The Most Obscure Amiga Game
Peter Olafson
My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software. It's a
Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game Amiga World received
(I was AW's games editor) and, quite possibly, the first Amiga game, period.
Peter
Michael P. Broida
>
> My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software.
> It's a Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game
> Amiga World received (I was AW's games editor) and, quite
> possibly, the first Amiga game, period.
Wouldn't that distinction go to the game that was
SHIPPED with Amigas? "Mindwalker" I think it was.
Mike
Shane R. Monroe
One of the games that 'made me buy an Amiga'...
In article <38B58B74...@sprintmail.com>,
mpbroida@_NOJUNKEMAIL_sprintmail.com says...
Alkis Polyrakis
Peter Olafson wrote:
>
> Or, If everyone ran off a cliff, I would, too.
>
> My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software. It's a
> Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game Amiga World received
> (I was AW's games editor) and, quite possibly, the first Amiga game, period.
I'd say Weird dreams.. I saw that at a friend's house once and it was
everything it's name promised.
--
'I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian'
Polyrakis Alkis
University of Patra, Greece
Electrical engineering department
ICQ #: 10123551
URL: http://i.am/alkis
(Click on the English flag if you're not Greek)
Peter Olafson
only disk-based game Commodore ever released. However:
1) It didn't ship with the original Amigas. The Amiga appeared in late
'85--Mind Walker early in '86.
2) It wasn't the first Amiga game. Author Bill Williams acknowledged this
when I interviewed him shortly before his death in 1998. A number of
small-label commercial games (Monkey Business and Delta Force being two)
appeared in late '85.
Peter
"Michael P. Broida" <mpbroida@_NOJUNKEMAIL_sprintmail.com> wrote in message
news:38B58B74...@sprintmail.com...
> Peter Olafson wrote:
> >
> > My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software.
> > It's a Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game
> > Amiga World received (I was AW's games editor) and, quite
> > possibly, the first Amiga game, period.
>
Nathan Wain
On Wed, 23 Feb 2000, Peter Olafson wrote:
> My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software. It's a
> Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game Amiga World received
> (I was AW's games editor) and, quite possibly, the first Amiga game, period.
Isn't the honour of first Amiga game commonly held to be "MindWalker"?
(Not wanting to go against your infinite wisdom here Peter.) :)
Was Monkey Business any good? I think MindWalker holds up well, even today...
in a surreal kinda way. :)
...My favourite obscure title is Plotting. (Most people seem not to know it
at all. ...Quite a strange arcadey-puzzley thing.) But I'm sure is't nowhere
near as obscure as Monkey Business.
Nathan.
--
nat...@caverock.net homepages.caverock.net.nz/~nathan
A4000 030/25MHz 1.2Gig HDD, 24xCD, Scan-doubler, and a *big* stereo.
A1200, A500, SX64, C128 and Speccy+ too, for serious retrogaming. :)
Nathan Wain
On Thu, 24 Feb 2000, Michael P. Broida wrote:
> Peter Olafson wrote:
> > My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software.
> > It's a Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game
> > Amiga World received (I was AW's games editor) and, quite
> > possibly, the first Amiga game, period.
> Wouldn't that distinction go to the game that was
> SHIPPED with Amigas? "Mindwalker" I think it was.
Maybe we can say it's the first commercial Amiga game then. :)
Nathan Wain
On Thu, 24 Feb 2000, Peter Olafson wrote:
> Mind Walker is legendary as the first Amiga game by Bill WIlliams, and the
> only disk-based game Commodore ever released. However:
>
> 1) It didn't ship with the original Amigas. The Amiga appeared in late
> '85--Mind Walker early in '86.
>
> 2) It wasn't the first Amiga game. Author Bill Williams acknowledged this
> when I interviewed him shortly before his death in 1998. A number of
> small-label commercial games (Monkey Business and Delta Force being two)
> appeared in late '85.
See, now I just *knew* that you'd be able to show this common misbelief for
what it really was Peter. :) ...Mindwalker not shipping with original Amigas
would probably explain why it wasn't with mine (a real early Kick 1.2 a500...
which has outlasted my a1200 BTW.) :)
I feel this strange need to dig out some of my old a500 disks and plug in the
500 to it's old Thompson monitor and give some of them a go. (The good old
days of the Amiga. *sigh*) :)
Is this interview available online anywhere Peter? (Just curious.) Did he
have anything particularly interesting to say that you? ...I always like
finding out "the story behind the game" kinda things.
Mike Clarke
with my Amiga from Gordon Harwoods?
It was a 3D Alien's in Tripods thing.
Don't know if you can actually call it a game.
I don't know if it was a demo of a game or actually a game.
It was very bizarre, whatever it was.
--
Mike Clarke Music (UK)
mi...@popstar.com
0151-639 7581
Angus Manwaring
>Or, If everyone ran off a cliff, I would, too.
>My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software. It's a
>Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game Amiga World received
>(I was AW's games editor) and, quite possibly, the first Amiga game, period.
I don't know Monkey Business, but how about Top Banana? I haven't played
it myself but based on it's review by Paul Burkey author of Foundation, it
does sound pretty strange.
I think I'd nominate Mindwalker, which was a seriously strange game and
let's face it, nobody does obscure like the French, how about that game
where you were attacking people on another island with weather and flyimg
dragons; Storm Master.
