Beekeeper (Daniel Gray)

Title – Beekeeper
System – Commodore 64
Author – Daniel Gray
Publication – Compute!’s Gazette, Issue 13, July 1984
Page Scans – 1 2 3 4 5
Preserved by – eboy71
Recommended Emulator – VICE

Download ROM

Loading the Game –

Mount the disk image (CG13-July1984-Beekeeper.d64) in your emulator. In VICE, this is done by selecting File → Attach Disk Image
Load the app by typing LOAD”BEEKEEPER”,8
Once loaded, type RUN to start

Article Text & Instructions

You find yourself in the middle of a clover field doing battle with some rather nasty giant bees. Try maneuvering to the hive while avoiding the deadly stings. “Beekeeper” also contains some innovative programming techniques. Versions for the VIC-20 and the 64.

Giant bees are taking over the world. Their enormous beehives are engulfing cities; their clover fields are spreading over the countryside, invading precious croplands. As Beekeeper, you dodge worker bees and monster crabs in a desperate mission to locate and destroy the hive.

After the program is entered and RUN, you are presented with a title screen. Next, an instruction screen tells you the point values of the game targets and asks you to enter one of three difficulty levels.

Each level determines the speed and direction of the worker bees and crabs as they chase you around the clover field. In level 1, the worker bees are confined to vertical and horizontal movement, but in levels 2 and 3 they also move diagonally. At level 3, you must be very quick in order to avoid sting and claw.

The Bees Hunt You Down
Once you’ve selected a difficulty level, the screen clears and you find yourself in a clover field beside a giant beehive filled with drones. The first of the eight ships given to you appears just above the beehive, near the center of the screen. Pushing the joystick to the right rotates your ship clockwise; pushing the joystick to the left rotates the ship counterclockwise. Depressing the joystick button fires the ship’s laser.

Use the Laser to Score
If you don’t control the ship, it will run into the clover or the hive. If you are stung or pinched, your ship is destroyed. Defend yourself with your laser; each worker bee or crab you disable is worth 200 points.

Each block of the hive is worth 50 points and each drone is worth 100 points. You can also fire at clover to get it out of your way (no score). The best way to aim at the hive is by looping around the clover field until you are moving directly toward the target. Continue straight ahead while firing at the hive.

Once all 66 drones in the hive have been exterminated, the screen clears and another field is created, along with more ships. The game is over when all your ships have been destroyed.

Editor’s Notes:

There is an interesting artifact left over here from the VIC-20 version. In that version, there are 66 drones displayed on screen (3 rows of 22) and the level is cleared when they are all destroyed. The C64 version shows 120 drones (3 rows of 40). However, the “66” made it over to this version, so the screen is cleared when you clear 66 of them. If you wanted to change this, you could update the value of AQ in line 710 from 66 to 120.
This version includes a minor update to the sound routine at the beginning of line 320. The addition (POKE CM+4,32) shuts off the “enemy hit” sound after a brief moment. In the original, the sound was sustained until your ship changed direction and was incredibly annoying – it felt like playing the game with a bad case of tinnitus. To restore the game to its original version, just remove the addition. But you might want to turn your volume off before playing. 😉