I don't know how many of you will remember these games, they are truly ancient, I am surprised I could even find any record of them online. I had three in mind but can only find 2. They are really perfect for the iPhone and both great concepts. The first: Toxic Ravine from Glenn Wichman of Pointware, Inc (now abandonware) The player controls a blimp from which he needs to drop bombs on toxic waste to get rid of it. Different types of debris react differently to being bombed, eg. bombs become enraged and rise to attack the blimp, and parcels may be opened and have various things inside. You have tools like a magnet to raise things from the ground and you must rescue little men who are freed from the debris. With added tools, revamped graphics and more levels, even a nice little kitsch backstory, this game would be a really addictive puzzler. The original is one of those games you play and don't forget, and there was an excitement to seeing what you'd find deeper and deeper in the ravine. Secondly there is Shufflepuck Café from Domark You play some kind of space trader marooned on a space station who winds up in the bar - there, a bunch of various alien characters challenge you to a game of shufflepuck, basically air hockey. The game is controlled via the computer's mouse. The bat on the playing field bounces a hockey puck between the player and the opponent. When one of the players manages to knock the hockey puck past the opponent's bat, the player scores. After a set number of points (usually 15) the match is over. Each alien opponent had their own particular technique and weaknesses. The third was an adventure game where you navigate an Egyptian pyramid in first person view. You click to turn 90 degrees in either direction and then forward or backward. You would encounter various obstacles, puzzles and strange objects, and pick things up along the way eg. snake bite lotion to cure snake bites and torches, money etc. There was also a mummy stalking the corridors. Cannot find any info on that game but it was really engrossing. I'd be interested on working on a remake of one of these although I don't have any coding experience, my background is mainly literature and web design, and I know these games well. Particularly Toxic Ravine would be an ideal project I think.
No no it was black and white, very basic graphics, may even have been made on HyperCard - I imagine it would have been released late 80s or so. There wasn't a plot as such, you were just an explorer clicking through an egyptian tomb, but the illustrations and the little dialog boxes explaining what you were encountering etc. brought it to life.
I used to play shufflepuck cafè! The screenshots brought back memories of me in my father's office when I was a kid, playing this game on the Mac of one of his colleagues... I had completely forgotten about it!
Same! I used to play these games on IIcx's and LC IIs my dad had around in his lab. Eventually they'd be written off and we could take them home. First ever Mac I used was a Mac Plus, I remember playing Shufflepuck on that. There was also a strange kind of.. kid's entertainment game. I cannot remember the name at all and I can only remember very vague part of it. The home screen was a sort of.. room, populated with animals and furniture you could click on to take you to other mini-games... Jeez, I'll probably never find that one.
Wohoo! I found the pyramid game: The Scarab of Ra.. You'd need to carry lantern oil and food in your rucksack to maintain your light and keep your hunger down as you ventured further into the tomb. These could be obtained in various ways. On the walls there you can sometimes see markings; these would give clues as to how to traverse the pyramid. Occasionally you'd confront enemies and have to use your items to pacify them. Chucking them some food would pacify them, but then you're down on food, however attempting to kill it might result in you losing health. Seriously, these 3 games would be perfect for the iPhone. Particularly Toxic Ravine I can see selling well. If anyone interested in form a little amateur studio on the side to revamp a couple of these titles? It's our heritage as Mac users, we owe it to the platform EDIT: Ok I'm going to start actively looking for people to get a project up and running, remaking Toxic Ravine and the Scarab of Ra (either directly or a spiritual successor depending on it's shareware status). These are both popular App Store genres and yet still unique takes on both, I can see them making decent sales if priced right and beta'd with eg. toucharcade posters.
What was the one that had bach like music in the background, hell, I think it was Fuge in Dm actually. Anyway, you were in catacombs or something, and it was almost like a side scroller, you had to work your way up to the top, then you got this jetpack. I remember this pendulum swinging that could cut you and bats. Played it like in 91. Oh! DejaVu was a great game too.
There is no such thing as abandonware. Fastest way to establish this is to make money from what you believe is it.
Wow, I was just thinking about how Scarab Of Ra would be amazing for the idevices. It was the first game I remember spending any time with. Also before this thread, I checked it's website. It had been last updated in 1999.
Yeah, I found the shareware site for Scarab of RA too, once you mentioned it. The software surely hasn't been updated but the company still seems to exist, even if they don't seem to be very active. I would contact them first to make sure that you don't run afoul of their intellectual property rights. Maybe they might be willing to cooperate or provide original assets from the game.
I'd like to see Traffic Department 2192 remade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_Department_2192 And http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Must_Fall_2097 both awesome games I'd buy on day 1 if anyone would like to take the challenge No idea if the developers are still around though!
Well guys, I'm slowly putting together a team to work on this. Toxic Ravine would be a good place to start as it's 100% abandonware. Currently looking for a programmer and an artist, as well as a general project assistant that can help with PR, some experience in web design would be helpful too. EDIT: I was thinking the shooter Final Impact would be a nice remake, but the developer is still going strong, making games for iPhone now! That was a great game!
Hey- I'm really into this and love what you're doing.. But, I really would make an effort to contact the creators before you put any effort into the games. Even if it's stated to be abandonware, you don't know that the creator/publishing company actually relinquished the rights. They may have stated that it is free to download and distribute, but that doesn't mean they don't still own rights and could come after you and shut you down if you remake it and sell it for profit. It could also be a third party who decreed it abandonware, meaning someone who doesn't know the actual status of the rights themselves and just decided "it must be." Plus just because a company went out of business doesn't mean the rights are public domain, someone out there- a former employee, or whoever bought the assets- owns them. There could also be art and even music issues.. (if there's even any "music")... You never know. I think most of these guys would be happy to see the game updated (and may even be of some help) but you don't want to get sued, or the game pulled right after it's released because you thought it was public domain and it isn't. I'd seriously try to get some sort of confirmation and cover your bases.. 20-25 years wasn't that long ago and most of these folks are probably still around, and may even be still working.
If you decide you're interested in Toxic Ravine, the copyright holder is Glenn Wichman. You can contact him through his website: http://www.wichman.org/glenn.html