All the best,
Angus Manwaring. (for e-mail remove ANTISPEM)
I need your memories for the Amiga Games Database: A collection of Amiga
Game reviews by Amiga players http://www.angusm.demon.co.uk/AGDB/AGDB.html
Peter Olafson
The Bill Williams story ran in the February and March 1998 issues of Amazing
Computing--the last of the US print Amiga magazines. (It's not available
online, but back issues may be available via AC's site:
http://www.pimpub.com/AmazBIVolHeads.html)
If you're looking for "story behind the game" stuff, you'll find it
interested. It covers the full run of his gaming career--from his early
Atari 400/800 days, to his Amiga work to his NES and SNES games (and even
the unreleased stuff he started en route) and his retirement to Texas.
Peter
"Nathan Wain" <nat...@caverock.net.nz> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.10.100022...@shell.caverock.net.nz...
>
> On Wed, 23 Feb 2000, Peter Olafson wrote:
>
> > My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software. It's a
> > Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game Amiga World
received
> > (I was AW's games editor) and, quite possibly, the first Amiga game,
period.
>
> Isn't the honour of first Amiga game commonly held to be "MindWalker"?
> (Not wanting to go against your infinite wisdom here Peter.) :)
>
> Was Monkey Business any good? I think MindWalker holds up well, even
today...
> in a surreal kinda way. :)
>
> ...My favourite obscure title is Plotting. (Most people seem not to know
it
> at all. ...Quite a strange arcadey-puzzley thing.) But I'm sure is't
nowhere
> near as obscure as Monkey Business.
>
Angus Manwaring
>How about that weird thing that I got on one of the 10 PD disks that came
>with my Amiga from Gordon Harwoods?
>It was a 3D Alien's in Tripods thing.
>Don't know if you can actually call it a game.
>I don't know if it was a demo of a game or actually a game.
>It was very bizarre, whatever it was.
Terrorpods?
Sorry Mike, just kidding. :)
Joachim Froholt
Angus Manwaring wrote:
> On 24-Feb-00 08:44:22, Peter Olafson said
> >Or, If everyone ran off a cliff, I would, too.
>
> >My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software. It's a
> >Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game Amiga World received
> >(I was AW's games editor) and, quite possibly, the first Amiga game, period.
>
> I don't know Monkey Business, but how about Top Banana? I haven't played
> it myself but based on it's review by Paul Burkey author of Foundation, it
> does sound pretty strange.
>
> I think I'd nominate Mindwalker, which was a seriously strange game and
> let's face it, nobody does obscure like the French, how about that game
> where you were attacking people on another island with weather and flyimg
> dragons; Storm Master.
I've never played MindWalker, but based on what I've read about it (in the AGDB),
I'd definitely nominate it. Since you mention the French, I'll also nominate The
Light Corridor, from Infogrames. It's a sort of 1'st perspective breakout in a
big 3d tunnel with lots of obstacles thingy. It also included a level editor. My
final nominee would have to be Wicked from Electric Dreams. It's an
action/strategy/puzzle game. Each level consist of a single screen, where there
are some good and some evil portals. These portals will spawn some growth, and it
is up to you to make sure that the good growth will take over the screen. You do
this by placing new good portals, and shooting evil growth, so that good growth
can take it's place. This game is downloadable from Back 2 the Roots, and as it's
great fun, I'd advise you guys to download it. It features some good music
composed by Richard Joseph, too.
--
Joachim Froholt
ICQ: 52425516
Hidehiko Ogata
> My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software. It's a
> Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game Amiga World received
> (I was AW's games editor) and, quite possibly, the first Amiga game, period.
Then there is an elusive question: which came out earlier,
Monkey Business or Delta Patrol? :)))
(DP IIRC was somewhat like Fort Apocalypse... sans fun stuff.)
My vote would be for "CubeMaster" (an Asteroids clone by the people of
ADPro), and for "Libyans in Space!" - a delightfully amateurish,
modern-sea-fight Asteroids, where aircraft carriers will *BARK* in the
moment of dying. ARF, ARF... KABOOM! 8)))
--
// }{idehiko ()gata "The more things change,
\X/ Amiga since '86 the more they stay the same."
- Snake Plissken
Peter Olafson
Force. (Too much time spent with Nova Logic's sniper/shooter for the IBM.)
Peter
"Hidehiko Ogata" <h...@aqu.bekkoame.ne.jp> wrote in message
news:T2.N3.U62K7H...@aqu.bekkoame.ne.jp...
Rick Jones
>
> Mind Walker is legendary as the first Amiga game by Bill WIlliams, and the
> only disk-based game Commodore ever released. However:
>
> 1) It didn't ship with the original Amigas. The Amiga appeared in late
> '85--Mind Walker early in '86.
>
> 2) It wasn't the first Amiga game. Author Bill Williams acknowledged this
> when I interviewed him shortly before his death in 1998. A number of
> small-label commercial games (Monkey Business and Delta Force being two)
> appeared in late '85.
Now I thought that some of the early Electronic Arts games hit the
shelves almost simultaneously with the Amiga's release. IIRC, I bought
my A1000 about 3 weeks after its release and I think that Archon and
Hacker from EA and the first game from Psygnosis (a space platform game
that I can't remember the name of) were available at that time. That's a
long time ago so the timeline may be skewed in my memory.
--
Rick Jones
Remove the Extra Dot to e-mail me
We all live in a yellow subroutine.
Nathan Wain
On Fri, 25 Feb 2000, Peter Olafson wrote:
> The Bill Williams story ran in the February and March 1998 issues of Amazing
> Computing--the last of the US print Amiga magazines. (It's not available
> online, but back issues may be available via AC's site:
> http://www.pimpub.com/AmazBIVolHeads.html)
>
> If you're looking for "story behind the game" stuff, you'll find it
> interested. It covers the full run of his gaming career--from his early
> Atari 400/800 days, to his Amiga work to his NES and SNES games (and even
> the unreleased stuff he started en route) and his retirement to Texas.
