= Early Macintosh Games =
== 1984: Through the Looking Glass (aka Alice) ==
[[image-float-left:/artwork/alice.png]]
In this fast-paced action game, Alice finds herself on a life-sized chess board where she must keep moving to avoid capture.
Through the Looking Glass was developed by Steve Capps while he was a member of the Lisa development team at Apple; the game made such an impression on Steve Jobs that he was recruited to the Macintosh team.
Released in 1984, it has the distinction of being the first game sold for the Macintosh and the only game that Apple has ever published. On [[Folklore]], Andy Hertzfeld tells the story of the game.
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["Through the Looking Glass", "boot-floppy", "/disks/mac-through-the-looking-glass.dsk", {"emulator-args" : {"-s" : "1"} }],
["The Folklore of Alice", "hyperlink", "http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Alice.txt"]
],
"class" : "float-center"
}
The [http://onedoto.com/iPhone/Alice/index.php author's website] makes mention of a modern iPhone port of the game, but I have not been able to locate it in the app store.
Steve Capps also worked on the Macintosh Finder and the [[Macintosh Guided Tour]] diskette. The tour diskette contained a copy of Steve's AMAZING program, as did the release of
Through the Looking Glass.
== 1986: Maze Wars+ ==
[[figure-float-right:/artwork/mazewars-eye.png MazeWars+ on the Macintosh]]
Maze War was an early multi-player game with a history dating back to 1974. This game lets you hunt down your opponent in a three-dimensional maze.
{ "icons" : [
["Play MazeWars Online", "folder", "Maze-War.html", {"className": "world"}]
],
"class" : ""
}
At the
RetroWeb Vintage Computer Museum, you can play MazeWars+ with others via the Internet!
== 1987: Inigo Goes Out ==
[[image-float-left:/artwork/inigo.png]]
Amanda Goodenough's
Indigo Goes Out is an early example of the use of HyperCard for interactive storytelling.
Released in 1987, the Inigo series foreshadow the popularity of click-and-point adventure games such as
Cosmic Osmo and
Myst.
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["Inigo Stories", "boot-floppy", "/disks/mac-inigo.dsk", {"boot-hd" : "/disks/mac-boot-hypercard.qed"}]
],
"class": "center"
}
== 1987: Scarab of RA ==
Scarab of RA by Rick Holzgrafe is an early point and click adventure game for the Macintosh. You play an archeologist, professor, explorer and adventurer named Mississippi Smith that sets off to explore the Great Pyramid of RA.
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["Scarab of RA", "boot-floppy", "/disks/mac-scarab-of-ra.dsk", {"boot-hd" : "/disks/mac-marcio's-boot-1.0.qed"}]
],
"class" : "float-left"
}
This game is Shareware and is available on a try-before-you-buy basis. If you enjoy playing it, you may still purchase it at [[Semicolon Software]].
== 1987 - 1990: Cliff Johnson's Puzzle Games ==
[[Cliff Johnson]] released three critically acclaimed puzzle games between the years of 1987 and 1990.
|!3 Cliff Johnson's Classic Games |
|> 1987 |
The Fool's Errand | Combines a story-line with puzzles |
|> 1989 |
At The Carnival | A collection of carnival themed puzzles |
|> 1990 |
3 in Three | A brilliantly animated tale of the number 3 |
The Fool's Errand combined a story about a wandering fool and presented the player with a collection of themed puzzles and mini-games. A modern sequel,
The Fool and His Money, was released in October 25th of 2012 and is available at the [http://fools-errand.com author's website].
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["The Fool's Errand", "boot-floppy", "/disks/mac-the-fools-errand.dsk", {"boot-hd" : "/disks/mac-marcio's-boot-1.0.qed"}],
["At The Carnival", "boot-floppy", "/disks/mac-at-the-carnival.dsk", {"boot-hd" : "/disks/mac-marcio's-boot-1.0.qed"}],
["3-In-Three", "boot-floppy", "/disks/mac-3-in-three-data.dsk", {"boot-fd" : "/disks/mac-3-in-three-prog.dsk"}]
]
}
At The Carnival continued the series with carnival themed puzzles.
