                             MAGIC POCKETS

                               THE STORY

The Bitmap Kid was pretty much like every other kid on the block until the
day when a Strange Old Man gave to Kid his pair of Trousers.  These
Mystical Trousers bestowed upon the wearer the power of the Magic Pockets.
Now Kid kicks and is in the house.  When a Kid's got bottomless pockets 
in which to keep his toys and boy's things, he's so cool it hurts.

But then one day something bad happened.  Kid couldn't find his Best Toys.
They has disappeared into the depths of his bottomless pockets!  Kid was
not happy, but didn't show it because he was so cool.  He simply put his
hand into his pocket and pulled out a Black Hole which he threw on the
floor.  Kid stepped into the Black Hole and in an instant he reappeared
inside his own pockets in PocketLand!  All was not well.  The naughty
PocketLand People had taken a liking to Kid's Best Toys and were playing
with them without his say-so.  Kid was feeling dis'ed but in control so 
visited the four corners of PocketLand and picked up his Best Toy from
each.  His Bike was in the Caves and his Boxing Gloves were in the Jungle.
His Diving Helmet he found in the Lake and his Space Hopper was being
bounced on the Mountain!

But Kid wasn't content with getting his Best Toys back.  He wanted to
teach the PocketLand People a lesson.  So he did.  Using his PocketPower,
Kid killed the Bad People along the way and stole their Sweet Things and
their Magic Items which he used to his advantage before transporting 
himself home in time to catch the all-night rave.  He then lived happily 
and coolly ever after.  Until the next time...

ENTER THE FOUR CORNERS OF POCKETLAND ...

The four corners of PocketLand are very different to each other but they
share many secrets.  Each corner (or `World') is split into Sections and
has its own Special Feature and five different types of PocketLand Person.
And, of course, a Best Toy.  The Bad People in each World play games with
the Best Toy, so even when Kid gets it back and is about to leave a World
he has to prove to the people (and himself) that he's the best player
around.  One particular type of Pocketland Person will always try to get
Kid's best toy before he does, so watch out at the beginning of every 
World and try to kill this Person before it gets away.  Being so cool
though means that Kid doesn't have to collect his Best Toy if he doesn't
want to before moving onto another Section or, indeed, another World.
Each Section in a PocketLand World has an Exit which leads to the next
Section.  Kid's under no immediate pressure to reach the Exit, but if
he hangs around too long he may bump into the Bubble.  Kid also gives
himself a Points Bonus for passing through the Exit of a Section while
in possession of a Best Toy.

THE BUBBLE

The Bubble floats after Kid if he hangs around the Exit for too long. 
Kid can kill The Bubble - and he should do it - for The Bubble takes
away all of Kid's Power-Ups if it catches him.

SWEET THINGS

Kid finds many different Sweet Things lying around in PocketLand.  The
Sweet Things are each worth a Points Bonus.  Kid can also make the 
PocketLand People produce Sweet Things by trapping them with his
PocketPower.  Watch out also for other worthy objects, such as a Pile Of 
Coins - kick it over then pick the Coins up for a Points Bonus.

THE POCKET PICKERS

Everyone who lives in PocketLand is a little bit funny.  Even the ones 
who look normal.  Each PocketLand Person has its own strength in the form
of Hit Points which relate to how many small bursts of PocketPower it
takes to actually kill it.  For example, a Bad Person with a single Hit
Point is killed with a single small burst of PocketPower or larger.
A Bad Person with four Hit Points can be killed with four small bursts
of PocketPower, or a couple of slightly larger bursts, and so on.
When a Bad Person is hit but has Hit Points remaining then it's stunned.

Some Bad People ignore Kid.  Others hate him and are angry that he wants 
his Best Toys back so they throw and spit things at Kid.  Some Bad
People even eat the Sweet Things lying around!  A Bad Person which eats
Sweet Things will give up a Power-Up when it dies.  Can you guess why
it leaves behind the Power-Up it does?

WHERE'S THE BEST TOY?  AND WHERE THE EXIT?  

Kid's Best Toys are always found near the Exit.  Kid can easily see in
which direction the Best Toy is to be found.  Whenever Kid uses his
PocketPower, an Arrow is thrown out too and it points in the direction
of the Best Toy - but the scenery will not always allow him to go
straight there.  The closer Kid is to the Best Toy, the more Arrows
are thrown out.

