User:RUL3R/ET gameplay

The gameplay of E.T. consists of maneuvering the eponymous alien character through various screens to obtain three pieces of a device that, when assembled, allows him to phone home. The pieces are found scattered randomly throughout various pits, which are called wells. Alternatively, the player can collect up to nine Reese's Pieces at a time, a healing item, which allows for a call-Elliot option that makes his friend deliver one of the device pieces. Once the player has collected all three pieces, the player can call E.T.'s spaceship from a specific zone, after which there is a limited amount of time to return to the landing zone. Once these conditions are fulfilled, the game starts over at the same difficulty level, with the player's score left intact.


 * The objective of the game is to collect three pieces of an interplanetary telephone. The pieces are found scattered randomly throughout various pits, which are called wells. The player can also collect Reese's Pieces, which allow him to call Elliot and obtain one of the pieces of the telephone. After the pieces have been collected, the player must guide the character to a "call-ship" area within the screen, allowing him to call his home planet. When the call is made, an interplanetary spaceship appears on screen, and the player is requested to reach the spaceship under a given time limit. Once the spaceship is reached, the round starts over, with the same difficulty level. The score obtained during the round is rolled over to the next iteration. The game ends when the main character runs out of energy, or the player decides to quit. 

The game uses six environments, each representing a different setting from the movie. The player can cause E.T. to fall into wells, which may contain phone pieces or extra lives; and to escape from a well, the player must cause E.T. to levitate out. An icon at the top of each screen represents the current area, each area enabling the player to perform certain actions. These actions include detecting items, warping to other areas, and sending the enemies back to their initial positions. Some areas can only be accessed when the player has collected certain items (for instance, E.T. must have at least one Reese's Piece to eat candy).


 * The game has no levels, instead using 6 screens, each representing a different setting from the film. The player can guide ET into any of the wells, which may contain a piece of the phone, extra lives

As the player moves E.T. and performs actions throughout the game, his energy supply steadily drains. The player can restore some of E.T.'s energy by eating Reese's Pieces. Extra lives are represented by Elliot merging with E.T. after his energy is depleted, thus reviving him, and letting the player continue until they are spent.

Antagonists in the game are a scientist who takes E.T. to Washington D.C., and an FBI agent who confiscates E.T.'s collected items. The game offers several difficulty settings that affect the number and speed of humans present and/or the conditions needed to accomplish the objective.