Hey, this sounds good. Thanks for all the info. I'll see what I can find.
Nathan.
Mike Clarke
some games.
I didn't realise how many I had/have got.
Here are some pretty osbcure beasts for you....
"Dr. Plummet's House Of Flux" by Microillusions. A sort of Thrust-type
scrolling gravity game thing where you have to rescue stranded astronauts.
You get some "Flux bux" in the box. A dollar with Dr. Plummet on it. I think
you were supposed to collect them from different games and send them off for
something.
Debut by Pandora (as mentioned in another thread). I don't think many people
have heard of it. I'll try to get this working tonight, but I'm not hopeful.
Wanderer 3D by Encore (a sub of Elite). A really bad vector graphic space
game in 3D, complete with red and vlue glasses.
Alpha Waves by the now huge Infogrames. A weird 3D game where you control a
polygonal thing and have to bounce onto platforms around the room, going
into different rooms and collecting crystal thing. Or selecting one of the
colour modes depending on your mood and bouncing around with no objective.
Operation Neptune (not sure how obscure this is) - I didn't bring this one
with me. It looks like a budget label, so it may have had a major release in
France. It's a French game where you are a spy-type bloke and fight baddies
on jet-skis and underwater and stuff. The music is good I remember.
Murders In Space (there was a whole "Murders..." series I think, so maybe
this is not so obscure) - Infogrames again. A murder is commited on board a
space station and you have to solve who did it. You get a load of mad stuff
in the box. A little plastic syringe and a spider and other "clues".
East vs West Berlin - don't know, forgot to bring this one. Never played
this much. I never got the time. Nice box though with a map and everything.
Knights Of The Crystallion by US Gold. One of the only game to use HAM mode.
Lots of strange sub-games involving some sort of trading system in a village
and you controlling the guy who heads down into the underworld. Very
bizarre. You got an audio tape with it containing a taped copy of the Amiga
music that plays in game. Weird stuff. Some of the sub-games are really good
though. Puzzley stuff.
Quasar by nobody you've ever heard of. Didn't bring this one either, It's SO
bad. It's a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up with amazingly bad graphics.
It looks like someone has created their own label and published it
themselves.
If anyone wants more info, I'll see what I can do.
Later Dude
>Right, I've just been to my Mum and Dad's house and into the loft to get
>some games.
<SNIP>
>Alpha Waves by the now huge Infogrames. A weird 3D game where you
>control a polygonal thing and have to bounce onto platforms around the
>room, going into different rooms and collecting crystal thing. Or
>selecting one of the colour modes depending on your mood and bouncing
>around with no objective.
>
<SNIP>
Alpha Waves, Now that brings back some memories. Talk about weird, weirdly
addicting. I played that thing for hours on end and never did master the
game. The moods section was something else. If I still had it would
probably still be able to get into it.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
====>Later Dude<====
--
______________________________________________________________________
Note: To respond by e-mail please remove the $REMOVE$ from my address.
______________________________________________________________________
Joachim Froholt
Rick Jones wrote:
The first Psygnosis game was called Brataccas (the spelling might be wrong).
Chris Lennard
Goldrunner by Microdeal and Side Arms by Capcom -well alright the
last one isn't obscure but rare- it comes in one of those tape boxes
and even has C64 screenshots on the back!
Peter Olafson
"Continuum."
Peter
"Later Dude" <l8rdude@$REMOVE$newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:8EE5D5BB8later...@207.211.168.94...
Peter Olafson
game you're thinking of.)
But "obscure" doesn't have to mean "first" ... :-D
Peter
"Rick Jones" <rick...@lanset.com> wrote in message
news:38B75A70...@lanset.com...
> Peter Olafson wrote:
> >
> > Mind Walker is legendary as the first Amiga game by Bill WIlliams, and
the
> > only disk-based game Commodore ever released. However:
> >
> > 1) It didn't ship with the original Amigas. The Amiga appeared in late
> > '85--Mind Walker early in '86.
> >
> > 2) It wasn't the first Amiga game. Author Bill Williams acknowledged
this
> > when I interviewed him shortly before his death in 1998. A number of
> > small-label commercial games (Monkey Business and Delta Force being two)
> > appeared in late '85.
>
> Now I thought that some of the early Electronic Arts games hit the
> shelves almost simultaneously with the Amiga's release. IIRC, I bought
> my A1000 about 3 weeks after its release and I think that Archon and
> Hacker from EA and the first game from Psygnosis (a space platform game
> that I can't remember the name of) were available at that time. That's a
> long time ago so the timeline may be skewed in my memory.
>
Shane R. Monroe
offering!
In article <eDSt4.13586$yt2.3...@nnrp3-w.snfc21.pbi.net>,
pet...@pacbell.net says...
> A side note: Alpha Waves saw US release under Data East's Draconian line as
> "Continuum."
>
> Peter
Hidehiko Ogata
> How about that weird thing that I got on one of the 10 PD disks that came
> with my Amiga from Gordon Harwoods?
>
> It was a 3D Alien's in Tripods thing.
Could it be "Triclops Invasion"? (I think that was the name.)
> It was very bizarre, whatever it was.
And very "Amiga", and that was cool :).
Peter Olafson
Psygnosis dumped many of its, er, less promising titles).
The problems people had understanding MW aren't too surprising. IIRC, the
author didn't actually make it his mind what it was about until it was about
three-quarters complete.
Peter
"Børge Nøst" <bn...@online.no> wrote in message
news:1183.92T2350...@online.no...
