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The Stories by Richard Karsmakers

Stories for Shoot'em up games have never been very good. This one - written by Richard Karsmakers - is no exception. But who gives a sh.. about the story of a shoot'em up? At least there is no princess stuff in it...

There had been several stories for Lethal Xcess. Before Lethal Xcess became Wings of Death II, which had been a "last minute decision", Richard wrote a different story, which I will call the "1st Attempt". Again it has got a humoristic touch and would have fitted the game nearly as good as the story that had been used in the final release in 1991.

Select your destiny:

(1991) Lethal Xcess Story, 1st Attempt (English) 
(1991) Wings of Death II Story, 2nd Attempt (English) 
(1997) Wings of Death II Story, different ending (English) 
(1991) Wings of Death II Story, Final (English) 
(1991) Wings of Death II Story, Final (German) 

 

Lethal Xcess Story, 1st Attempt

Written on July 29th for Eclipse Software's "Lethal Xcess". My girlfriend actually deserves the credit for the basic plot.

Hell is a pretty rotten place. Not only is it damn hot, but its inhabitants also have a rather deranged sense of humour. Reason enough to try and get out of it, but that tends to be so hard that nobody succeeds and everybody would rather adapt himself to the exotic temperature and odd sense of humour instead. But not John Doe, full time philanthropist and part time science fiction games designer. Not the John Doe, the person that had never killed but a fly in his entire life, the person that had donated such ludicrously huge amounts of money to orphans and cancer research that his heirs had threatened to sue him. Not John Doe!

Due to a devilish trick of fate, however, some nutcase had put a 9 mm slug between his eyes. Just like that, one happy spring morning on the corner of 11th and Wall Street - speaking of 'being at the wrong place at the wrong time'! While his spirit left his body, gently bobbing above the remains, he saw the gun- wielding hooligan stealing his money and American Express Travellers Cheques.

This would all have been perfectly all right had he taken the right turn after cloud nine. Unfortunately, he hadn't. Whereas he should have followed a traffic sign labelled "Heavenly Bliss and lots of Groovy Peace" he absent-mindedly walked into the direction leading to "Eternal Hellfire, Damnation and Utter Pandemonium".

The first thing he had considered odd was the guardian's costume. Whereas he had expected kind of a light robe and a long beard he saw instead a black goatee, two little horns and a distinctly red complexion.

"Excuse me, sir," John ventured, feeling ill at ease, "Would you be so kind as to announce my arrival at these here Gates of Heaven? I'm Doe. John Doe. Philanthropist and part time science fiction games designer."

The demon (for, as you could have guessed already, it was none less than a demon that sat there) stifled a chuckle, frowned, and casually played with his laser gun. "Sure," it said, "just go right ahead. Turn left behind the seventh gate."

Mr. Doe was surprised to discover he had unintentionally wandered into Hell, which he only found out after having passed through the seventh gate - a demonic laughter echoed through the archway of gates far behind him.

But then it was too late. "There is no way back now, chum," a voice said. John turned around and found himself looking directly into the metallic eyes of a big red robot. It is a common misconception that Satan looks like a goat that has eaten too much lobster. As a matter of fact, he looks like a big red robot with smoke coming from his nostrils and a large Howitzer laser built into his right arm. John sensed that this had to be the purest kind of evil he would ever meet.

"No...no way out?" he asked, having trouble to get rid of that frog in his throat. Satan nodded in meaningful silence.

"Unless you want to fight the creatures from your own Hell," the Evil One said, making grotesque gestures with his arms, "Monstrous beings contrived by nothing less than your own imagination. Hideous creatures that spill forth death and destruction. Vile machines driven by your own fantasy, impossible to beat. Evil aberrations from the depths of your worst fear- ridden nightmares."

John trembled. A chair appeared from nothing, allowing him to sit down.  "W...will I...I...h...have to beat all those?" he stuttered. Satan folded his arms, nodding with his eyes closed. "But...but...I h...haven't even killed a fly in my life, you know, and now I h...have to fight my way through all those...those dismal monstrosities?" 

