Grand Theft Cygnus - enhanced version

This game began life as an entry into a BASIC ascii 10-liner comp. The  original basic version is here. 

I liked the idea and decided to work on the game without the constraints of the competition. It's now written in assembly, I added custom graphics, music (Le Cygne by Saint Saens, obviously), enhanced the 'distance' calculation, added a graphic 'lose' screen and a 'win' routine (which will be very hard to reach, I'm not aware of anyone, including me, making it.) 

I'm thrilled that Rod at Future Was 8-bit has published the game on physical cassette. 

Let's be honest, what I've written is a minesweeper game, but I love a bizarre backstory and I hope that this one will make people laugh. No swans are harmed in playing this game, you're stealing them using a lassoo, and when the Queen shoots, it's you she's aiming at!

The Vic20 wasn't my very first computer, but it was the one I spent most time with as a teenager, and I feel a very fond connection with it today. I own several and have built a Vicky Twenty.

Aside from the small amount of built-in RAM and low screen resolution, it's a very capable and flexible machine. 

Storyline

As we all know, the swans all belong to the Queen. As the hero of our game, you are intent on stealing as many of them as you can. However, Her Majesty is keeping a lookout and will blast you with her shotgun if you get too close. 

Move your noose with WASD keys, and when you're correctly lined up, press space to lassoo and steal the swan. As long as it's not the one HM is hiding behind, then you'll receive a hint about how far away she is. If you see 0 or 1, run away! If you hear her gunshot, it's game over. If you successfully manage to creep around the monarch and steal all but one of the swans (the one she's hiding behind) then you'll move on to another part of the river.

Playing

Download the prg, open it in your favourite Vic20 emulator, or copy it to an SD card to load it onto a real Vic using an SD2IEC. See the storyline for controls.

The original 10-liner BASIC version was for unexpanded PAL Vic. this version should be good for PAL and NTSC and requires 8k+