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'''Parsec''' is a TI-99/4A original video game created by [[Jim Dramis]] (programmer of [[Car Wars]] and [[Munch Man]]) and Paul Urbanus, who was a summer intern at the time. <ref>{{cite web|title=Xona Games: Rare Parsec Facts - TI-99/4A|url=http://xona.com/ti994a/parsec.html}}</ref> Parsec was release in the third quarter of 1982 and was published by Texas Instruments (TI), and was released on [[:Category:Solid State Software Command Module|Solid State Software<sup>TM</sup> Command Module]]. The original price was $39.95 (USD). Parsec is perhaps, the most known and loved video game made for the TI-99/4A. The TI [[Solid State Speech Synthesizer|Solid State Speech<sup>TM</sup> Synthesizer]]'' enhanced gameplay by adding alerts and warnings, but the game could be played without it.
==SoundSpeech==
Parsec can be played with or without the use of the TI [[Solid State Speech Synthesizer]]<sup>TM</sup>. The speech synthesizer helps alert the player to upcoming waves of attacks. [[Jim Dramis]], the [[:category:software programmer|programmer]] of Parsec, chose a female's voice for the game because "It seems to have a sort of mystical effect. Also, somebody told us that you couldn't digitize female speech because of things like high-frequency patterns. So, we just had to go off and do it." <ref>{{cite web|title=TI-99/4A-Pedia: Jim Dramis (See Interview from 99'er Magazine|url=http://ti.mysweetweb.com/index.php?title=Jim_Dramis}}</ref>
The optional speech synthesis, although advanced at the time, adds drama to the gameplay: Although it warns of advancing enemy craft (except for Killer Satellites) and of low fuel levels, both of these features are duplicated by on-screen visual cues and are easily predictable by an experienced player. The sole exception is in the asteroid belts between levels, whose length increases with the level number: The speech synthesizer provides a spoken countdown not duplicated by any on-screen display, such that without the speech synthesizer there is no indication of how long the asteroid belt will last.
The voice of the on-board computer was performed by Aubree Anderson, who at the time was a student at [[Texas Tech University]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Twenty Questions with the Voice of Parsec|url=ftp://whtech.com/magazines/99er/99er8302.pdf|work=99'er Magazine - Feb 1983|accessdate=12 September 2012}}</ref>
===Quotations===
* "Press fire to begin."
* "Alert! Alien craft advancing!"
* "Alert! Ships attacking!"
* "Nice shooting."
* "Good shot."
* "Great shot, pilot!"
* "Laser on target."
* "Enemy destroyed."
* "Warning! Time to refuel."
* "Congratulations." (when refueling, ''i.e.'', at halfway point of refueling tunnel)
* "Nice flying." (after exiting a refueling tunnel)
* "Extra ship."
* "Caution! Asteroid belt."
* "Countdown... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Advance to next level."
* "Sorry, you are out of fuel."
==Gameplay==