> In article <38B75A70...@lanset.com> Rick Jones
<rick...@lanset.com>
> wrote:
> >Peter Olafson wrote:
> >>
> >> Mind Walker is legendary as the first Amiga game by Bill WIlliams, and
the
> >> only disk-based game Commodore ever released. However:
>
> > Now I thought that some of the early Electronic Arts games hit the
> >shelves almost simultaneously with the Amiga's release. IIRC, I bought
> >my A1000 about 3 weeks after its release and I think that Archon and
> >Hacker from EA and the first game from Psygnosis (a space platform game
> >that I can't remember the name of)
>
> Brattaccas (or something - I _never_ remember the spelling). Which was
either
> Psyclapse or Bandersnatch that the Psygnosis crew took with them from the
> bankrupt corpse ofImagine.
>
> I think the reason for Mind Walker (the exact spelling on my original
floppy)
> being considered the first Amiga game is that a beta or somesuch version
was
> doing the rounds among developers in the early days. Everybody marveled at
the
> game, but didn't understand it without the documentation. And considering
C=,
> who knows how long they sat on it before shipping it.
>
> Trivia (AFAIK): It was designed to be able to run in 128K.
>
>
> -Børge
>
Børge Nøst
Achim Haertel
> That's true. (Hacker is from Activision, btw, and Brataccas is the Psygnosis
> game you're thinking of.)
> But "obscure" doesn't have to mean "first" ... :-D
conversion of a bad zx-spectrum game (to not offend the good spectrum games).
Bye then,
Achim.
Hidehiko Ogata
> Knights Of The Crystallion by US Gold. One of the only game to use HAM mode.
> Lots of strange sub-games involving some sort of trading system in a village
> and you controlling the guy who heads down into the underworld. Very
> bizarre. You got an audio tape with it containing a taped copy of the Amiga
> music that plays in game. Weird stuff. Some of the sub-games are really good
> though. Puzzley stuff.
Why, this one was also by the inimitable Bill Williams (RIP);
no Mind Walker fan should be without it IMO. It has a truly
transcending outro as well... all on two floppies. Incredible!
Børge Nøst
<mi...@popstar.comdeletetheobvious> wrote:
>Brataccas was written by the MD (Ian Hetherington). I think it was the only
>game he wrote. Well, he did start Aquaventura, but that got re-written 6
>times (by 6 different people) before it was eventually forced out of the
>door about 6 years after it was started. There you go 666. The game was
>obviously evil.
I think I remember some work in progress screenshots of it that looked very
interesting. Then it kind of fell down a hole of silence.
>I've also got V1.4 of Draconia (the game that became Menace), but
>I can't get it to work on my A4000 or on UAE. A500 only I think. If anyone
>wants it I can archive it.
You should!
Doesn't it work with tuned KS or other settings?
>Brattacas was originally written for
>the Mac and ported to the Amiga.
I thought the original version was for the ST.
I finally got a version of it, but I think the compressor used on it is A Bad
Idea from some C00l C0der. I had hoped the game was so early that it actually
used normal hunks...
640x200 4 colour resolution. Talk about odd (but like the ST). The control is
so shitty you wouldn't think they had tested it.
-Børge
Andreas
> Operation Neptune (not sure how obscure this is) - I didn't bring
this one
> with me. It looks like a budget label, so it may have had a major
release in
> France. It's a French game where you are a spy-type bloke and fight
baddies
> on jet-skis and underwater and stuff. The music is good I remember.
>
Yes, I know a little more!!
"Major release in France" lead me on the right track - now i
found out its name!
It's known as BOB MORANE in France, also by Infogrames (like O. N.)
hope this information is useful for you ...
Andreas
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Andreas
"Hidehiko Ogata" <h...@aqu.bekkoame.ne.jp> wrote:
> Peter Olafson wrote:
>
> (DP IIRC was somewhat like Fort Apocalypse... sans fun stuff.)
Hold on.
Fort Apocalypse, yes, but not for the Amiga, right ?
The only Fort Apocalypse I know was the one released in 1982 (!!)
for the C=64.
( And don't be surprised : I still play it sometimes - be cause
nowadays I can
finally get into higher levels I never saw before because of the
freezer! ;-)) )
Andres
> // }{idehiko ()gata "The more things change,
> \X/ Amiga since '86 the more they stay the same."
> - Snake Plissken
>
Peter Olafson
Peter
"Andreas" <the_...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:89is8k$d14$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Chris Lennard
> actually saw it), it kinda stick in my mind as sort of 'famous' because
> it featured in one of Zzap64!'s first articles on this new Amiga thing.
Go to www.zzap64.com, I was there recently, and it had the history of
the mag- I never knew it did Amiga stuff as well.
> :) ...Was it a Hewson one? I remember the title-screen pic well, and
> the comments from the programmer about how most games programmers were
> avoiding using the OS for their games because of the performance boost
> it gives. (Something that's maybe frowned upon today... esp. because
> we know how much that can kill future compatibility.) And how the
> Commodore people looked at you like you were a heretic if you tried to
> ask them about tips about these hardware-banging practices.
Well I can't find any mention of Hewson, only Microdeal and MichTron
however I can confirm that unsuprisingly it fails miserabely to work
on my 1200-in fact I've still got to get out my A500 to play it.
Sounds like a very early Amiga game then.
Angus Manwaring
>Maybe "Goldrunner" is an obscure one today, but (even though I never
>actually saw it), it kinda stick in my mind as sort of 'famous' because
>it featured in one of Zzap64!'s first articles on this new Amiga thing.
>:) ...Was it a Hewson one? I remember the title-screen pic well, and
>the comments from the programmer about how most games programmers were
>avoiding using the OS for their games because of the performance boost
>it gives. (Something that's maybe frowned upon today... esp. because
>we know how much that can kill future compatibility.) And how the
>Commodore people looked at you like you were a heretic if you tried to
>ask them about tips about these hardware-banging practices.
