Mouse Trap
Mouse Trap is a maze video game developed by Exidy and released in arcades in 1981. It is similar to Pac-Man, with the main character replaced by a mouse, the dots with cheese, the ghosts with cats, and the energizers with bones. After collecting a bone, pressing a button turns the mouse into a dog for a brief period of time. Color-coded doors in the maze can be toggled by pressing a button of the same color. A hawk periodically flies across the maze, unrestricted by walls.
More information can be found at the
wiki.
Effort In TASing
I've held onto this game for a while. The main reason was a problem with the "Hawk" coming out, right before I ate the last piece of cheese. Why is this a problem? There is a timer that indicates when this hawk shows up. Once it does, you have to endure the completion of the entrance sound. I tried multiple times to beat it and there was no way. I even asked
DrD2k9 and he confirmed the same. So basically, every round was completed just after the arrival of the hawk. So this meant that I had to make sure that I got it before the sounds was finished playing, otherwise...I loose time.
Difficulty and Ending Choice
This game is played on the hardest level of 4.
As with the wr speedrun (seen below), I complete 6 rounds...which the runner calls 6 levels. This show-cases all the game has to offer, in terms of difficulty. If you listen closely, the tune changes every 2 completed rounds. After round 6, the tune stays the same. This is in relationship to the intensity of the cat's movement...or the games increasing difficulty.
Human Comparison
CoolHandMike: An enjoyable puzzle game with deceptively simple mechanics. While this seems like a Pac-Man clone at first glance it actually implements some features that make it its own. The cats wander the maze making things difficult for the mouse. There are three types of gates that are closed with three separate buttons. Some gates are swing gates that push the mouse further (or back) depending on how it swings. Gates can be toggled to change the cats' paths. Further complicating routing there needs to be ways of avoiding getting points. Getting points can earn the player an extra mouse, but the bonus alert wastes time. There is another mechanic of where the mouse can turn into a dog and make a cat go away if you bump into it, but each time that happens game play pauses as points are awarded so the dog is avoided. The cheese in the upper right must also be avoided for points too. The Hawk that can kill the mouse or dog must be avoided too, but it does not seem an obstacle here in the tas. Routing and optimization looks good.
Accepting to Standard for a well routed tas!
