List of minor Apogee Software video games
The following is a list of the earliest, lesser-known video games published byApogee Software.For a full listing of Apogee/3D Realms games, seelist of 3D Realms games.
Games[edit]
Adventure Fun-Pak[edit]
| Adventure Fun-Pak | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Apogee Software |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | various |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release | 1989 |
| Genre(s) | various |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Adventure Fun-Pakis a collection of four video games created byScott Millerand various independent developers who submitted their programs to Apogee for publication. Miller categorized these submissions by genre and released this collection and the companionPuzzle Fun-Pakas non-shareware commercial products. Each collection was sold as a single package distributed on onefloppy disk.[1]Apogee re-released both collections as freeware on 28 May 2004.[2]The following games are included:[3]
- Night Bomberis anartillery gamein which the player attempts to destroy as many cities as possible by issuing orders to a gun to fire projectiles at a specified angle.
- Raiders of the Forbidden Mine(also known asRaiders of the Lost Mine,Diamond DiggerandGold Miner) is areal-timeaction gamewith gameplay and athird-personperspective reminiscent ofDig DugandPaganitzu.The objective is to collect as many gold nuggets as possible by maneuvering theplayer characterthrough a series of levels situated in an underground mine while evading enemies capable of killing upon contact. Each level contains oxygen boxes to ensure the player character does not run out of breathable air and a key needed to unlock the door to the next level.
- Rogue Runner(also known asMaze Runner) utilizesASCIIgraphics to depict a maze from an overhead third-person perspective. Gameplay is similar to Apogee'sKrozseries; the objective in each level of the maze is to maneuver the player character in real-time through a series of corridors and evade enemies to find the entrance to the next level. Scattered throughout each level are pickaxes which may be used to kill attacking opponents, teleport scrolls capable of instantly transporting the player character to a random point within that level's maze, and maps which reveal the maze to the player in greater detail. The game ends when the player retrieves the Heart of Courage from the deepest level of the dungeon or is killed by contact with an enemy. Designed by Scott Miller, the game was also published under the nameMaze RunnerinSoftdisk'sBig Blue Disk#26 released in December 1988.[4]
- The Thingis aportofHunt the WumpusforMS-DOS.
Beyond the Titanic[edit]
| Beyond the Titanic | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Apogee Software |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | Scott Miller |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release | 1986 |
| Genre(s) | Text adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Beyond the Titanicis atext adventuregame written by Scott Miller for MS-DOS inPascalin September 1984.[5]No images accompany the game's textual descriptions, but a variety of colors are employed to enhance the layout of the game's text. A panel near the top of the screen continuously displays the player's score and number of moves thus far. Also included is the ability tosave the gameand restore a previously saved game. The game begins on the sinking shipTitanicfrom which an escape must be sought. Upon doing so theplayer characteris swept away into a mysterious underground complex. The objective of the game is to escape these predicaments and find a way to return home to San Francisco.
Originally released in 1986 before Miller founded Apogee,[6]the game was later branded and advertised[7]as an Apogee product. Both it andSupernovaare the only two games published by Apogee as traditional shareware.[8]Miller permitted the full game to be freely copied and distributed by its users, but they were encouraged to "register" it by sending him a cash donation to compensate him for his effort, to "encourage the author to make new and better games" and to qualify for "telephone support and clues".[9]Although he had hoped that donations accompanying user registrations would become a significant source of revenue, this expectation failed to be realized as most users did not register the game.[10]He concluded that this strategy was not the way to start.[6]It seemed to him that gamers were "more apt to simply take what they could get for free"[10]and that he needed to introduce a greater incentive to get users to register his games. Miller's experience withBeyond the TitanicandSupernovaled him to develop theApogee modelwhich would become Apogee's standard method of marketing future releases.
Beyond the Titanicwas re-released as freeware by Apogee on March 10, 1998.[11]Thesource codefor the game was released asfree softwareunder theGPL-2.0-or-laterlicense on March 20, 2009.[12]
Jumpman Lives![edit]
| Jumpman Lives! | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Shamusoft Designs |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | Dave Sharpless |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release | June 10, 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Jumpman Lives!is an unauthorized 1991 MS-DOSremakeof theJumpmanplatform gamereleased by Epyx in 1983. InJumpman,theplayer characterwalks, jumps, and climbs ladders and ropes to clear each level of bombs. Both the original and the remake share the same plot: a multi-level orbital science station needs to be cleared of bombs planted by a radical group.[13]In the original game the station orbits the planetJupiter,but in the remake it is in orbit aroundSaturn.[14]Included in the remake are levels fromJumpman,Jumpman Junior,and some newly created ones.[15]Other enhancements in the remake include alevel editor,Sound Blastersupport, and threeskill levels.[16]
Dave Sharpless designed and developed the game in cooperation with Apogee.Scott Millerhad obtained his address from a registrationtext fileaccompanying an earlier shareware game he had self-published. Miller contacted Sharpless, who agreed to create aJumpmanremake for Apogee.[15][17]Once Sharpless had created the level editor, it was used to create the game's 45 levels. He did most of thelevel designhimself while Apogee developed the game's introductory graphics, ordering information screens, and bonus levels.[15]In accordance with Apogee's standard practice at the time, the game was split into three episodes. The first was freely distributable as shareware and the remaining three episodes were commercial products which could be purchased directly from Apogee. Each episode consists of approximately 12 levels.