At the end of a Section Kid awards himself a Points Bonus for doing lots
of different things.  For example, Kid gives himself a Points Bonus for
the number of Silver Stars he didn't use and a Points Bonus for the
number of Bad People he killed.  But as we said, he's fair, so he also
deducts points from his Life Bonus for every Life he lost during the
Section.  Kid also gives himself five new Lives at the beginning of
every Section.

SECRET BONUSES

Kid's so cool he can make his own Secret Bonuses thanks to one of the
Special Items he finds.  See if you can find out how to make such things 
happen.  

There are many other surprises to be found in Magic Pockets.  For example,
in the first section of each World there is a way of warping straight to
the first section of the next World.  Watch out also whenever Kid gets
100,000 points, and keep 'em peeled for some SPECIAL Special Items!
Have fun finding them!

LOADING MAGIC POCKETS

If your computer is turned on, turn it off.  After at least 30 seconds,
turn on your computer.  This will remove any virus which may be present
and so minimize the risk of infecting and possibly destroying your
Magic Pockets disk.  Insert the Magic Pockets disk into the internal
disk drive.  The program will load and run automatically.  Ensure that
a joystick is plugged into the port which isn't usually used by the mouse.

CAVES

The Caves have five Sections.

MAGIC POTION

Magic Whirlwinds - The largest Whirlwind produces two small Whirlwinds
of its own every time it bounces.  Throw them high!

BEST TOY

The Bike - Kid's so cool on his Bike that he kills anything Bad he touches.
If Kid goes fast enough on his Bike he does a wheely.  As soon as Kid
does a wheely, hold down the joystick firebutton to keep him wheelying.

POCKET POWER

Whirlwinds - They bounce off the ground and walls and Kid can Spin off the
largest one.

THE EVENT

The Bike Race - Kid's Bike and many others like it stand ready - but not 
for long.  Kid's among a rabble of Rocky People, and everyone wants a
Bike.  So be quick, Kid, and peddle like crazy to reach the finish line
in one of the top three positions.  And watch out for the Snails - they
slow Kid down.

CAVE SECRET

Dissolving Blocks - Kids throws Whirlwinds at the Dissolving Blocks to
dissolve them.  The larger Whirlwinds bounce off the Dissolving Blocks,
getting one size smaller with every bounce.

JUNGLE

The Jungle has six Sections.

MAGIC POTION

Magic Clouds - The largest Cloud explodes into four small Clouds after
hanging around for about five seconds.

BEST TOY

Boxing Gloves - A single hit from Kid with these on is enough to kill any
Bad Person at once, and it also leaves behind a Sweet Thing.  Kid's so
cool with his Boxing Gloves on that he's not hurt by anything Bad he 
touches.

POCKET POWER

Clouds - They bounce off the ground and walls and Kid can Spin off the
largest one, provided he's on top of it.  The largest Cloud also drops
a single Raindrop which kills any Bad Person it touches.

THE EVENT

Fight The Gorilla - It's a ruck. boys and girls.  The faster Kid beats up
the Gorilla, the bigger the Points Bonus he gives himself.

JUNGLE SECRET

Magic Plants - The single Raindrop from the largest Cloud is enough to
make the Magic Plants grow.  Use the Magic Plants' stems as platforms.

LAKES

The Lake has seven Sections.

MAGIC POTION

Bouncing Ice T-Cubes - They bounce once for every Magic Potion collected
and grow (up to the maximum size) too.

BEST TOY

A Diving Helmet - Kid can't swim.  He can dive, but only when he's wearing
the Diving Helmet, so he has to be careful not to drop it in the water. 

POCKET POWER

Ice T-Cubes - They don't normally bounce on the ground and Kid can't 
Spin off them.  They can be used to trap Bad People in the same way as
the Whirlswinds and Clouds.  

THE EVENT

Find The Treasure - Kid proves he's the best diver by swimming around
a maze-like cavern and collecting Gold from Chests for a Points Bonus.
It's a race against the clock, so Kid's got to be quick.  Kid gains
fifteen seconds of time for every Oxygen canister he collects.

LAKE SECRET

Freezing Water - Kid's Ice T-Cubes freeze the water.  When Kid jumps
on the ice, it's broken.

MOUNTAINS

The Mountain has eight Sections.

