Free download available for Windows (98 to XP) with OpenGL, at http://www.johnvalentine.co.uk/m00014.html

About Zenith

Zenith is a first-person immersive action game of skill and strategy where you use the landscape's resources to gain height, and ultimately depose the Sentinel at the Zenith.



Gameplay

You start with your consciousness occupying a robot shell at the bottom of the landscape. You can create objects on flat parts of the landscape that you can see, but that costs energy. Likewise, you can absorb objects to gain energy - trees are useful as your basic energy supply.

To gain height, you create a robot shell in a higher position, and 'transfer' your consciousness to it. You can build a stack of boulders, then occupy a robot shell that stands on top of the stack, and from there you'll be able to see more.

But where would a game be without the bad guys? At the highest point of the landscape is the Sentinel. Like a lighthouse beam, it casts a scan across the landscape, and depletes the energy of any object worth more than one energy unit - including you and the objects you create. The energy is not lost forever, but scattered around the landscape as trees.



You win by deposing the Sentinel from its pedestal (by absorbing it - something you can only do if you're above the pedestal). On the way, you'll need to avoid the scan of the Sentinel (and its helpers, the Sentries), and absorb anything you can to maintain your energy and help your ascent to the Zenith.

If you find the game plot a bit complicated, the game provides you with hints as you go.

Game Design

The game itself is played in first-person 3D. The lighting is atmospheric, and the game should play well on low-spec machines. In designing this, I opted to go for smooth control and an interface that lets you play quickly (useful in the difficult levels). Landscapes are generated randomly, and you can enter a landscape number to repeat a game.



Download

Download the game now at http://www.johnvalentine.co.uk/m00014.html (use the 'Download' link on the left of that page). A Player's Guide is included in PDF format.

Written using Delphi and GLScene (OpenGL component for Delphi).