Poizone is an arcade-inspired puzzle game developed by Paolo Baerlocher (code), Marc Andreoli (graphics), and Fabrice Hautecloque (music) in 1991 for the Acorn Archimedes, a series of personal computers developed in the United Kingdom. This block-pushing game draws inspiration from the genre-defining Soko-Ban and, in particular, the arcade game Pengo. The protagonist, Zozo, a penguin, appears in various landscapes, from frozen plateaus to the interior of an electronic circuit. Whereas Pengo is relatively minimal and Pac-Man-esque in both its approach and aesthetics, concentrating on pushing blocks and evading monsters, Poizone presents a more developed narrative centered on toxic waste and environmental pollution-an intentional choice by Baerlocher. The challenge increases with each level, requiring the player to remove a number of toxic blocks within a given time. These toxic blocks can be of different types, each with its own rules for removal. Some must be pushed and allowed to slide freely for a moment before they are crushed. Others can be removed only by pushing from the sides, not from the top or bottom.

The fact that the game was developed and published for the Acorn Archimedes is of particular interest. Paolo Baerlocher and Marc Andreoli met during their studies at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Archimedes, by contrast, was most popular in the United Kingdom, where it was produced by the same company that made the BBC Micro. Baerlocher was a member of a demoscene group called ArcAngels that specialized in working with the Archimedes, despite the computer’s limited popularity in Switzerland. Participation in the demoscene enabled Baerlocher not only to hone his skills and learn efficient programming but also to connect with specialists in other areas, such as Fabrice Hautecloque, who contributed the music. Baerlocher and Andreoli continued working together and also developed the video game Aldebaran, also for the Acorn Archimedes.

After being contacted by the Swiss Video Game Archivists, who inquired about preserving Poizone, Baerlocher decided to port the game to modern computers. The source code of the original Archimedes game, as well as the ported version, is freely available, together with contextual materials from the time of publication, design documents, and additional resources. The game can be played via itch.io. Finally, an interview on ROMchip with the programmer Paolo Baerlocher provides further details and insights into the development period.

https://github.com/PaoloBaerlocher/Archimedes
https://poizone.itch.io/poizone
https://romchip.org/index.php/romchip-journal/article/view/225