MINDFIGHTER
Copyright (c) 1988 Abstract Concepts

Introduction
------------
This game follows the story of Robin, an eleven year old boy gifted with psychic
powers. The accompanying novel details his experiences in late 1987, the year
before the war, and provides an informative background guide to the game.

You control Robin, guiding him through the disturbing sequence of events which
beset him. At the start of the game, he has just woken up on a heap of rubble in
the middle of a desolate, mined cityscape. The last thing he remembered was
falling asleep in his bed at home. Was this a nightmare? He had certainly never
woken up into a nightmare before. His friends were nowhere to be seen - he was
on his own. Where was he, and how was he to get back to his home?

He stood up and looked out across the remains of the city. What was this place?
A chill wind brought the salt smell of the sea to his nostrils, the gust of cold
air moaning as it passed through the burnt shell of a nearby house. Robin
suddenly felt terribly afraid.

Background
----------
The story of Mindfighter was written during late 1986 and early 1987. While it
is a fictitious account, all of the material relating to parapsychology, the
effects of a nuclear exchange between the superpowers, current affairs and
Nostradamus has been painstakingly researched, and the story is as 'believable'
and accurate as possible.

The Authors
-----------
An ex-photocopier saleswoman, Anna Popkess wrote the original Mindfighter book
and designed the game.

Leader of the radical Delta 4 Software, Fergus McNeill.

Famed for their other adventure systems, Tim Gilberts, Graeme Yeandle and Hugh
Hamer-Powell are responsible for the hard coding of SWAN (or System Without a
Name).

Mindfighter (story and characters) (c) 1987 Strange Obsessions.
Mindfighter (computer game) (c) 1988 Abstract Concepts.
Marketed and distributed by Activision (UK) Ltd.

Loading Instructions
--------------------
Type RUN"MINDFIGH" to load Mindfighter.

The icon screen is activated by pressing RETURN at the start of a command. Move
the icon pointer with the cursor keys and use RETURN to select. The COPY key
recalls the previous command for editing.

Icons and Special Commands
--------------------------
The following commands are accessed from the icon menu. To select an icon, move
the pointer over it and press RETURN.

SOUND/SILENCE: The SOUND command (represented by a music note with a tick) turns
the keyboard click on. The SILENCE command (a music note with a cross) turns it
off. The game starts with the sound on.

GRAPHICS/TEXT: Areas of the game have a picture to accompany the text. The
pictures can be turned off with the TEXT command (represented by a computer
displaying several lines of text) and turned on again with the GRAPHICS command
(a little computer with a split graphics/text screen). The game starts with the
pictures on.

SAVE (TAPE/DISC/RAM): At certain points of the game, you may want the computer
to 'remember' the current state of play - perhaps because you want to try
something risky, or perhaps because you want to switch off and continue playing
at a later date.

You can save a game position to tape or disc or store the game position in RAM
(in memory). Saving to RAM is practically instantaneous, but your position will
be lost when the computer is switched off. Tape and disc take a little longer
but they provide a permanent record of your position.

DEVICE SELECTOR: This icon shows which of the devices - disc, tape or RAM - is
currently selected for the SAVE and LOAD actions.

LOAD (TAPE/DISC/RAM): The LOAD command will recall a previously saved game
position from the currently selected device. The story will then continue from
where you left off.

QUIT: The QUIT command (represented by a computer with a blank screen) allows
you to abandon the story before its completion. The game will check that you are
sure you want to quit, then offers you the choice of restarting the game or
resetting the computer.

SCRIPT/UNSCRIPT: There is the option of sending the game text to a printer (if
you have one connected). The SCRIPT command (represented by a printer with
paper) echoes all text to the printer, so that you will have a permanent
transcript of your story. The UNSCRIPT command (a printer without paper) turns
the printer off. The printer is switched off when the game starts.

VERBOSE/BRIEF: Every location in the game has a name and a piece of descriptive
text. In VERBOSE mode (represented by a long scroll), the name and descriptive
text are displayed. In BRIEF mode (a short scroll), only the location name is
shown. The game starts in verbose mode.

>_: The prompt icon returns to the normal text input line from the icon screen.

DISC/TAPE/RAM: This icon is used to select one of the devices - disc, tape or
RAM - for the LOAD and SAVE actions.

INFORMATION: The INFO command (represented by a question mark) will print up
information relating to the player's character in the game, such as physical
condition, time, date, inventory, etc.

OOPS: This command is not available in the Amstrad CPC version of Mindfighter.

Mindfighter - The Book
----------------------
The book that accompanies the game is 150 pages long, but it contains essential
information that you will need to help you to progress in the game, so you will
need to read it! It also acts as a form of copy protection; later on in the
game, you will be asked to enter a word from the book in order to continue
playing.

The plain text version of the book was converted from the PDF version which can
be downloaded from The Underdogs site at this URL:

<http://www.the-underdogs.org/games/m/mindfighter/files/mindfighter-m.zip>