"Those," Satan replied smugly, "and probably a jolly lot more." It was then that Mr. Doe decided to change his life (well, his "death", actually). Gone were the days of peace and quiet. He would get out of this self-styled hell if it was going to be the last thing he'd ever do!

Back to the top of this page©1991 Richard Karsmakers

 

Wings of Death II, 2nd Attempt (English)

Another commercial assignment: The background novel to the game "Wings of Death II" by Eclipse Software. Written September 20th 1991. This version was the original one. It turned out to be a technical shoot-'em-up later, so I had to rewrite it into the final version.

Life had been terrific. After Sagyr had finally succeeded in defeating the wicked witch Xandrilia and found the potion that enabled him to regain the shape of his former self, people from all over the world had visited him. For them he was the greatest magician alive, which he had no reason to dislike. For many years, people would come to him whenever they needed minor bits of magic to be done. Some time ago an apprentice by the name of Kurgan had even requested his aid concerning the release of an entire enchanted land! Sagyr had it made. He was invited to royal parties and trivia quiz panels; he was asked to cut the ceremonial ribbon at official openings. If he would have lived in our days, in our plane of reality, he would have been contracted for washing powder commercials. He had nothing whatsoever to complain about. Life was terrific, and it looked set to remain that way, smiling broadly at him.

Until one day a soft, wet knock could be heard on the wooden door of his humble abode. It was already getting late - the moon was full and the sound of wolves' howling would have made chills rush up and down his spine if he wouldn't have been Sagyr, the famous, powerful sorcerer. He was in the middle of mixing ingredients, trying to make a potion that could change gold into the lead he needed because his washbasin was leaking. He muttered a soft curse when he heard the knock. It was repeated. It sounded as if a small lump of meat was being pounced into the door. "Yes, yes," Sagyr muttered. He staggered to the door. The awkwardness of his movements made him think back of when Xandrilia had changed him into an animal. He hadn't liked it, but at least he had been able to fly like an eagle, hear like a bat, buzz like a dragonfly. Being enchanted had had its good sides - one of them being the lack of his rheumatic symptoms. He muttered another curse when he opened the door and saw nothing but the endless black void of midnight out of which only arose the howling of wolves and the odd sound of owls. The curse was followed by some words that would have made Eddie Murphy blush if he only had lived in the same time and, indeed, in the same plane of reality.

Sagyr returned to his cauldron, intending to continue mixing ingredients. Maybe some eye of newt? Some tongue of frog? Wings of bat? Some Plantiac? When he was about to take a swig of the latter, he suddenly noticed something green on the ground that mysteriously made the name "Kermit" appear in his mind. He discarded the thought and instead bent over to look at it more intently. It was a frog and, although it was a strange thing for a frog to do, it held a little scroll between its front paws. Sagyr took the little scroll and unrolled it. On it was a totally ridiculous text. "EVEN THOUGH IT MIGHT SEEM ODD TO YOU RIGHT NOW, I AM ACTUALLY A BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS KISS ME." 

Sagyr thought deep. He knew this was ridiculous but the only thing he had always longed for was a female companion - just about the only thing his fame had not awarded him with. He took the frog in his hand. It felt like wet clay, and looked revolting. All he had to do was kiss it and he would have the companion he had wanted so long. Finally he would no longer be alone when mixing potions - and he would no longer need to do all the paperwork involved with his sorcery practice. Wow. And a princess at that! That was even better than, let's say, the ordinary everyday girl. He closed his eyes and thought fervently about the first girl he had ever cuddled on junior apprentice school - who had, accidentally, also been the last one. He kissed the frog.

A flash of bright lightning split the blackened night sky in two, immediately followed by a crack of thunder sufficient to scare off death. Sagyr opened his eyes. Princesses surely weren't as beautiful any more - not like he recalled them from the good ol' days. The one standing in his laboratory right now had long, grey, ragged hair that clung to her body as if she had just emerged from a pool of mud - which was a fitting description for the rest of the state she was in. The note must have been mistaken. She didn't look like a princess at all. She looked more like an evil witch of some sort, like... "Xandrilia!" he exclaimed in a voice tinged with fright, stepping back in awe. 