PC Magazine's "PC MagNet News" column described it as a "clever" merge of arcade action and "intriguing" designs.[13]
Permission had not been obtained from Epyx, the holder of theJumpmancopyright at the time. When Epyx learned of its existence, the company asked Apogee to discontinue it only a few months following its release.[18]Apogee no longer retains any control over or copyright in this title.[19]
Puzzle Fun-Pak[edit]
| Puzzle Fun-Pak | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Apogee Software |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | various |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release | 1989 |
| Genre(s) | various |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,two player(Phrase Master) |
Puzzle Fun-Pakis a collection of four video games created byScott Millerand various independent developers who submitted their programs to Apogee for publication. Miller categorized these submissions by genre and released this collection and the companionAdventure Fun-Pakas non-shareware commercial products. Each collection was sold as a single package distributed on onefloppy disk.[1]Apogee re-released both collections as freeware on 28 May 2004.[2]The following games are included:[3]
- Asteroids Rescue(also known asMeteors) is a real-time game utilizingASCIIgraphics in which the player must maneuver a spaceship through asteroids to rescue stranded astronauts. The player views the spaceship and its surroundings from an overhead third-person vantage point. The spaceship is equipped with ten missiles for destroying asteroids and a device for teleporting it to a random location within the asteroid field, but is capable of withstanding only five collisions with asteroids. The game ends when all the astronauts are rescued or the spaceship is destroyed by running out of fuel or colliding with too many asteroids. Designed by Scott Miller, the game was also published under the nameMeteorsinSoftdisk'sBig Blue Disk#30 released in April 1989.[4]
- Block Fiveis a version ofGoin which the player competes against a computer controlled opponent. Designed by Scott Miller, the game was also published in Softdisk'sBig Blue Disk#32 released in June 1989.[4]
- Maze Machinegenerates an overhead map of a random maze with corridors of a height and width specified by the user. The program's output may be sent to a printer so that the maze can be solved by hand.
- Phrase Masteris atwo playerturn-basedgame in which each player must guess which letters appear in a phrase the program randomly chooses from its stock of five hundred phrases. Each player continues to make guesses until he or she guesses incorrectly, at which point the other player's turn begins.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Trivia[edit]
| Star Trek: The Next Generation Trivia | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Micro F/X Software |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | George Broussard |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Educational |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Star Trek: The Next Generation Trivia(also known asNext Generation Trivia) is a trivia video game about theStar Trek: The Next GenerationTV series written for MS-DOS. Developed byGeorge Broussardand originally published by his label Micro F/X Software, it was marketed and distributed by Apogee after Broussard joined the company. The game consists of three volumes each featuring 100 multiple choice questions related toStar Trek: The Next Generation.Questions randomly chosen from the volume's database are sequentially presented to the player, who responds by selecting a numbered response from a list. For each correct answer, the game reveals a bonusStar Trek: The Next Generationfact. Players begin the game with three credits; every ten correct responses earn the player an additional credit, but each incorrect response costs the player one credit.[20]When the player runs out of credits or has attempted all 100 questions, the game ends and the player's level ofStar Trek: The Next Generationknowledge is ranked on the basis of how many questions were correctly answered. The game'slook and feelis largely text-based, but multicoloredASCIIline graphics and text are used to enhance the presentation.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Triviawas marketed via theApogee model.Only the first volume was freely distributable as shareware; the remaining volumes were commercial products which could be purchased directly from Apogee.