Wasn't Goldrunner that very fast vertically scrolling game by Steve Bak?
He did a version on the ST as well, and even on that machine he managed to
get an impressive scrolling rate, which apparently some people at the time
were saying wasn't possible. Couldn't handle the game myself, too fast and
too many things to crash into. Uridium II on the other hand.... :)
Nathan Wain
On 26 Feb 2000, Chris Lennard wrote:
> Picked up these these obscure shoot em ups recently: XR35 by Anco,
> Goldrunner by Microdeal and Side Arms by Capcom -well alright the
> last one isn't obscure but rare- it comes in one of those tape boxes
> and even has C64 screenshots on the back!
Maybe "Goldrunner" is an obscure one today, but (even though I never
actually saw it), it kinda stick in my mind as sort of 'famous' because
it featured in one of Zzap64!'s first articles on this new Amiga thing.
:) ...Was it a Hewson one? I remember the title-screen pic well, and
the comments from the programmer about how most games programmers were
avoiding using the OS for their games because of the performance boost
it gives. (Something that's maybe frowned upon today... esp. because
we know how much that can kill future compatibility.) And how the
Commodore people looked at you like you were a heretic if you tried to
ask them about tips about these hardware-banging practices.
Nathan.
Zeprfrew
>polygonal thing and have to bounce onto platforms around the room, going
>into different rooms and collecting crystal thing.
Oh yes, I remember that one now. I *desperately* wanted to like that game, it
has loads of atmosphere, and any game with an "emotion" setting for the game
has got to be good, just on general principles.
Yet I always wind up mis-jumping and ending up on the floor with an absolutely
monstrous stack of platforms above me that I couldn't possibly jump up
successfully to get to the next room.
As for obscure, the most obscure title (as far as I know) that I have is "Dr.
Xes" or something along those lines - I can't find it at the moment, might be
packed away - anyway, I think its a sort of quasi-AI conversation thing, but
I'm not sure. I found it at a computer show shrinkwrapped a few years ago, and
haven't been able to let myself break the seal on it.
The package is one of those flat square ones, like the early Electronic Arts
releases, but it isn't EA - I forget the publisher, offhand.
Does anyone know anything about this? I really do have to dig it up sometime
soon, just to see it again. I honestly had never heard of it until the moment
it was in my hand.
-rob. To reply, delete windows.
Play "Advanced Year 2000 Simulator" at http://members.xoom.com/ay2ks
-It may be out of date, but it is still as crap as it was in 1999.
Peter Olafson
Eliza (and its many variants, the best-known of which is probably
MIndscape's Racter). It would ask questions, you would type in answers and
it would assemble more questions using the words from your answers and after
a while, based on your input, it would appear to "know" you. I tried it out
and, IIRC, it was diverting for a few minutes (and a good many years ago)
...but these programs tended to reach their conceptual boundaries fairly
quickly. :-/
Peter
"Zeprfrew" <zepr...@aol.comwindows> wrote in message
news:20000302014917...@ng-ff1.aol.com...
Hidehiko Ogata
> Fort Apocalypse, yes, but not for the Amiga, right ?
Right, sorry for the confusion. What I meant was DP was somewhat like
a poor version of FA; it didn't even have any underground cavern IIRC.
> The only Fort Apocalypse I know was the one released in 1982 (!!)
> for the C=64.
Actually I prefer the Atari(8bit) version (ahh, the old argument 8).
A real Synapse gem, either way!
> ( And don't be surprised : I still play it sometimes - be cause
> nowadays I can
> finally get into higher levels I never saw before because of the
> freezer! ;-)) )
Hey, I don't have a freezer, but I still play FA sometimes. And
Necromancer (another Bill Williams classic). And Zeppelin (another
Synapse classic). And... :)))
--
Hidehiko Ogata
like quite a few: Captain Blood, Hostage, North & South, Alcatraz
among other things. (I tend to regard them as "French Cinemaware".)
Andreas
"Hidehiko Ogata" <h...@aqu.bekkoame.ne.jp> wrote:
> Andreas wrote:
>
> > Fort Apocalypse, yes, but not for the Amiga, right ?
>
> Right, sorry for the confusion. What I meant was DP was somewhat like
> a poor version of FA; it didn't even have any underground cavern IIRC.
>
> > The only Fort Apocalypse I know was the one released in 1982 (!!)
> > for the C=64.
>
> Actually I prefer the Atari(8bit) version (ahh, the old argument 8).
> A real Synapse gem, either way!
>
> > ( And don't be surprised : I still play it sometimes - be cause
> > nowadays I can
> > finally get into higher levels I never saw before because of the
> > freezer! ;-)) )
>
> Hey, I don't have a freezer, but I still play FA sometimes.
You don't need it.
On the PC, C=64 emulators like vice and ccs64 got a freezer built-in.
(never checked if MagiC64 got one built-in, I must say)
Play until level #8, take a chat with your girlfriend, and go on
playing the next day starting at level #9 !!!! That's fantastic :-))
[however, many games don't even _have_ a perceptible end .... !!]
Andreas
> --
> // }{idehiko ()gata "The more things change,
> \X/ Amiga since '86 the more they stay the same."
> - Snake Plissken
>
Hidehiko Ogata
> Wasn't Goldrunner that very fast vertically scrolling game by Steve Bak?
Arrrgggghhhh Steve Bak, the master of "bad" games IMO! 8) (Fright
Night, Leatherneck, Yolanda etc.)
Still, there *was* something catchy about them, I have to admit.
There's a perfect Japanese term to describe those awful games with
a touch of affection: kuso-ge (which literally means "sh*t games" :).