The witch didn't say anything but her eyes mutely spoke of death and revenge. Quite forgetting all about the fact that she was standing in front of her arch adversary in a rather nude, befuddled and altogether silly way, she spread her arms and cast an evil glance skyward. Sagyr took another step back. He felt his throat tighten, as if powers beyond his were at work. Sweat appeared on his brow. What could he do? His potions were out of reach. He had given his magic wand to a chap called Geraden two days earlier. There was no way out. His powers were of no avail here. He could beg for mercy, but something told him Xandrilia was not in the mood. Another flash of lightning seemed to yank the heavens asunder. The crack of thunder that followed would have been enough to cause mayhem in hell. 

No. Not again. He felt a strange sensation in his stomach that quickly went to his head. He felt fur on his arms. Or were it feathers? Xandrilia laughed like only triumphant evil witches can laugh - in an altogether very evil way. No. Not again. Not now. He could learn to hate fate.

Back to the top of this page©1991 Richard Karsmakers 

 

Wings of Death II Final (English)

Life had been terrific. After Sagyr had finally succeeded in defeating the wicked witch Xandrilia and found the potion that enabled him to regain the shape of his former self, people from all over the world had visited him. For them he was the greatest magician alive, which he had no reason to dislike. Sagyr had it made. He was invited to royal parties and trivia quiz panels. If he would have lived in our days, in our plane of reality, he would have been contracted for washing powder commercials. He had nothing to complain about. Life was terrific, and it looked set to remain that way.

Until one day a soft, wet knock could be heard on the wooden door of his humble abode. It was already getting late - the moon was full and the sound of wolves' howling would have made chills rush up and down his spine if he wouldn't have been Sagyr, the famous, powerful sorcerer. He was in the middle of mixing ingredients, trying to make a potion that could change gold into the lead he needed because his washbasin was leaking. He muttered a soft curse when he heard the knock. It was repeated. It sounded as if a small lump of meat was being pounced into the door. "Yes, yes," Sagyr muttered. He staggered to the door. He muttered another curse when he opened the door and saw nothing but the endless black void of midnight out of which only arose the howling of wolves and the odd sound of owls. The curse was followed by some words that would have made Eddie Murphy blush if he only had lived in the same time and, indeed, in the same plane of reality. 

Sagyr returned to his cauldron, intending to continue mixing ingredients. Maybe some eye of newt? Some tongue of frog? Wings of bat? Some Plantiac? When he was about to take a swig of the latter, he suddenly noticed something green on the ground that mysteriously made the name "Kermit" appear in his mind. He discarded the thought and instead bent over to look at it more intently. It was a frog and, although it was a strange thing for a frog to do, it held a little scroll between its front paws. Sagyr took the little scroll and unrolled it. On it was a totally ridiculous text. "EVEN THOUGH IT MIGHT SEEM ODD TO YOU RIGHT NOW, I AM ACTUALLY A BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS KISS ME." 

Sagyr thought deep. A strange gleam occurred in his eyes. Then he took the frog in his hand. It felt like wet clay, and looked revolting. All he had to do was kiss it. Finally he would no longer be alone when mixing potions - and he would no longer need to do all the paperwork involved with his sorcery practice. Wow. And a princess at that! That was even better than, let's say, the ordinary everyday girl. He closed his eyes and thought fervently about the first girl he had ever cuddled on junior apprentice school - who had, accidentally, also been the last one. He kissed the frog.

A flash of bright lightning split the blackened night sky in two, immediately followed by a crack of thunder sufficient to scare off death. Sagyr opened his eyes. Princesses surely weren't as beautiful any more - not like he recalled them from the good ol' days. The one standing in his laboratory right now had long, grey, ragged hair that clung to her body as if she had just emerged from a pool of mud - which was a fitting description for the rest of the state she was in. The note must have been mistaken. She didn't look like a princess at all. She looked more like an evil witch of some sort, like... "Xandrilia!" he exclaimed in a voice tinged with fright, stepping back in awe. 

