Starch

Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants as an energy store. It is the most common carbohydrate in human diets and is contained in large amounts in staple foods such as potatoes, wheat, maize (corn), rice, and cassava.

Pure starch is a white, tasteless and odorless powder that is insoluble in cold water or alcohol. It consists of two types of molecules: the linear and helical amylose and the branched amylopectin. Depending on the plant, starch generally contains 20 to 25% amylose and 75 to 80% amylopectin by weight.Glycogen, the glucose store of animals, is a more branched version of amylopectin.

Starch is processed to produce many of the sugars in processed foods. Dissolving starch in warm water gives wheatpaste, which can be used as a thickening, stiffening or gluing agent. The biggest industrial non-food use of starch is as adhesive in the papermaking process. Starch can be applied to parts of some garments before ironing, to stiffen them.

Starch (game)

Starch is a computer game written by Mark Dixon for the Acorn Archimedes computer. The object of the game was to help the principal characters complete tasks related to laundry duties in the company in which they worked.

Starch was retailed through Dabs Press which was closely associated with the publisher Alien Images.

The game supported either one or two simultaneous players. It featured a 3D playing area, digitized sound, speech and music, and used a 256 color screen mode.

Gameplay

Starch saw two manual workers, Harry and Dave, on a frantic clothes-cleaning night shift. The game supported either one or two simultaneous players. In addition to the two main characters the game also included a computer controlled character called Sam that attempted to stop the progress of the main characters. In one player mode the second character would be controlled by the computer.

There were five different levels to complete, each consisting of a specific task. In order to complete a task the player had to work out how to operate various pieces of machinery controlled by buttons, levers and ropes.