--
// }{idehiko ()gata "The growing soul is watered best by
\X/ Amiga since '86 tears of sadness..." - Charlie Brown
Børge Nøst
wossname game by Stavros Fasoulas(sp?) where you steered your king around
picking up stuff.
Very early 80s in idea (back when you could do 'different' stuff).
-Børge
Nathan Wain
On 3 Mar 2000, Hidehiko Ogata wrote:
> Angus Manwaring wrote:
> > Wasn't Goldrunner that very fast vertically scrolling game by Steve Bak?
>
> Arrrgggghhhh Steve Bak, the master of "bad" games IMO! 8) (Fright
> Night, Leatherneck, Yolanda etc.)
He did Leathernecks? Now *that's* a game I haven't seen in years.
(We played it a lot because we only had that and Gauntlet that could
to four player games.) ...It was fun, but certainly had that 'crap'
element to it. :)
> Still, there *was* something catchy about them, I have to admit.
> There's a perfect Japanese term to describe those awful games with
> a touch of affection: kuso-ge (which literally means "sh*t games" :).
Such a quaint term. :)
Nathan.
--
nat...@caverock.net homepages.caverock.net.nz/~nathan
A4000 030/25MHz 1.2Gig HDD, 24xCD, Viewsonic17", and a *big* stereo.
Hidehiko Ogata
> On the PC, C=64 emulators like vice and ccs64 got a freezer built-in.
> (never checked if MagiC64 got one built-in, I must say)
Me neither; I play 'em on the real Atari/C64 ;).
> [however, many games don't even _have_ a perceptible end .... !!]
Yeah, you just play and play until the score rolls over... 8)
Rick Jones
>
> Or, If everyone ran off a cliff, I would, too.
>
> My candidate is Monkey Business from The Other Valley Software. It's a
> Donkey Kong clone released in late 1985--the first game Amiga World received
> (I was AW's games editor) and, quite possibly, the first Amiga game, period.
How about 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea from Monkey Business? I
remember that Jim Sacks wanted to do a 20,000 Leagues game but was
having trouble getting the rights from Disney to do it. It looks like
Monkey Business beat them to it, or just did an end run since they
appear to be a European company.
Picked this up several years ago but never tried to play and it's a
good thing too! When I was trying to back up all of my original floppy
disks to CD-RW last fall VirusZ popped up when I stuck this disk in the
drive and told me it had the SCA virus on it! This is an original,
factory imprinted floppy, so it looks like Monkey Business had some
pretty lousy quality control.
--
Rick Jones
Remove the Extra Dot to e-mail me
Amiga - Where you'd like to be tomorrow today.
Nathan Wain
On 4 Mar 2000, Hidehiko Ogata wrote:
> Andreas wrote:
> > On the PC, C=64 emulators like vice and ccs64 got a freezer built-in.
> > (never checked if MagiC64 got one built-in, I must say)
>
> Me neither; I play 'em on the real Atari/C64 ;).
Excellent. ...I use a real SX-64 to play those great old games.
(I never had an Atari though... They were nice machines tho. ...But
it was heresy for a 64 owner to admit that back then.) :)
> > [however, many games don't even _have_ a perceptible end .... !!]
>
> Yeah, you just play and play until the score rolls over... 8)
Y'know, I think the ones that never end are actually better than the
ones that do and have nothing more than a "congratulations" message
with a flashy border. ...I hate endings like that. (The c64 had a
*lot* of those.) :)
Hidehiko Ogata
> He did Leathernecks? Now *that's* a game I haven't seen in years.
Yup, IIRC he also did Dogs of War, which (to a lesser extent) also had
the same elusive "crapness". Uncanny...
> (We played it a lot because we only had that and Gauntlet that could
> to four player games.) ...It was fun, but certainly had that 'crap'
> element to it. :)
Wait until you experience Yolanda, the ultimate unfairness in computer
games 8))).
Hidehiko Ogata
> How about 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea from Monkey Business? I
> remember that Jim Sacks wanted to do a 20,000 Leagues game but was
> having trouble getting the rights from Disney to do it.
Was I looking forward to that one! Didn't the story go that Sachs'
harddisk was trashed by another virus? A truly sad turn of events,
either way.
Shane Monroe
working copy of 20k Leagues. A bit more than the classic "Time Crystal"
demo, so I can't say that it was a leaked beta or what, but it was VERY
impressive!
In article <Z2.32.e62yFB...@aqu.bekkoame.ne.jp>,
h...@aqu.bekkoame.ne.jp says...
> Rick Jones wrote:
>
> > How about 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea from Monkey Business? I
> > remember that Jim Sacks wanted to do a 20,000 Leagues game but was
> > having trouble getting the rights from Disney to do it.
>
> Was I looking forward to that one! Didn't the story go that Sachs'
> harddisk was trashed by another virus? A truly sad turn of events,
> either way.
>
--
Shane R. Monroe - Web Developer/Insomniac/Average Joe:
monroeworld.com / amigaemulation.com / scorchedtanks.com / cynthiarothrock.org
davidcarradine.org / deluxegalaga.monroeworld.com / dup.monroeworld.com
Joona I Palaste
: Y'know, I think the ones that never end are actually better than the
: with a flashy border. ...I hate endings like that. (The c64 had a
: *lot* of those.) :)
One cool C64 game was Spelunker. I played it for something like 8
years (not continuously, mind you) until I finally finished it, 12
years after its initial release. I scored about 400 thousand points
and made #1 on the High Scores table. The ending message was pretty
plain, but I still thought it was worth it. Has anyone else completed
Spelunker?
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"To err is human. To really louse things up takes a computer."
