
                                    OBITUS
                                   --------

Obitus is a gripping combination of RPG and arcade action.  It places you
in the role of Wil Mason as he finds himself mysteriously transported to
Middlemere: a world of knights, trolls, dungeons, castles, wizards,
princesses.... and death.  This world, although not his own, is disturbingly
familiar, and it is one from which he must escape.

As Wil explores the four shires of Middlemere, he interacts with indigneous
characters and objects in an effort to discover where he is and how he can
get out.

THE LAND THAT REMEMBERED TIME
-----------------------------

Middlemere was a prosperous land.  It thrived under the rule of King
Cirkassia, its people were happy and everything in the garden seemed rosy.
But even though the king was pleased with his empire and for his subjects,
he was not a happy man.  He craved children; an heir to the throne, someone
to watch over the kingdom he had so proudly build and skillfully cultivated.
Unfortunately, he coveted a son so badly that it was to be the undoing of
his prosperour dynasty.

Deep in the bowels of Castle Drakehurst, DomaKk the dark wizard worked his
wicked ways.  He hated to see a thriving land and so plotted to bring King
Cirkassia's domain crashing down.  The news that the king craved children
was just the opportunity DomaKk had been waiting for.  He visited the king
in the guise of a human being and most loyal subject, and, spouting
incantations around the throneroom, promised Cirkassia a wife and heirs.
The king was dubious but at the same time joyfully expectant.  DomaKk kept
his wicked word and he 'fashioned' a romantic encounter for the king.  The
ensuing marriage was a spectacular affair the like of which Middlemere
had never seen before.

Cirkassia became the proud father of four sons.  However, as the boys grew,
the envious trait evoked into them by DomaKk grew also.  They learned to
hate one another.  In fact, they detested each other so much that when
eventually the king passed away the brothers began warring for possession
of the land.  None gained from the conflict and Middlemere was torn asunder,
poverty and degradation was the result.  The war continued for years, there
seemed no end in sight.  Meanwhile, DomaKk smiled and left for another
temporal plane in which to cause havoc.

Then, one day, as if by magic, a strange contraption appeared in the exact
centre of Middlemere.  Dread of the strange machine quickly spread and the
four warlords cowered in their castles for fear of retribution.  But nothing
happened, the machine merelyt existed.  Eventually the more learned of the
land realised the machine was no threat, in fact the warlords themselves
saw potential in it.

individualy the four brothers visited the machine and took parts of it away.
Each now in possession of a section of the machine, they discovered that
ruling became easier as their subjects were so afraid of the strange
contraption: those who held it, held power.

Soon the warring ceased and a truce was signed.  The remains of the machine
were securely stored and the lords divided Middlemere equally into four
shires.  They were suddenly and strangely content to rule one quarter of the
land each, although the shires remained heavily patrolled... just in case.

A RAINY NIGHT IN MIDDLEMERE
---------------------------

Wil Mason cruises safely through the winding roads of Middlemere towards
home.  Night driving in the country is so much easier that in suburbia.
Stree lights dazzle and neons give him a headache, out here there's nothing
to worry about but foxes and the odd farmer Ted.

This rain doesn't help much though.  He tries to remember the last time
it was so heavy.  His first and last holiday in Snowdonia probably, it's
always chucking it down there.

As the road gets narrower, Wil eases his foot off the accelerator to reduce
his speed to better suit the conditions.  The surrounding darkness, the
rhythmic droning of the wipers and the splattering of the rain on the car
combine to lull Wil into a relaxed state of mind.  Something he's quite
willing to give in to; anything to counter the stress of the last couple
of hours.  Trying to lecture medieval history to an uncaring group of
'mature students' is not the most rewarding of experiences.  Perhaps it
wouldn't be so bad if he didn't feel so passionately for the subject himself.

Soon be home...

His Volvo estate is built for safety.  Perhaps it is due to this sense of
security together with his deep thoughts and the poor visibility that Wil
fails to notice the branch in the road until the last minute.

Snapping out of his musings, Wil overreacts and swerves madly to avoid
hitting the branch... he succeeds and careers into the ditch.

