Dangerous Dave (Game)

Dangerous Dave

GAME » on December 1988

Apple II (Platform)iPhone (Platform)Mac (Platform)PC (Platform)

An early computer platformer by id Software founder John Romero, Dangerous Dave has the titular high-jumper navigating 10 treacherous levels of an abandoned pirate's hideout to retrieve his beloved trophies.

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Overview

Dangerous Dave in the Deserted Pirate's Hideout! (also known as Dangerous Dave Episode I: The Deserted Pirate's Hideout!, later known as Dangerous Dave in Trophy Trouble, or simply as Dangerous Dave) is a side-scrolling puzzle-platformer developed by John Romero (Person) and published in the December 1988 issue of the disk magazine UpTime for Apple II (Platform) computers.

Players control the titular Dave, a high-jumping champion who must traverse the old deserted Pirate's Hideout to retrieve his hard-earned high-jumping trophies hidden by the bully Clyde. His objective for each of the game's 10 levels is to collect the Trophy and reach the Exit Door. As the Hideout is full of traps and other obstacles, Dave can find two limited-use items that can aid him: a gun and a jetpack.

It later received an enhanced port for DOS PC computers in 1990, created for the free sampler disk of the Gamer's Edge disk magazine (along with a port of John Carmack's game Catacomb (Game)). Known as Dangerous Dave in Trophy Trouble, or simply as Dangerous Dave, this version features updated higher-resolution graphics and a revamped set of levels. It was later ported back to the Apple II, included in the 115th issue of the disk magazine Softdisk, circa 1991. The updated Apple II version was developed under the id Software (Company) name and was re-released twice, each with a new set of levels: Dangerous Dave Returns (in the 133rd issue of Softdisk, circa 1992, with levels by Jay Jennings) and Dangerous Dave Goes Nutz! (in the 160th issue of Softdisk, circa 1995, with levels by Peter Rokitski). The game also received multiple sequels for the PC.

The game later received an enhanced port by John Romero to iOS devices on October 31, 2015. Known as Dangerous Dave in the Deserted Pirate's Hideout, this version features high-definition graphics and sound. This version was later ported to both Windows PCs and macOS computers in 2021, which was included in the Dangerous Dave Champion's Edition bundle along with all versions of the game and its sequels.

Items & Collectibles

Gun (Object) - Allows Dave to shoot at enemies. While he has infinite ammunition, only one bullet can be on the screen at one time, forcing him to wait until it disappears before he can shoot again.
Jetpack - Allows Dave to hover in the air to reach places he normally cannot access. He only has a limited amount of fuel, which can only be replenished by picking up another Jetpack. This can cause unwinnable situations.
Trophy - Gives 1000 points and allows Dave to go through the exit door (for 2000 points and access to the next level).
Scoring Items - Gives a certain amount of points. There are six types of items to collect which differ between the original and updated versions. The original version includes Gumball (15 pts.), Shoe (50 pts.), Coin (100 pts.), Ring (200 pts.), Wand (250 pts.), and Crown (500 pts.), while the updated version includes Gumball (50 pts.), Blue Gem (100 pts.), Red Gem (150 pts.), Ring (200 pts.), Crown (300 pts.), and Wand (500 pts.).

Each 10,000 points scored grants players an extra life.

Enemies & Hazards

Spider - The very first enemy players will encounter, usually moves in circles and shoots one bullet at the time.
Red orb- A fast-moving orb that can instantly kill Dave.
Blue orb - A fast-moving orb that can instantly kill Dave.
Pipe - Entrance to new level.
Water - Dave cannot swim and thus water will kill him.
Fire - Will instantly kill Dave.
WeirdWeeds - Roots that kill Dave.
Stars - Can be climbed.
Tree - Can be climbed.

Trivia

The DOS version of the game includes three color modes (VGA, EGA, and CGA), and is the only known game to allow players to swap between them without quitting the game first.
The DOS version includes references to "PCR" and "PC-Arcade", referring to the original name of the Gamer's Edge disk: PCRcade. The "PCR" was changed to "ID" in the Apple II port of that version, and to "FPS" in the later remake.

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