- Anon
Joona I Palaste
: To continue with obscure as in "what is going on here?" I nominate the
: -Børge
You would be thinking of Galactic - The Vision Game by Stavros
Fasoulas (you spelled it right). Its demo version was awesome - I wish
it had reached publication.
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"He said: 'I'm not Elvis'. Who else but Elvis could have said that?"
- ALF
Stephen Burkart
: >Alpha Waves by the now huge Infogrames. A weird 3D game where you control a
: >polygonal thing and have to bounce onto platforms around the room, going
: >into different rooms and collecting crystal thing.
:
: Oh yes, I remember that one now. I *desperately* wanted to like that game, it
: has loads of atmosphere, and any game with an "emotion" setting for the game
: has got to be good, just on general principles.
It sounds like you guys are talking about Continuum (Infogames).
: Yet I always wind up mis-jumping and ending up on the floor with an absolutely
: monstrous stack of platforms above me that I couldn't possibly jump up
: successfully to get to the next room.
Yep, in some of the rooms if you missed a platform you were stuck.
The thing was to save your position at the start of a new room so
you could take as mnany tries as you needed. I still play it once
in a while, so I guess I can add `player of obscure computer games'
to my resume.
Børge Nøst
<pal...@cc.helsinki.fi> wrote:
>You would be thinking of Galactic - The Vision Game by Stavros
>Fasoulas (you spelled it right). Its demo version was awesome - I wish
>it had reached publication.
I think the full version was published as a covermount later. The One?
-Børge
(who probably has it somewhere. yes:
galactic1 223968 ---arwed 29-Apr-91 14:53:35
Galactic 223964 ---arwed 26-Mai-92 09:05:43
Gala500 388360 ---arwed 18-Jun-93 14:56:55
Gala1200 519432 ---arwed 24-Jun-96 01:28:53
demo,demo,cover,cover)
ehaines
Palaste <pal...@cc.helsinki.fi> wrote:
>One cool C64 game was Spelunker. I played it for something like
8
>years (not continuously, mind you) until I finally finished it,
12
>years after its initial release. I scored about 400 thousand
points
>and made #1 on the High Scores table. The ending message was
pretty
>plain, but I still thought it was worth it. Has anyone else
completed
>Spelunker?
Oh yes, Spelunker was a brilliant game. (Same guy who did the
wonderful title music also did the title music for Agony on
the Amiga I believe). I played it quite a lot and probably
finished it within a few weeks. I vaguely remember that I
might have gotten a score of 500,000, because I went around
and picked up *all* the little doo-dads, which most people
didn't seem to have patience for. ;) There were other versions
of Spelunker, including an arcade machine, but the C64 was by
far the best. No, the end wasn't brilliant but getting there
was all the fun anyway.
--Eric
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Joona I Palaste
: In article <8abke4$kmn$3...@oravannahka.helsinki.fi>, Joona I
: Palaste <pal...@cc.helsinki.fi> wrote:
:>One cool C64 game was Spelunker. I played it for something like
: 8
:>years (not continuously, mind you) until I finally finished it,
: 12
:>years after its initial release. I scored about 400 thousand
: points
:>and made #1 on the High Scores table. The ending message was
: pretty
:>plain, but I still thought it was worth it. Has anyone else
: completed
:>Spelunker?
: Oh yes, Spelunker was a brilliant game. (Same guy who did the
: wonderful title music also did the title music for Agony on
: the Amiga I believe). I played it quite a lot and probably
: finished it within a few weeks. I vaguely remember that I
: might have gotten a score of 500,000, because I went around
: and picked up *all* the little doo-dads, which most people
: didn't seem to have patience for. ;) There were other versions
: of Spelunker, including an arcade machine, but the C64 was by
: far the best. No, the end wasn't brilliant but getting there
: was all the fun anyway.
OK, so I'm not the only one who has completed Spelunker... but prove
it, name all the 6 levels (the first one is ELEVATOR, what are the
others?).
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"Insanity is to be shared."
- Tailgunner
ehaines
<pal...@cc.helsinki.fi> wrote:
>OK, so I'm not the only one who has completed Spelunker... but
prove
>it, name all the 6 levels (the first one is ELEVATOR, what are
the
>others?).
Oh great. ;) Well, one level was called THE FALLS, the last one
was THE PYRAMID I think. That's the best I can do...give me
a break, it's been like 15 years!
Joona I Palaste
: <pal...@cc.helsinki.fi> wrote:
:>OK, so I'm not the only one who has completed Spelunker... but
: prove
:>it, name all the 6 levels (the first one is ELEVATOR, what are
: the
:>others?).
: Oh great. ;) Well, one level was called THE FALLS, the last one
: was THE PYRAMID I think. That's the best I can do...give me
: a break, it's been like 15 years!
Good, I am convinced you have finished Spelunker. The levels are,
in order:
THE ELEVATOR
THE ROPES
THE FALLS
THE SHAFT
THE PYRAMID
THE TREASURE
I have an amazing head for memories when it comes to C64 games.
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"We sorcerers don't like to eat our words, so to say."
- Sparrowhawk
ehaines
Whew. ;)
>The levels are, in order:
>THE ELEVATOR
>THE ROPES
>THE FALLS
>THE SHAFT
>THE PYRAMID
>THE TREASURE
>I have an amazing head for memories when it comes to C64 games.
>
>/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi)
---------------------------\
>| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+
ADA N+++ |
>| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
>\----------------------------------------- Finland rules!
