This game came about as a "quick make up some game ideas" whilst on a long train journey. From the start I imagined it as something that would mimic a £1.99 Mastertronic game.

It has been entirely AI generated in Claude and because of that it is entirely free for you to download. The source code is also included for those that like that sort of stuff.

It has a custom loader if you let the tap file run and the loading screen detects whether the machine is 48k or 128k and displays appropriately.

There is an annoying AY and beeper tune for you to enjoy over and over again and machine appropriate sound effects when playing the game.

Loading and controls

Type LOAD "" and press ENTER, then play the tape. In Fuse, open the .tap file.

Action	Keyboard	Sinclair or Kempston joystick
Left / right	O / P	Left / right
Up / down a belt	Q / A	Up / down
Fire (pick up, fit, scrap, mend)	SPACE	Fire

H to pause, F to quit the game.

About the game

You are Clanky Colin, the only worker on the night shift at a robot factory. Build the robots the boss shouts for, from parts coming down four conveyor belts, before the parts fall on the floor. Survive 25 shifts to win and get promoted!

The game features ten robot designs and two rooms for Colin to complete his shift in. The Belt Room and the Build Room.

The belt room

Four conveyor belts carry robot parts from left to right: heads, bodies, arms and legs, each in the colour of the robot it belongs to. Colin stands in front of one belt at a time.

• Pick up: stand by a part and press fire. Colin carries one thing at a time. To help you work out what the part is, the top bubble tells you what he is holding.
• Falling parts: a part that reaches the end of its belt hangs there flashing for about two seconds, then falls. Every part that hits the floor costs a life. You start with five, and there are no extra lives.
• The chute: the part machines are faulty and about a quarter of the parts are for robots nobody ordered. Carry unwanted parts to the recycling chute at the right-hand end of the bottom belt and press fire to scrap them.
• The blackboard: the board at the top left shows a face for every robot ordered this shift. Each is struck out once built.
• Belt numbers and lamps: the belts are numbered 1 to 4 on the wall, yellow if running this shift. The four lamps beside BELTS in the top right corner are one for each belt and show which belts are active or need attention.
• To the build room: on the bottom belt, press down.

The build room

Six build bays stand in a row below the walkway. Each bay can hold one robot: a head, a body, two arms and two legs.

• Fit a part: stand above a bay holding a part and press fire. It automatically fits into its own place in that bay.
• No going back: a fitted part cannot be taken out again.
• Finished robots: when the sixth part goes in, the robot is judged at once. A good robot flashes and leaves, leaving the bay free.
• Closed bays: bays with hazard stripes are out of use for that shift.
• The orders list: shows each kind of robot ordered: its face, its name and how many are still left to build.
  
• Back to the belts: press up.

Good and bad robots

Never judge a book by its cover, but a robot is judged on its head, body and legs. Arms never spoil a robot.

Colin's efforts	What happens	Result
All six parts from the same robot, and that robot is on the list	250 points, order crossed off	Perfect
Works, with one to five parts matching a robot on the list	100 points, order crossed off	Wonky
Works, but matches nothing on the list	50 points, nothing crossed off	Not ordered
Head and body from different robots	Bad robot	Blows up
Two legs of different lengths	Bad robot	Falls over

The boss warns you the moment a robot is doomed: "COLIN! STOP!! YOU ARE BUILDING A BAD ROBOT!" It cannot be saved after that, so stop putting good parts into it.

A bad robot leaves a wreck that blocks its bay for the rest of the shift, and strikes out one letter of BAD at the top of the screen. Three bad robots in one shift and you are fired.

Breakdowns and blackouts

Breakdowns, from level 7. Belts can break from now on! Smoke rises there and the boss shouts "COLIN! FIX BELT 3!!". Of course, the belt keeps running, and every part that reaches the break hangs, then falls.

1. Go to the top belt and walk to the right-hand end, under the TOOLS sign.
2. With empty hands, press fire to pick up the spanner. You cannot carry a part and the spanner together.
3. Go to the broken belt, stand at the smoke and press fire to mend it.

Any parts hanging at the break are saved when the belt is repaired, and the spanner goes back to the rack by itself.

Blackouts, from level 16. Due to the factory being old and shabby, now and then the lights will go off so parts can only be told apart by shape. 

The Big Order

After level 3, the Boss will announce a big order before the next level starts: "JUST MAKE ROBOTS FROM ANY PARTS!". For two minutes all bets are off in this bonus round:

• Any parts will do: every six parts make a good robot worth 200 points. Nothing blows up or falls over, and there are no bad robots.
• Nothing to lose: dropped parts are fine. The boss just says "DON'T WORRY, KEEP WORKING!".
• All hands: all four belts run, all six bays are open, and no belt breaks or and  the lights don't fail.
• The clock: TIME replaces LEVEL at the top right and counts down from 2:00. The boss warns you at 30 and 10 seconds, then tells you how many robots you built.

Hints and tips

• Watch the ends of the belts first. A flashing part is two seconds from costing a life, whatever it is.
• Give each robot on the list its own bay, and decide which before you start fitting.
• Scrap what you don't need straight away. A part in your hands stops you saving the next one.
• Legs of the same length are safe to mix, and arms can come from anywhere. A wonky robot still counts.
• When a bay is doomed, leave it. Finishing it only gives you the bad robot sooner.
• Mend a broken belt before anything else: it drops every part that reaches the break.