Atic Atac is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game, released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983 and the BBC Micro in 1985. The game takes place within a castle in which the player must seek out the "Golden Key of ACG" by unlocking doors and avoiding enemies. It was Ultimate's second game to require 48K of RAM; most of their previous games for the Spectrum ran on unexpanded 16K models.
The game was written by Tim Stamper and its graphics were designed by brother Chris Stamper. Atic Atac received praise from critics upon release, mostly for its graphics and gameplay. It was later included in the 2015 release by Rare on the
Xbox One retrospective compilation, Rare Replay. The game served as inspiration for the critically acclaimed adventure game show Knightmare.
Gameplay
thumb|left|250px|A screenshot from the game, showing a room surrounded by locked doors, and the rotting chicken energy meter on the right
The game is presented in a top-down perspective (albeit with sideways-on action) and is set inside a complex, labyrinthine castle with multiple floors (accessed by staircases and timed trapdoors) and secret passages. The player has been trapped inside and needs to collect three pieces of the "Golden Key of ACG" in order to escape. They can choose from three different characters; a Wizard, Knight or Serf. Each character has different ground friction, a different weapon to kill common enemies and access to a secret passage unique to them, meaning that navigating the castle is different for each one.
There are a number of items scattered around the castle, of which the player may carry up to three at a time. Some of these are always in the same place at the start of the game, whereas others are distributed randomly. Prior to founding Ultimate, the Stamper brothers had backgrounds in designing arcade machines, but no marketing experience in the video game sector.
The operations of Ultimate were secretive and the Stamper brothers rarely gave interviews.
| EuroG = 8/10
Atic Atac entered the MRIB Top 30 software charts at number 5 in November 1983,
The game received a positive critical reception upon release. Micro Adventurer mainly praised Ultimate's capabilities of developing high quality games, saying that Atic Atac was "bound to fix their name firmly into the minds of adventurers", further recommending the game "without reservation". Crash enjoyed the game's colourful graphics, heralding the detail and objects of the game to be "marvellous". However, they criticised the difficult joystick control and vague instructions, adding that the entire game is a "learning experience". while Sinclair User praised both the depth of plot and the advanced graphics, citing them both as "superb".
In 1991, Atic Atac was ranked as the 79th best ZX Spectrum game of all time by Your Sinclair, and was voted the 8th best game of all time by the readers of Retro Gamer magazine for an article that was scheduled to be in a special Your Sinclair Tribute issue. In 2007, Eurogamer described it as a prime example of "what passion can do when properly digitised". In 2015, the game was included in Rare Replay, a collection of 30 Rare-designed games released for the Xbox One gaming console.
The game was a major inspiration for the critically acclaimed CITV game show Knightmare, with producer Tim Child realising that if a ZX Spectrum could run a compelling adventure game, then a television programme with pre-rendered graphics could revolutionise the genre. Sabre Wulf, which was released for the ZX Spectrum by Ultimate Play the Game later in 1984, was noted for having similar gameplay to Atic Atac, including its similar themes of a continuous maze.