind!). 

• Stand on a Teleport to automatically activate it.
• Binky will be invincible for ~1 second after teleporting.

EXIT PORTAL

Once the level has been cleared of nasties, the EXIT portal is activated and a countdown timer will begin: Binky then has a limited amount of time to reach the portal before the level becomes overrun with tenacious nasties. Note that on some levels, the EXIT might be hidden beneath an ice cube...

THE NASTIES

Thin Ice contains numerous different enemy types, each with their own personality traits:

• PENGO  - Wanders aimlessly... until it spots you!
• THRUD  - Gives chase, but not too bright.
• SNOWY  - Rolls fast and flattens anything in its path!
• BOMBER - Slow mover, explodes if you get too close!
• BOOPY  - Fast, smart, and relentless.

Note: Nasties are spawned from the pulsing red portals dotted around each level - don't lurk too close to these or you're in for a nasty surprise!

CONTROLS

• Move: Joystick in Port 2 or W A S D
• Fire: Joystick in Port 2 or SPACE

PAUSE

• Press RUN/STOP to pause/unpause the game.
• Press Q while paused to quit the game.

CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHRIS SHRIGLEY
Programming & Game Design

TERRY LLOYD
Graphics & Game Design

TOMAS DANKO
Music

SIMON PHIPPS
Cover Art

PAUL 'DOKK' DOCHERTY
Loading Screen

ANDY ROBERTS
Production & Inspirational input

PLAYING THE GAME

Thin Ice is presented as a .D64 file, compatible with C64 emulators and hardware devices such as the C64 Ultimate and C64 Mini. For best results, we recommend playing the game on actual C64 hardware, or using the VICE emulator. 

For technical support please contact hello@thalamusdigital.co.uk

Note: Due to the vast number of emulators and hardware configurations currently in circulation, please be advised that we may not be able to troubleshoot issues specific to your emulator or hardware configuration.

PHYSICAL VERSION

A physical version of Thin Ice is coming soon! Click here to visit the Thalamus online store.