Rama

Specifics

FIRST RELEASE:	1996-01-01
DEVELOPERS:	Dynamix
PUBLISHERS:	Sierra On-Line
GROUPS:	Based on movies, books or other media
GENRES:	Adventure, Adventure: FMV
PLATFORMS:	IBM PC, Macintosh
ENGINES:	SCI

Game menu

General

Four years ago a gigantic cylindrical spaceship of unknown origin was discovered, hurdling towards our sun. The International Space Agency decided to launch an expedition to explore this enigmatic messenger from another world. Twelve carefully selected astronauts trained for years for this rendezvous with the alien ship, named Rama. Two days ago, after the crew had completed its initial sortie into the dark and hollow interior of Rama, astronaut-commander Valeriy Borzov mysteriously died, following a routine medical procedure. You are to replace Borzov. The mission commander, Dr. David Brown, will give you specific assignments, but your general mission is straightforward - explore Rama. Discover as much as you can about the origin and purpose of this intruder from the stars.

Rama basically consists of two main areas: the vast Central Plains, where biots (biological robots) fulfill their work duties, and New York, an enormous mechanical city where the Ramans and Octospiders reside. Unfortunately, during your exploring of the Central Plains, a tragedy occurs. Some crew members tried to capture a dangerous crab biot with a helicopter for analysis on earth. The hunt fails and Reggie Wilson, reporter on the mission, is killed while saving another crew member's life. Moments later, Rama makes a course correction, direction earth! While most of the astronauts would like to further explore the gigantic cylinder, others have an agenda on their own and activate three nuclear devices which they brought with them. But, did Rama really come all the way from across the universe just to collide with earth? What was a mission of exploration, becomes a mission of rescue. Can you gather enough materials, solve the complex arithmetic puzzles and disable the nuclear devices in time? Only your wits and quick thinking can save Rama... and yourself.

The game Rama is based on the book Rama 2, written by Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee. Arthur C. Clarke, one of the best known names in science fiction, has published over 70 books, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was later filmed by Stanley Kubrick. Gentry Lee, noted scientist and NASA engineer, co-authored four novels with Arthur C. Clarke and partnered with Carl Sagan in the creation of the television series, Cosmos.

This Dynamix adventure game, directed by Mark Hood, features real-life actors. Blue screen filming took place both in Seattle, for the astronaut characters, and in Columbo, Sri Lanka, for Arthur C. Clarke who has a guiding role in the game. The filming in Sri Lanka was an adventure by itself. Rama features super-VGA graphics, and the game's engine is Sierra's SCI32 interpreter, which was for the first time applied to present a first-person point of view. It was released both for DOS and Windows. A limited edition was released which also included the novel. Although Mr. Clarke refers to a game sequel at the end of the game, it was unfortunately never made.

Collections and compilations

This title is also included in:

PC Gamer Editors' Choice Collection

External links

- Rama at SierraHelp
- Rama at MobyGames
- Rama at Wikipedia