MAGIC POTION

Magic Snowballs - When Kid uses his PocketPower he throws twice as
many Snowballs.

BEST TOY

A Space Hopper - Kid can use his Space Hopper to bounce on anything 
Bad and kill it.

POCKET POWER

Snowballs - They don't bounce off the ground and Kid can't Spin off
them.  They can be used to trap Bad People in the same way as the
Whirlwinds, Clouds and Ice T-Cubes.

THE EVENT

Transport To Home - Kid has to use his skills in full effect to create a
Transporter Helmet to take him home.  But the Snowmen on their own 
Space Hoppers have other ideas, so he has to bounce them to bits first.

MOUNTAIN SECRET

Rolling Snowballs - Kid can push the smaller Snowballs until they grow
to their largest possible size. He can also roll the Snowballs onto the
Bad People.

KID CONTROL

Kid can jump through any platform but will only land on it if there's
space for his feet.  He can't walk through solid barriers.

                               Jump Up
                     Jump Left    |    Jump Right
                              \   |   / 
                               \  |  /
                                \ | /
                   Walk Left---- ( ) ---- Walk Right
  (Or Move Left During Jump)    / | \     (Or Move Right During Jump)
                               /  |  \
                              /   |   \
                                  |
                       Pick Up Or Use Power-Up
                          (Or Drop Power-Up)
                      And Spin Off Pocket Power

KID STUNNED

Kid loses a Life when he's not stunned and runs into a Bad Person.
Kid's stunned when he first runs into a Bad Person and remains safe
from any further hits for a few seconds.

POCKET POWERS

When you tap the joystick firebutton, Kid puts his right hand into his
pocket and uses his PocketPower.  The longer the joystick firebutton
is held down, the larger the burst of PocketPower.  There are four sizes
of PocketPower.  Kid can use his PocketPower in different ways, 
providing he's not moving in any direction.  You can press and hold down
the joystick firebutton to build PocketPower and then release it by
moving the joystick; up for a high throw, down for a low throw and in
the direction the Kid is facing for a long throw. 

000400

Kid can easily keep track of which Sweet Thing will be thrown out by
a trapped Bad Person by paying attention to the Sweet Thing Counter
shown `behind' his left `life-counting' hand.  The Sweet Thing Counter
counts a Sweet Thing every time a Bad Person is killed without be
trapped.  When the Sweet Thing Counter has counted ten different Sweet
Things it stops counting and only starts counting again when Kid's killed
a Bad Person after bursting a trapped Bad Person.  There are other ways
of producing Sweet Things.  See if you can discover them for yourself.

000000

The Bitmap Kid being The Bitmap Kid, he decided to award himself Points
for everything he did while in PocketLand.  And being fair he only gave
himself five Lives, which he keeps count of on his left hand.

005000

At every 5000 points the next trapped Bad Person to be burst will give
up a Power-Up instead of a Sweet Thing.  From then on, a Power-Up counter
is shown `behind' Kid's right `PocketPower' hand.  The Power-Up counter
counts through Power-Up's as Bad Person's are killed.  When the Power-Up
counter has counted through the ten Power-Ups, it starts counting again
from the first Power-Up.

TRAPPING POCKET PEOPLE

Bad People which are weak enough can be trapped in the largest size
of PocketPower - but not for too long.  When a Bad Person is trapped,
Kid can break the spell of the PocketPower by jumping onto it and so
release Sweet Things.  The quantity of Sweet Things released depends on
how hard Kid hits the trapped Bad Person.  When Kid walks into a trapped
Bad Person, a single Sweet Thing is thrown out, whereas a big Spin into
a trapped Bad Person results in five Sweet Things.

SECRET ROOMS 

There are at least two Secret Rooms hidden in each Section of a World.
Kid can only enter a Secret Room by wearing a Transporter Helmet.  When
Kid has visited every Secret Room to be found in a Section, the next time
he uses a Transporter Helmet he is taken straight to the Exit.

SPINNING

Kid has a special Secret Move up his sleeve.  It's called a Spin.  He
can perform a Spin in one of two ways: either off the top of a 
Whirlwind or Cloud or when he falls a Reasonable Distance (Kid's so
cool he can fall any distance without hurting himself).  When Kid Spins,
he becomes invincible and kills any Bad Person he touches.  Kid cannot
Spin when he has a Special Item of any sort.  Note that while Kid's
falling he can be moved through the air as if he was walking, only
slower.