------------/
Clearly! I actually thought of THE TREASURE after I posted
previously. (Which was worth 25,000 points wasn't it? Or
maybe it was 50,000, but I do remember sitting there and
watching the score climb for a while there at the end.) But I
wouldn't have remembered the other two. Thanks for the
memories...it's amazing how much patience I had for games
back then (I played Spelunker all the way through at least 2,
maybe 3 times in fact). Of course back then we never had the
option of saving at any moment.
Joona I Palaste
: Whew. ;)
:>The levels are, in order:
:>THE ELEVATOR
:>THE ROPES
:>THE FALLS
:>THE SHAFT
:>THE PYRAMID
:>THE TREASURE
:>I have an amazing head for memories when it comes to C64 games.
: Clearly! I actually thought of THE TREASURE after I posted
: previously. (Which was worth 25,000 points wasn't it? Or
: maybe it was 50,000, but I do remember sitting there and
: watching the score climb for a while there at the end.) But I
: wouldn't have remembered the other two. Thanks for the
: memories...it's amazing how much patience I had for games
: back then (I played Spelunker all the way through at least 2,
: maybe 3 times in fact). Of course back then we never had the
: option of saving at any moment.
The bonus scores increased linearly.
THE ELEVATOR: 0 points
THE ROPES: 10,000 points
THE FALLS: 20,000 points
THE SHAFT: 30,000 points
THE PYRAMID: 40,000 points
THE TREASURE: 50,000 points
We never had the option of saving at any moment because games in the
80s were made for REAL players, not these wusses modern games are made
for. =)
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your
relatives."
- MAD Magazine
Mike Clarke
> Oh yes, Spelunker was a brilliant game. (Same guy who did the
> wonderful title music also did the title music for Agony on
> the Amiga I believe).
said that he had some good piano samples (better than Tim's), so Tim sent
him the module and he replaced the samples with his own. All of the samples
were at completely the wrong pitch and Tim had to redo all of the song data.
That's why it's credited to two people. Tim did the music, the other guy
supplied the samples.
I've always wondered why people like that tune so much? Is it just because
it's a rare piano tune on the Amiga? Tim even had someone phone him up at
Psygnosis asking for the sheet music of it. Why?!?!?? I've never understood
it myself. I thought it was pretty boring.
Now Magician's Castle on the other hand....I think it's probably the best
stuff he ever did, and it was never released. Because the game was a big
pile of arse. WIth a bit of luck, you'll find the music on Back To The Roots
if it ever gets updated.
--
Mike Clarke Music (UK)
mi...@popstar.com
0151-639 7581
Joona I Palaste
: From "Re: The Most Obscure Amiga Game":
:> Oh yes, Spelunker was a brilliant game. (Same guy who did the
:> wonderful title music also did the title music for Agony on
:> the Amiga I believe).
: Here's a story for you. Tim (Wright) did the music for Agony. The other guy
: said that he had some good piano samples (better than Tim's), so Tim sent
: him the module and he replaced the samples with his own. All of the samples
: were at completely the wrong pitch and Tim had to redo all of the song data.
: That's why it's credited to two people. Tim did the music, the other guy
: supplied the samples.
Tim Wright? The Spelunker credits list "Tim Martin" and "Micro
GraphicImage". Maybe Wright is part of MGI?
: I've always wondered why people like that tune so much? Is it just because
: it's a rare piano tune on the Amiga? Tim even had someone phone him up at
: Psygnosis asking for the sheet music of it. Why?!?!?? I've never understood
: it myself. I thought it was pretty boring.
I like piano tunes, sure. My favourite "piano" melodies in computer
games are, of course, Spelunker and Castles of Dr Creep on the C64, and
Blockout and Jinxter on the Amiga. Ork is also good, but it's not so
much piano.
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ |
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"Keep shooting, sooner or later you're bound to hit something."
- Misfire
Angus Manwaring
>Mike Clarke <mi...@popstar.comdeletetheobvious> scribbled the following:
>: From "Re: The Most Obscure Amiga Game":
>:> Oh yes, Spelunker was a brilliant game. (Same guy who did the
>:> wonderful title music also did the title music for Agony on
>:> the Amiga I believe).
>: Here's a story for you. Tim (Wright) did the music for Agony. The other guy
>: said that he had some good piano samples (better than Tim's), so Tim sent
>: him the module and he replaced the samples with his own. All of the samples
>: were at completely the wrong pitch and Tim had to redo all of the song
>: data. That's why it's credited to two people. Tim did the music, the other
>: guy supplied the samples.
>Tim Wright? The Spelunker credits list "Tim Martin" and "Micro
>GraphicImage". Maybe Wright is part of MGI?
>: I've always wondered why people like that tune so much? Is it just because
>: it's a rare piano tune on the Amiga? Tim even had someone phone him up at
>: Psygnosis asking for the sheet music of it. Why?!?!?? I've never understood
>: it myself. I thought it was pretty boring.
>I like piano tunes, sure. My favourite "piano" melodies in computer
>games are, of course, Spelunker and Castles of Dr Creep on the C64, and
>Blockout and Jinxter on the Amiga. Ork is also good, but it's not so
>much piano.
Did you ever come across that mod klisje paa klisje? It's a wonderful
piece of music with some nice rinky-tinky piano in it. It's not
specifically a piano piece though, it's got harpsicord and all sorts. I'm
listening to it now. It's great.
All the best,
Angus Manwaring. (for e-mail remove ANTISPEM)
I need your memories for the Amiga Games Database: A collection of Amiga
Game reviews by Amiga players http://www.angusm.demon.co.uk/AGDB/AGDB.html
Peter Olafson
done on Sachs' 20K--art and animations, notably--but the game never reached
a playable state.
Peter
"Shane Monroe" <webm...@no-spam.monroeworld.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.132ed3a8...@news.earthlink.net...