                                    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 
 
End.............
