Brataccas

Brataccas displays the game world in flip-screen format, with the map divided into rooms that are drawn into the display as the character moved through the habitat. The screens flip when Kyne passes from room to room, typically through doors. Most movement is horizontal, with automatic elevators providing vertical movement between floors where required. Occasionally, labeled doors in the rear wall or teleportation booths with the appearance of cylindrical shower stalls lead the player to different sets of rooms. A small number of rooms are outdoor areas.

The player can move, pickup and drop objects, and talk to non-player characters (NPCs). These NPCs pursue their own objectives, sometimes even engaging in combat with other NPCs. All of the game's characters use swords in combat.

The player controls Kyne, a genetic engineer who has developed technology for creating supermen. The oppressive government of the day desires this research to create a breed of supersoldier, but Kyne refuses to assist. In retaliation, the government frames him for treason, claiming that he is seeking to sell his work to the underworld. At the same time, the government secretly offers a reward to anyone in the underworld who turns Kyne over to them. With both the forces of law and lawlessness aligned against him, Kyne is forced to flee Earth.

During his escape, Kyne learns that evidence needed to clear his name can be found on the distant asteroid of Brataccas. Brataccas, first of the asteroids to be colonized, is a backwater mining colony with a "wild west" feel of lawlessness and corruption. Kyne has to find the evidence in order to win the game, obtaining it from the in-game characters. The manual gave no indication of who held the evidence, suggesting that everyone was equally corrupt and dangerous to talk to.

Brataccas had its origins in Bandersnatch, one of two ambitious "Megagames" planned by Imagine Software, the other being Psyclapse. Bandersnatch was eagerly anticipated by teaser adverts placed in the computer press in 1984, and was originally intended for release on the 8-bit ZX Spectrum home computer; it also would have set a new price point for computer games (£39.95 vs. the standard rates of the time of between £5.95 and £11.95). It was intended that the game would have required a cartridge or dongle to support the demands of the game. However, before any of the Megagames had been completed, Imagine Software went bankrupt, owing to financial mismanagement, with the spectacular demise being shown in a BBC documentary named Commercial Breaks.

Finchspeed, a company created by former Imagine directors Ian Hetherington, Mark Butler, and Dave Lawson, attempted to acquire the assets of the failing company, but were unsuccessful; the rights to the games were sold by the receivers.

Long expected, and already the subject of considerable pre-release press, the game received mixed reviews. Reviewers generally liked its sophisticated setting and story and ambitious graphics, but almost all complained about the control system.

Commodore Horizons started its Amiga review by noting that the concept appeared excellent but the early implementation they received was difficult to enjoy. They were highly critical of the mouse controls, noting that even slight movements like re-positioning the mouse on the desk could be interpreted as commands that would have consequences. But they reserved their primary complaints for the manual, and noted that after playing it for some time they still had no idea how to win the game.

The Black Mirror interactive film Bandersnatch, released in 2018, alludes to Imagine Software and the failed work to produce Bandersnatch. The film starts on 9 July 1984, the date of Imagine's closure, and includes a shot of the cover of Crash reporting on the closure. Within the film, the fictional software company Tuckersoft, which had developed both Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum games, places its financial future on the attempt to produce Bandersnatch, and in some scenarios falls into bankruptcy after the game fails to appear.