For centuries, the Flying Trolls have been capturing Gnomes and forcing them to mine crystal in the dreaded Sky Mines. The Sky Mines are airborne mines made of jagged crystals, and are not traversable on foot. Our hero, a gnome named Flerm, has built a hot air balloon from spare parts, with which to escape the mines.Flerm must navigate his balloon through the treacherous mines and escape to freedom. The obstacles in his way include:
- The mines (the crystals cut the balloon)
- Air vents (push the balloon around)
- Daggerbats (sharp, flying critters)
- Trolls (with spears that puncture the balloon)
Movement: The balloon can move in four directions on the screen. Four keys are needed, for four balloon-steering functions. However, Flerm can only do one thing at once – the actions are mutually exclusive:
- Torch (UP Key): Firing the torch provides lift for the balloon.
- Bellows left (LEFT key): Flerm can fire the bellows to the left of the balloon. This will make it go right.
- Bellows Right (RIGHT key): Flerm can fire the bellows to the right of the balloon. This will make it go left.
- Drop ballast (DOWN key): The balloon can carry up to four sandbags. Flerm can drop the sandbags to drop weight, or use the sandbags as weapons.
We can see our hero in action in the pictures below:
