Crash


Pazazz

Categories: Review: Software
Author: Rosetta McLeod
Publisher: A.S.K.
Machine: Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Crash #37

Pazazz

Pazazz is a package which allows the user to draw and animate characters on screen, creating appropriate music and backgrounds for the performance. Two cassettes and a comprehensive booklet are included in the pack. The data tape contains four complete performances showing a breakdancer on the street, a clown on the high-wire, a skeleton in a graveyard, and a disco-dancing girl.

Having viewed the demo programs to get a general idea of the possibilities, the user can create a scenario and performance. The EDIT command in the main program contains options allowing you to change the music, the scene, the figure, and the movements, and then to link them all up. There are also facilities for synchronising the movements to the music, for altering colours in the foreground and background of the scene, and for creating quite sophisticated settings. It is possible too, to use existing figures, scenes and music, so you could have a disco-dancing girl in a graveyard!

The creation of the music is probably one of the more interesting options, although the instructions are rather complicated. Once you have recorded a tune, you can then make some changes to it: you can change the rhythm, select a cue or lead-in of a few beats, and set the beat too. At the end the whole performance can be saved onto a blank tape for use at a later date. This is a very complex, but creative package, and younger children would certainly need the help of an adult to follow all the instructions in the booklet.

Comments

Control keys: described both on the screen and in the booklet
Keyboard play: good
Graphics: quite attractive
Use of colour: good
Sound: not as good as in some music programs, but still acceptable

Rosetta McLeod

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