The witch didn't say anything but her eyes mutely spoke of death and revenge. Quite forgetting all about the fact that she was standing in front of her arch adversary in a rather nude, befuddled and altogether silly way, she spread her arms and cast an evil glance skyward. Sagyr took another step back. He felt his throat tighten, as if powers beyond his were at work. Sweat appeared on his brow. What could he do? His potions were out of reach. He had given his magic wand to a chap called Geraden two days earlier. There was no way out. His powers were of no avail here. He could beg for mercy, but something told him Xandrilia was not in the mood. Another flash of lightning seemed to yank the heavens asunder. The crack of thunder that followed would have been enough to cause mayhem in hell. 

No. Not again! He touched his skin - it was still there. He looked around him - it was his humble abode that had been changed this time. It had been replaced by the cockpit of a post-modern space fighter. He heard the echo of Xandrilia's laugh linger off. He looked at a strange power window in front of him. He was baffled to notice a text on it in illuminating capitals. 

"SAGYR, YOU OLD FOOL! YOU FELL FOR THE OLDEST TRICK IN THE BOOK! YOU HAVE BEEN TELEPORTED ABOUT 3000 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE. MY POSTERITY HAS CONQUERED MOST OF THE UNIVERSE AND I LEAVE IT UP TO THEM TO ENCOMPASS YOUR DOOM IN A MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE WAY THAN I COULD EVER HAVE DONE. YOU HAVE ONLY ONE CHANCE: DESTROY THE PLANET "METHALLYCHA" WHERE MY ULTRA-FAR-GREAT-GREAT-GRAND- CHILDREN, THE XANDRILIANS, NOW LIVE. IT'S QUITE FAR OFF. USE THE MACHINE IN WHICH YOU ARE NOW TO FLY THERE. IT WON'T BE EASY.
 
YOURS DOOM-INVOKINGLY, XANDRILIA" 

Sagyr cursed to himself. Damn and damn again! He pressed a red button that had looked pretty inviting. He was pushed back in his chair and before he knew it he was off into the vastness of a universe occupied by evil Xandrilians. At least he had this strange war machine to help him. This steel machine with wings of steel - wings of death.

Back to the top of this page©1991 Richard Karsmakers 

 

Wing of Death II Final (German Translation)

Nachdem Sagyr endlich die berüchtigte Hexe Xandrilia besiegt und mit dem gefundenen Zaubertrank seine alte Gestalt zurückerlangt hatte, besuchten ihn Menschen aus aller Welt. Für sie war er der größte lebende Magier. Er hatte keinen Grund sich über irgend etwas zu beklagen. Sein Leben war phantastisch und es schien, als ob es auch so bleiben sollte.

Doch eines Tages konnte man ein leises Klopfen an der hölzernen Tür seines bescheidenen Wohnsitzes hören. Es war schon spät, draußen war Vollmond und das Heulen der Wölfe hätte ihn erschauern lassen, wäre er nicht Sagyr, der mächtige Zauberer gewesen. "Ja, ja," murmelte er und wandte sich zur Tür. Er fluchte, als er die Tür öffnete und nichts als das endlose Schwarz der Nacht sah, aus dem nur das Heulen der Wölfe und die seltsamen Geräusche der Eulen zu ihm hervordrangen.

Sagyr kehrte zu seinem Kessel zurück, um weitere Zutaten in seinen Trank zu mischen. Villeicht einige Molchaugen? Ein paar Krötenzungen? Fledermausflügel? Etwas Plantiac? Als er gerade einen Schluck des letzteren zu sich nehmen wollte, bemerkte er plötzlich etwas Grünes auf dem Boden. Er beugte sich herunter, um genauer hinzusehen. Es war ein Frosch und obwohl es ziemlich merkwürdig für einen Frosch war, hielt er eine kleine Schriftrolle. Sagyr nahm das Schriftstück und entrollte es. Darauf stand ein Text, der ihm seltsam bekannt vorkam.

"Auch wenn es dir im Moment sonderbar erscheinen mag, bin ich tatsächlich eine Prinzessin. Alles was du zu tun hast, ist mich zu küssen."

Sagyr dachte lange nach. Ein seltsames Funkeln trat in seine Augen, dann nahm er den Frosch in seine Hand. Er fühlte sich an, wie feuchter Lehm und sah widerlich aus. Alles was er zu tun hatte, war ihn zu küssen. Immerhin würde er nicht länger allein sein, wenn er seine Zaubertränke mixte - und er würde nicht länger den ganzen Papierkram erledigen müssen, der mit seiner Zauberei verbunden war. Er küsste den Frosch.

