B.C.'s Quest for Tires
B.C.'s Quest for Tires is horizontally scrolling video game designed by Rick Banks and Michael Bate and published by Sierra On-Line in 1983. Versions were released for the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family, ColecoVision, ZX Spectrum, MSX, and Apple II. Based on the comic strip "B.C." by Johnny Hart, "BC's Quest for Tires" is similar to Irem's "Moon Patrol" from the previous year. The title is a play on the title of the contemporaneous film "Quest for Fire". A sequel, "", was released in 1984. In retrospect, the title has been  referred to as the first endless runner game. Plot. The player takes the role of the caveman Thor, who has to rescue his girlfriend, "Cute Chick", who has been kidnapped by a dinosaur. To do this, he must travel on his stone unicycle (actually an impossible wheel) through several levels. Each level has Thor moving from the left to the right, avoiding various dangers. Gameplay. "B.C.'s Quest for Tires" is an action game taking place on several consecutive levels. The levels start out simple, with Thor having to jump over potholes or duck under tree branches. Later levels become  more complex, for example requiring Thor to jump on turtles in order to cross a lake, or to be carried over a lava pit by a "Dooky Bird". Other "B.C." characters, such as the Fat Broad, also appear on some levels. Reception. "Softline" stated that, given the conventional gameplay ("it's that get-from-point-A-to-point-B kind of game"), the use of the familiar comic characters made "the player feel like finishing the game is worthwhile ... [Otherwise] it's just not the same". The magazine concluded that ""B.C.'s Quest for Tires" isn't so much a  computer game as it is an interactive cartoon. This cartoon has its limits, but it does provide some challenge". "Antic" approved of the game not being another "'shoot the aliens and save the world' scenario", and the "first rate" animation, but predicted that most players would "enjoy the game for a day or two, then relegate it to the shelf". "Compute!" praised the game's "excellent graphics" and animation, which "approach cartoon standards". David Stone reviewed the game for "Computer Gaming World", and stated that "QFT requires far more timing than strategy and, rather than levels of play, it offers  new obstacles to overcome on the way to the rescue. Still, it is fun to play."