When theStar Trekcopyright holderParamountdiscovered that Apogee was profiting from their intellectual property, they offered Apogee a license for the game idea. Apogee did not accept the offer, as the license would have cost more than what Apogee was making on the game.[21]Therefore, Apogee discontinued the game, and they no longer retain any copyright or control over on it.[22]
Super Game Pak[edit]
| Super Game-Pak | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Apogee Software |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | Scott Miller |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release | 1989 |
| Genre(s) | various |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Super Game Pakis a video game compilation published by Apogee in 1989 featuring a diverse selection of games previously released by Apogee or Scott Miller (prior to founding Apogee). It was marketed as an introduction to Apogee's game line.[7]The collection includes:
- Asteroid Rescue
- Block Five
- Raiders of the Lost Mine
- Rogue Runner
- Trek Trivia(Volume 1)
- Word Whiz(Volume 1)
Supernova[edit]
| Supernova | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Apogee Software |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | Scott Miller |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release | 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Text adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Supernovais atext adventurevideo game designed by Scott Miller for MS-DOS and published byApogee Software.The game's text was co-written by Scott Miller and Terry Nagy. AlthoughSupernova'splot is unrelated to that of Miller's previous text adventureBeyond the Titanic,itsgame engineandlook and feelrepresent an evolutionary development from the earlier game. No images accompany the game's textual descriptions, but a variety of colors are employed to enhance the layout of the game's text. A panel near the top of the screen continuously displays the player's score, location, number of moves thus far, and theplayer character's condition (e.g. thirsty). Also included is the ability to save the game and restore a previously saved game. Miller wrote that the game features over four hundred sound effects, 16-colorASCIIgraphics, a hint command and aparserwhich recognizes over a thousand words.[7]The game begins with the player character seeking employment on the surface of a barren mining planet. As the game progresses, the player discovers that an imminent supernova is threatening to destroy aplanetary civilization.The main goal of the game is to save its inhabitants from this imminent catastrophe.
Originally released in 1987 before Miller founded Apogee,[6]the game was later branded and advertised[7]as an Apogee product. Both it andBeyond the Titanicare the only two games published by Apogee as traditional shareware.[8]Miller permitted the full game to be freely copied and distributed by its users, but they were encouraged to "register" it by sending him a cash donation to compensate him for his effort, to "encourage the author to make new and better games" and to qualify for "telephone support and clues".[23]Although he had hoped that donations accompanying user registrations would become a significant source of revenue, this expectation failed to be realized as most users did not register the game.[10]He concluded that this strategy was not the way to start.[6]It seemed to him that gamers were "more apt to simply take what they could get for free"[10]and that he needed to introduce a greater incentive to get users to register his games. Miller's experience withBeyond the TitanicandSupernovaled him to develop theApogee modelwhich would become Apogee's standard method of marketing future releases.
Apogee also sold the game'sTurbo Pascal3.0 source code and marketed it to "novice programmers trying to learn the 'tricks of the trade'".[7][24]
Supernovawas re-released as freeware by Apogee on March 26, 1998.[8]The source code for the game was released asfree softwareunder theGPL-2.0-or-laterlicense on March 20, 2009.[12]
The Thor Trilogy[edit]
| The Thor Trilogy | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Scenario Software |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | Todd Replogle |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release | 1989 |
| Genre(s) | Maze |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Thor Trilogy(also known asCaves of Thor) is a mazevideo gamepublished in 1989 byApogee Software.It was developed byTodd Replogleunder the Scenario Software name.
The game places the player trapped within the Caves of Thor. The object of the game is to locate three missing items scattered throughout the place. The missing items are the Female-item, the Heart-item and the Male-item. The game's interface, gameplay and graphics are similar to a previous Apogee game,Kingdom of Kroz,and to the gameZZT.
The game was originally distributed as shareware. It consists of three volumes, with only the first volume distributed as shareware, and the rest available commercially. The volumes are:
- Volume I: Caves of Thor
- Volume II: Realm of Thor
- Volume III: Thor's Revenge
The source code of the game used to be available for U$195.00 (in 1990) directly from Todd Replogle. The game was discontinued, and it was later re-released asfreewareby Apogee in December 2005.
The game includesPC speakerrenditions of variousclassical musicpieces, includingFlight of the BumblebeebyRimsky-Korsakov,two preludes from theWell-Tempered ClavierbyJ.S. Bach,andSolfeggiettobyC.P.E. Bach.
Trek Trivia[edit]
| Trek Trivia | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Apogee Software |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | Scott Miller |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Educational |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Trek Triviais a trivia video game about theStar TrekTV series, written inTurbo Pascal5.0 for MS-DOS and published byApogee Software.The game consists of ten volumes each featuring 100 multiple choice questions related toStar Trek.Questions randomly chosen from the volume's database are sequentially presented to the player, who responds by selecting a numbered response from a list. For each correct answer, the game reveals a bonusStar Trekfact. Players begin the game with three credits; every ten correct responses earn the player an additional credit, but each incorrect response costs the player one credit.[25]When the player runs out of credits or has attempted all 100 questions, the game ends and the player's level ofStar Trekknowledge is ranked on the basis of how many questions were correctly answered. The game'slook and feelis largely text-based, but multicoloredASCIIline graphics and text are used to enhance the presentation.