Ein leuchtender Blitz zerriß den schwarzen Nachthimmel gefolgt von einem fürchterlichen Donnerschlag. Sagyr öffnete seine Augen. Prinzessinen waren wohl auch nicht mehr das, was sie einmal waren. Die jetzt in seinem Labor stand, hatte lange, graue, struppige Haare, welche an ihrem Körper klebten, als ob sie gerade aus der nächsten Schlammpfütze aufgetaucht sei. Die Mitteilung mußte falsch sein. Sie sah überhaupt nicht wie eine Prinzessin aus. Sie ähnelte mehr einer Hexe von der Sorte wie... "Xandrilia!" rief er mit einer von Angst erstickten Stimme, während er erschreckt zurückwich. Die Hexe sagte nichts, aber ihre Augen sprachen schweigend von Tod und Vergeltung. Sie breitete ihre Arme aus und warf einen hinterhältigen Blick himmelwärts. Sagyr machte einen weiteren Schritt zurück. Er fühlte, wie seine Kehle zusammengedrückt wurde, als ob Mächte am Werk waren, die seine eigenen übertrafen. Schweißtropfen erschienen auf seiner Stirn. Was konnte er tun? Seine Zaubertränke waren außer Reichweite und er hatte seinen Zauberstab zwei Tage zuvor verliehen. Es gab keinen Ausweg. Seine Kräfte waren hier nutzlos. Ein weiterer Lichtblitz schien den Himmel in Stücke zu reißen. Der darauf folgende Donner hätte ausgereicht, um die Hölle zu verwüsten. Nein! Nicht noch einmal! Er berührte seine Haut - sie war noch vorhanden. Er schaute sich um - diesmal war es seine Behausung, die sich verändert hatte. Sie hatte sich in das Cockpit eines hypermodernen Kampfraumschiffes verwandelt. Er hörte das Echo von Xandrilias Lachen nachklingen. Dann bemerkte er das merkwürdig Fenster vor sich und war verblüfft, darauf einen Text aus leuchtenden Buchstaben zu sehen.

"Sagyr, du bist auf den ältesten Trick der Welt hereingefallen! Du bist ungefähr 3000 Jahre in die Zukunft teleportiert worden! Meine Nachfahren haben den größten Teil des bekannten Universums erobert und ich überlasse es ihnen, deinen Untergang in einer viel effektiveren Weise herbeizuführen, als ich es jemals gekonnt hätte.
Du hast nur eine Chance: Zerstöre den Planeten "Metallycha", wo meine ultra-weit-ur-ur-ur-Enkel, die Xandrilianer, jetzt leben. Er ist ziemlich weit entfernt. Benutze die Maschine, in der du dich befindest, um dorthin zu fliegen. Es wird nicht einfach werden.

Deine den Tod herbeirufende Xandrilia."

Sagyr ärgerte sich über sich selbst. Verdammt! Dann drückte er auf einen sehr einladend aussehenden roten Knopf. Er wurde in seinen Sitz gedrückt und bevor er wußte was los war, befand er sich auf dem Weg in die Weiten eines Universums, das von den bösartigen Xandrilianern besetzt war.  Immerhin hatte er diese ungewöhnliche Kampfmaschine als Hilfsmittel. Eine Maschine mit Schwingen aus Stahl - Schwingen des Todes.

Back to the top of this page©1991 Richard Karsmakers

  

Lethal Xcess aka Wings of Death II a classic shoot'em up for Atari ST(E) and Amiga computers was developed by Claus Frein and Heinz Rudolf, Music by Jochen Hippel, Producer Marc Rosocha.

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Lethal Xcess copyright © 1991 Eclipse Software Design.
Wings of Death copyright © 1990 Thalion Software.
ST/Amiga Soundtracks copyright © 1990/1991 Jochen Hippel.
Cybernetics Font copyright © 1991 Jérôme Hubert.
C64 Graphics © 1992 Oliver Lindau
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This page has been updated 10.01.2005