SPECIAL ITEMS

There are Special Items found in every Section.  Kid uses them to help 
him get around.

BUBBLE GUM MACHINE - Kid takes a piece of Bubble Gum from the machine 
and chews it before blowing a Big Bubble.  He can now float around
to higher (or lower) places.  Watch out!  Kid can't use his PocketPower
and can still get hurt.

TELEVISION - When Kid uses the TV he's shown a small map of his immediate
surroundings.  The map also displays the whereabouts of every Bad Person
and Sweet Thing, Special Item, Best Toy and so on.  Press the joystick
firebutton to return to play.

CHERRY DRINK - Kid awards himself a random Points Bonus for every
Cherry Drink he collects.

SWEET MACHINE - It's only ever found in the Secret Rooms.  Whenever Kid
activates it, five Sweet Things are thrown out.

ROAD DRILL - Shake it, Kid!  Using the Road Drill means that Kid cannot
move for a few seconds.  Any surrounding PocketLand People each turn
into a Power-Up, the type of which depends on the Bad Person's strength.

FACE MASK - When Kid puts on this Face Mask he cannot be hurt by the 
PocketLand People.  The Face Mask only lasts a minute though - you will
when its time is running out.  Kid can't chew gum with a Face Mask on.

TRANSPORTER HELMET - Wearing the Transporter Helmet transports Kid to
a Secret Room.

BITMAP SHADES - Kid already has the coolest pair of shades there is so
he doesn't need another.  That's why these shades explode and kill
every surrounding Bad Person when he picks them up.

BAG OF NAILS - When it's dropped, five nails are thrown out.  But then,
what did you expect?  The Bag Of Nails only works three times but the
Nails stay there until they are hit by something Bad.

GASOLINE - When Kid's picked up this can it changes his PocketPower
to Fire!  Instead of different sizes of PocketPower, Kid now throws
out between one and four bouncing balls of Fire, each one capable of
killing anything Bad it touches.  The effect lasts for about one
minute.

LASER HELMET - With this on Kid can shoot different strengths of laser
beam from his head.  The beam passes through anything bad it touches
and so each shot can kill more than one Bad Person.  The Laser Helmet
only lasts for about one minute.

SPIKY HELMET - Ouch!  Anything living which touches Kid while he's 
wearing this helmet will be dead instantly.  The Spiky Helmet lasts for
about one minute.

POWER-UPS - When Kid collects a Power-Up it powers him up in some way.
There are ten different types of Power-Up - some of them are placed on
the scenery, otherwise Kid has to create them.  

SILVER STAR - Every Silver Star collected affects what happens when a
Gold Star is collected.

SMALL MILK BOTTLE - For every Small Milk Bottle collected Kid is given
an extra Life.

COCKTAIL - Having picked up a Cocktail, the next time Kid uses his 
PocketPower he also throws out a Sweet Thing - of the same type as
the one he last picked up.  This only happens once after every Cocktail.

A BOTTLE OF POP - Collecting a Bottle Of Pop causes a shower of Sweet
Things to fall from off the screen onto any available space below.
This only happens once after every Bottle Of Pop.

COFFEE - With a mug of Coffee collected, Kid can use his PocketPower
faster.  It gets faster still when a second mug is collected.  The 
effect runs out when Kid starts a new Section.  The Coffee is best used
with the Cup Of Tea.

TEA - With a cup of Tea collected, the speed of Kid's PocketPower is
increased.  A second cup of Tea makes Kid's PocketPower work even
faster still.  The effect runs out when Kid starts a new Section.  The 
Tea is best used with the mug of Coffee.

MAGIC POTION - The effect of the Magic Potion depends on which World    
Kid's in at the time and it lasts until Kid enters a new Section.

FRUIT DRINK - Picking up this green Fruit Drink has no obvious effect,
but watch out for a large Sweet Thing at the beginning of the next
Section.  Pick up more than one Fruit Drink from one Section and the
large Sweet Thing and the large Sweet Thing which appears on the next
will be different and worth a bigger Points Bonus.

LARGE MILK BOTTLE - All of Kid's Lives are restored whenever he collects
one of these.

GOLD STAR - When Kid picks up a Gold Star, a Special Item appears which
depends on how many Silver Stars he's collected.  There are seven Special
Items available.

End.......