Slightly stunned, Wil quells a burst of anger as he attempts to restart his
seemingly undamaged vehicle and fails.  For some minutes he continues to
turn the key only to hear a progressively less health battery struggling to
bring the engine to life.

Accepting the inevitable, Wil grabs his mac from the back seat and struggles
to put it on.  Slapping his hat on his head, he leaves the relative comfort
of his car to face the now torrential rain.

Knowing much of things historic and nothing of mechanics, Wil doesn't even
consider opening the bonnet but instead heads off in to the darkness to find
help.  Spending the night in his car does not appeal.

He splashes along the road for some twenty minutes.  There is no sign of life,
no sound but for the wind and rain.  Then, off the road to his left, he sees
a flickering light.  Scrambling over the fence he heads towards it.
Strangely the light gets no nearer.

Cold and wet, Wil considers turning back for the road when he comes across
a crumbling structure.

Curiosity takes him closer.  The building is a tower, a very old one that,
due to decay, has lost some of its height.  Four doors lead in to the tower,
one of which is ajar.  Wil enters.

Closing the door behind him Wil finds himself in a suprisingly cosy, circular
room with, thankfully, a watertight ceiling.

Removing his sodden mac, he sits on the dry floor and assesses his situation.
The sound of the wind and the rain is pleasant from within the sanctuary of
the tower... a wave of tiredness flows over Wil.  Sleep soon follows.

He wakes to the sound of birds.  The rain has stopped.  Looking around he is
supprised to find his mac... gone!  In fact his whole attire has changed.
His surroundings looks the same, a little cleaner perhaps and the four doors
look a little less worm ridden, but he's definately still in the same tower.
An attempt to open the doors confirms his worst fears: all four are
jammed... or locked!

Puzzlement, concern then panic washes over Wil as he shouts at the tower and
attacks the four doors in an attempt to escape.  Eventually, worn out, he sits
and thinks... sleep comes again.

Wil has no idea how long he slept but he wakes with a resolve to discover
what's happened to him, where he is and how he can get home.  The first
thing to do is get out of this damn tower...

Is that a key on the floor?

THE GAME
--------
You play the part of Wil Mason as he strives to learn of his whereabouts,
find his way out of Middlemere and hopefully get back home.

Obitus is made up of differing scenarios in which you need to interact
and/or communicate with indigenous characters and objects if you are to
succeed.

MAZE SECTIONS
-------------
The game has many maze sections which utilise incredibly smooth
forward-scrolling techniques to portray your first-person-perspective
movement.  Items and characters encountered in these sections are interacted
with via the icons at the base of the screen.

PARALLAX SECTIONS
-----------------

You run left or right across amazingly detailed parallax screens, shooting -
with selected weapon - or avoiding adversaries bent on preventing your
progress.  Beware for they conceal themselves well!

INTERIOR SECTIONS
-----------------
A combination of the above two sections.  Interiors enable you to explore
castles, abbeys and churches during your quest for escape.  Interaction
with characters is possible either via the icons at the base of the screen
or by using whatever weapon you're currently carrying (press fire on joystick)

Objects are manipulated using icons.

Characters to meet in Obitus include: trolls, slaves, soldiers, knights,
mages, wolves, rogues, impalers and wizards.

In-game objects include: gems, torches, weapons, arrows, daggers, riches,
talismans, chalices, spells, GemStones, keys, food and strength potions.

INSTRUCTIONS
------------
Mouse:
The mouse directs your hand-shaped pointer to icons or objects on-screen,
click to activate.

MAZE SECTIONS:
Joystick:
Forward            Walk Forward
Back               Walk Backwards
Left               Turn Left
Right              Turn Right

PARALLAX SECTIONS:
Up                 Jump
Down               Crouch
Left               Run Left
Right              Run Right
Left Diagonal      Jump Left
Right Diagonal     Jump Right
Fire & Down        Weapon Select
Fire & Right       Move 'weapon select' Right
Fire               Use Weapon

INTERIOR SECTIONS:
Joystick:
Up                 Run into screen
Down               Run out of screen
Left               Run left
Right              Run right
Fire               Activate weapon

Icon Controls (applicable to MAZE and INTERIOR sections only)
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