3-In-Three told the story of a hapless number 3 who suddenly finds herself stuck inside a computer; the game's exquisite animations make it my favorite from the series.
The games are presented here running on a black and white Macintosh. You may wish to download them yourself from the [[The Fool's Errand]] website to play them in color or to gain the ability to save games.
== 1988: The Colony ==
[[figure-float-right:/artwork/the-colony.svg The logo was the only part of the game David Smith did not make on his own]]
The Colony by David Alan Smith, was a groundbreaking game. It was the first to use real-time rendering, allowing the player to roam freely through a 3D environment.
Every detail of the game (except for the logo) was crafted by the author himself (including the sound of the in-game toilets), making
The Colony an astonishing one-man production.
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The Macintosh and DOS versions of
The Colony were released in 1988 and subsequently released for the [[Commodore Amiga]] in 1990[2]
=== The Colony: The story behind the game ===
Read David Alan Smith's [http://www.croquet.zone/2005/02/my-colony-memoir.html Colony Memoir] for a retrospective of what it took to develop and publish the game. In the two part video below, the author describes the technology behind
The Colony, giving us a facinating look into the programming tricks needed to make it work:
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1XENlUUOhA The Colony (Part 1)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k3qrt76Ddk The Colony (Part 2)]
== 1991: Battle Chess ==
Battle Chess was the first game independently developed and released by Interplay[1]. Featuring chess pieces that came to life in battle, it received critical acclaim for its clever graphics and animation.
{ "icons" : [
["BattleChess Demo", "boot-floppy", "/disks/mac-battlechess-demo.dsk", {"boot-hd" : "/disks/mac-marcio's-boot-1.0.qed"}]
]
}
After its debut on the Commodore Amiga in 1988, Battle Chess was ported to the many personal computers of the time. Most versions included modem play, which in the era before the Internet, allowed people to play head-to-head with one another.
The diskette included here is a non-playable, but nonetheless amusing, demo of the Macintosh version. You may purchase [[Battle Chess: Special Edition]] on GOG, which appears to resemble the Commodore Amiga version. A modern sequel to
Battle Chess is available from [[Interplay]] on the [[Steam network]].
== Multi-Player Games ==
[[figure-float-left:/artwork/pararena.png Pararena 2 on the Macintosh]]
Check out the [[Online Games]] exhibit for games that you can play in multi-player mode through the Internet! This includes Macintosh classics such as
MazeWars+,
Pararena and
NetTrek!
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["Play Multi-Player Games!", "folder", "Online-Games.html", {"className": "world"}]
],
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== Assorted Games Collection ==
{
"icons" : [
["Games Collection", "boot-floppy", "/disks/mac-games-1.image", {"boot-hd" : "/disks/mac-marcio's-boot-1.0.qed"}],
["Lemmings Demo", "boot-floppy", "/disks/mac-lemmings-demo.image", {"boot-hd" : "/disks/mac-marcio's-boot-1.0.qed"}]
]
}
* Spacebubbles 1.0 (1985)
* Banzai! (1985)
* StuntCopter v2.0 (1986)
* Blob Manager Demo (1986)
* Cap'n Magneto (1986)
* Crystal Quest (1987)
* Continuum (1987)
* Megaroids II (1988)
* Checkers (?)
* Lemmings Demo (1992)
=== See also: ===
* [[Apple Macintosh]]
* [[Multi-Player Games]]
=== References ===
# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maze_War
# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colony_(video_game)
Cliff Johnson
Apple Macintosh
MazeWars+
Multi-Player Games
Semicolon Software
The Fool's Errand
Macintosh Guided Tour
Steam network
Battle Chess: Special Edition
Interplay
Folklore
Commodore Amiga