Zot is an action game written in the spirit of several classic video games, such as Pitfall, Jumpman, and Miner 2049'er. The hero, Alex, is on a quest to recover the magical Chalice of Prosperity. He must run, jump, climb and ride his way through eleven different screens while avoiding monsters, zappers and deadly falls.

The Story Of Zot
Long ago, the evil wizard Zot stole a magical chalice from King John. Though closely pursued, Zot managed to escape to his castle in the hills where magical guardians protected him. His pursuers gave up hope of recovering the chalice and went home.

Unfortunately, without the chalice, John's power dwindled and his kingdom fell into ruin. Soon, only a small village remained, and the villagers hoped that someday someone would recover the chalice and restore their prosperity.

One day a rumor reached the villagers, bolstering their hopes. Zot was dead, but the chalice remained, hidden in the darkest corner of his castle. It wasn't unguarded, however. Zot's creatures continued to protect their dead master's most valuable possession.

A Challenge
As John's only living descendant, you, Alex, have been chosen to recover the chalice. The village elders travel with you to Zot's castle, but once you step inside, you are alone. The gate slams behind you. The only way out - alive - is to find the chalice.

Getting Started
To begin your quest, double-click on the archive file ZOTARC.PRG and choose Extract when the dialog box appears. Select a destination disk and the files for Zot will be un-ARCed directly onto that disk.

To start the game, double-click on ZOT.PRG from the Desktop. All Zot's data files must be in the same directory as ZOT.PRG. Make sure you have a joystick plugged into port 1 (the mouse is in port 0). Zot's title screen will appear shortly. To start the game, press or the joystick fire button. Pressing [Spacebar] pauses the game, and [Escape] will return you to the title screen at any time. Pressing [Q] at the title screen will return you to the Desktop.

Alex searches for the Chalice of Prosperity,
blocked on every level by Zot's guardians.

Ready For Action
You control Alex with the joystick. Moving the joystick left or right causes Alex to run in that direction. Pressing the fire button causes Alex to jump up in the air. If you hold the joystick left or right while pressing the button, Alex jumps in that direction. If Alex is on a ladder, moving the joystick up or down causes him to climb or descend. Alex can also jump or move slightly from side to side while on a ladder.

There are eleven levels in the castle. On each level there are important objects which Alex can pick up by running or jumping into them. Some objects only give you points. Other objects, however, also give Alex the power to dispel Zot's guardians by touching them. It will be clear when Alex has this power.

To complete a level, Alex must first retrieve the key that unlocks the door to the next level and then move to the door.

You begin the game with four lives, including the current one. The number of extra lives is indicated by the blue dots in the score box. An extra life is awarded after every 10,000 points.

Who Knows What Evil Lurks. . .?
There are plenty of dangers in the castle. Alex must avoid touching any of the guardians when he doesn't have the special power. If he is careful, though, he can jump over most of them. There are also some objects which Alex shouldn't touch; these you can discover for yourself. Finally, Alex can only survive falls of a short distance. Again, have fun discovering how far is "short."

More Tips
Alex can walk on the stone floors and on top of the score box. Note, however, that some of the floors have disintegrated over the years. Look closely and you'll see treacherous holes. Also, Alex doesn't have to gather every object on a screen in order to advance to the next one. Some objects are just a challenge and a chance for more points.

Bruce Graves is a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal corps, stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. This is his first program for START.