Hitsuji Kai (Norio Fujimori)

Title – ひつじ飼い (Hitsuji Kai)
System – MSX
Author – 藤森　憲男 (Norio Fujimori)
Publication – Micom BASIC (マイコンBASIC) June 1985
Page Scans – 1 2
Preserved By – TWE
Recommended Emulator – openMSX

Download ROM

Loading the Game –

Two versions of the game are included:
– hitujkai.wav, a cassette-tape recording of the original game;
– hitujkai.dsk, a floppy disk image of the translated game.

For hitujkai.wav:
– After booting the machine, insert the tape image;
– Type ‘CLOAD’ and press Enter;
– After the game loads, type ‘RUN’ and press Enter to start the game.
For hitujkai.dsk:
– Insert the disk image in the first slot, then boot the machine;
– The game should load and start automatically.

Game Instructions –

Move with the arrow keys; Hold Space to throw your lasso and release it to catch.
Catch the sheep while avoiding the wolf; The apples give you a small point bonus.

Article Translation –

MSX
Sheep Keeper
Norio Fujimori

Story

“Oh no!” – Richard said as he woke up from his dream. Today, he had to take care of a request from his Uncle Rockford: “At 2 o’clock, bring the sheep back inside.”
“I have to hurry!” – he thought, as he looked around, only to spot one lone wolf that seemed to be chasing after him.
“That’s the Purple Wolf!” – Richard shouted. The Purple Wolf was a strange wolf that despised sheep…

How to Play

Move Richard with the cursor keys to avoid the wolf and capture all 5 sheep.
Press the space key to throw a lasso in your current direction, and release it to reel it in. As time passes, the grass(🌱) grows larger(🌿), eventually growing into an apple(🍎). Catching these apples nets you 0-90 points, whereas catching a sheeps nets you 100-900 points.

Conclusion

I wanted to make a short program, but since I put in all the ideas I had, it ended up becoming one big plate of hamburger steak (with all the long code lines) with a side of curry spaghetti sauce.
Woohoo!! I’m Fujimori, if you guys from Shōwa Middle School are seeing this!

[ CHECKER FLAG ]

Dr. D: Well, the wolf-dodging and sheep-catching in this game is so monotonous I can’t help but think that’s why they put in the apples. If the core gameplay is fun, it should be enough by itself, and I’d much rather play something without unrelated mechanics tacked on top.
Editor: Seems like the Doctor is in a bad mood today.

{Table 1} Variable List
X, Y | Richard’s coordinates
WX, WY | Wolf’s coordinates
HX(?), HY(?) | Sheep’s coordinates
TI | TIME
R | ROUND
SC | SCORE
HS | HIGH SCORE
MA | Nº of remaining Richards

{Picture 1} The title screen. Joystick’s supported.
{Picture 2} Aim at the sheep and throw your lasso!
{Picture 3} The apples that pop up from time to time give you a score bonus!
{Picture 4} Got caught by the wolf!

> Footer messages:
★ BeMaga in the BC era would be like “2 models, 3 software listings!!” (Chiba・Wataru Watanabe, 14 y.o.)……[Dr. D: I wasn’t even born then… / Kage: Of course you weren’t! I wonder if it’d be more something like “Bargain sale for 3 soft legs from 2 dinosaur models”…]
★Kage, do you know about examination wars? Y’know, those where chalk (chōku) comes flying from the teacher’s platform! (Yamanashi, Nakakoma・Hiroaki Kouno, 15 y.o.)……[Kage: Choke (chōku)’s the word the referee yells whenever you choke someone in pro wrestling, right? I know that!]