The Trap Door (video game)

The Trap Door is a British adventure video game created by Don Priestley and published by Piranha Software in 1986. It was released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Commodore 64 home computers. The game is based on the British animated television series of the same name, The Trap Door.

The player controls Berk, a blue creature who works as a servant for the unseen and grumpy "The Thing Upstairs" (named "Wendell" in the Commodore 64 version) who lives above the titular trap door. Berk is assisted by his pet spider, Drutt, and often hindered by Boni, a skull. The gameplay primarily involves Berk collecting ingredients and preparing meals for The Thing Upstairs, with the ingredients being bizarre and often grotesque creatures that emerge from under the trap door.

The game consists of a single static screen depicting the cellar environment with the trap door prominently featured. Players use text commands, entered via a parser, to interact with the environment, manipulate objects, and instruct Berk. Successful completion of a task results in points, and failure often leads to humorous and sometimes fatal consequences for Berk.

The Trap Door is characterized by its distinctive art style, directly influenced by the stop-motion animation of the TV series, and its quirky British humor. It was well-received upon release for its faithfulness to the source material and its engaging gameplay, and is considered a classic of the 8-bit era of gaming. A sequel, Through the Trap Door, was released in 1987.