1980s
Impossible Mission
1984 · Action / Platform · Commodore 64
Overview
Impossible Mission is a classic 1980s action / platform game developed by Dennis Caswell for Commodore 64.
Deep Dive
Impossible Mission is a classic 1980s action / platform game developed by Dennis Caswell for Commodore 64.
Developer Story
Impossible Mission was designed by Dennis Caswell at Epyx in 1984. The game is famous for its synthesised speech — "Another visitor. Stay a while... stay FOREVER!" — delivered when the player's spy character was killed by a security robot. The smooth animation of the protagonist, achieved through rotoscoping-influenced sprite work, was exceptional for a home computer game of 1984.
Did You Know?
- "Another visitor. Stay a while... stay FOREVER!" became one of the most quoted villain speeches in gaming history.
- The protagonist's animation was among the smoothest ever seen on an 8-bit home computer, achieved through carefully crafted sprite sequences.
- The game's puzzle mechanic — searching rooms for puzzle pieces to assemble a password — was a completely original structure.
- Each game had a randomised puzzle, meaning the same room layout could require different puzzle pieces each play.