Trek Triviawas marketed via theApogee model.Only the first volume was freely distributable as shareware; the remaining volumes were commercial products which could be purchased directly from Apogee. Apogee also sold the game's Turbo Pascal 5.0 source code which it marketed to "novice programmers trying to learn the 'tricks of the trade'".[7]
When theStar Trekcopyright holderParamountdiscovered that Apogee was profiting from their intellectual property, they offered Apogee a license for the game idea. Apogee did not accept the offer because the license would have cost more than what Apogee was making on the game.[21]Therefore, Apogee discontinued the game, and they no longer retain any copyright or control over it.[22]
Trivia Whiz[edit]
| Trivia Whiz | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Micro F/X Software |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | George Broussard |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release | 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Educational game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Trivia Whizis a general trivia game written for MS-DOS, published byApogee Software.It was originally published byGeorge Broussardunder Micro F/X Software, before he joined Apogee.
Trivia Whizwas distributed as shareware. It consists of five volumes (named Volume 1 to 5), with only the first volume distributed as shareware, and the rest available commercially. Each volume has 100 multiple choice questions on a large variety of topics.
The game was discontinued, and it was later re-released as freeware by Apogee in December 2005.
Word Whiz[edit]
| Word Whiz | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Apogee Software |
| Publisher(s) | Apogee Software |
| Designer(s) | Scott Miller |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release | 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Educational game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Word Whizis a trivia game written for MS-DOS, published by Apogee Software. It consists of various questions about different English words.
Word Whizwas distributed as shareware. It consists of four volumes (named Volume 1 to 4), with only the first volume distributed as shareware, and the rest available commercially. Each volume has 100 multiple choice questions, each one about a specific word.
Word Whizis written inTurbo Pascal5.0 and the source code was for sale for $100.
The game was discontinued, and was later re-released as freeware by Apogee in December 2005. The source code for the game was released asfree softwareunder theGPL-2.0-or-laterlicense on March 20, 2009.[12]
References[edit]
- ^abMiller, Scott (1989).Other Games From Apogee Software Productions.Apogee Software.This software catalogue was distributed as aREADME text fileaccompanying early Apogee releases.
- ^abSiegler, Joe (28 May 2004)."Some Ancient Apogee Games Released as Freeware".3D Realms.Retrieved1 April2012.
- ^abIn-game instructions. 2004 freeware release.
- ^abcStoddard, Samuel (30 September 2005)."What's Apogee's relationship with Softdisk?".The Apogee FAQ (Version 7.2w).RinkWorks.Retrieved3 April2012.
- ^Beyond the Titanic - Source Code
- ^abcd"Detailed Release Timeline".3D Realms.Retrieved6 April2012.
- ^abcdefMiller, Scott (1990).The Games From Apogee Software Productions.Apogee Software.This software catalogue was distributed as aREADME text fileaccompanying early Apogee releases.
- ^abcSiegler, Joe (26 March 1998)."Supernova Released as Freeware!".3D Realms.Retrieved6 April2012.
- ^Scott Miller (1998).Beyond the Titanic(MS-DOS). Apogee Software. Scene: Introduction.
- ^abcdKushner, David(2004).Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture.Random House. p. 61.ISBN9780812972153.
- ^Siegler, Joe (10 March 1998)."Beyond the Titanic Released as Freeware!".3D Realms.Retrieved6 April2012.
- ^abcSiegler, Joe."Several old games released as Freeware".3D Realms.Retrieved26 March2009.
- ^abParker, Chris (10 September 1991)."On-line Guide to PC MagNet".PC Magazine.10(15): 434.
- ^[1]In an interview,Jumpman Lives!designer Dave Sharpless states that this change of planetary setting was not a deliberate design choice.
- ^abc"Dave Sharpless Interview (part 1/2)".The Jumpman Lounge. 30 September 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 10 October 2008.Retrieved3 April2012.
- ^Matero, Lon (28 May 2004)."Jumpman Lives!".Lon Matero's Apogee Page. Archived fromthe originalon 31 March 2008.Retrieved3 April2012.
- ^Siegler, Joe (20 March 2006)."The Apogee Legacy #11 - Dave Sharpless".3D Realms.Retrieved3 April2012.
- ^"Dave Sharpless Interview (part 2/2)".The Jumpman Lounge. 30 September 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 10 October 2008.Retrieved3 April2012.
- ^Siegler, Joe (25 February 1999)."Jumpman Died!".3D Realms.Retrieved3 April2012.
- ^George Broussard (1987).Star Trek: The Next Generation Trivia(MS-DOS). Micro F/X Software/Apogee Software. Scene: Instructions.
- ^ab[2]Joe Siegler explains the rationale for not accepting a license agreement from Paramount.
- ^ab[3]"We do not retain any copyright or control on the following titles:Star Trek Trivia,Star Trek: TNG Trivia,andJumpman Lives!(which means we don't care what you do with these three games - we don't have anything to do with them anymore) ".
- ^Scott Miller (1998).Supernova(MS-DOS). Apogee Software. Scene: Introduction.
- ^Supernova Instructions, 1998
- ^Scott Miller (1986).Trek Trivia(MS-DOS). Apogee Software. Scene: Instructions.