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Inside Mac Games Volume 6 #3
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IMG Volume 6, Issue 3
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1998-06-12
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by Rafi Guroian
E3 was a non-stop fun fest this year, and Mac games were surprisingly
abundant, to many's surprise. IMG was there and has brought you the
complete story. While at E3 we had private interviews with almost every
single Mac-related gaming company, including Bungie, Blizzard, Sierra,
Berkeley Systems, Dynamix and MacSoft.
MacSoft 
MacSoft proved to the gaming world
that they have no intention of slowing
the barrage of Mac games they will be
releasing for the Mac. The most popu-
lar title MacSoft had at the show was
(not surprisingly) Unreal, ported by
Westlake Interactive. The game was
running incredibly smoothly under
Virtual Memory on a G3 PowerMac,
and was garnering a good deal of attention from passers-by. Mark Adam's
company is finishing up the porting process of Unreal and MacSoft hopes to
have the game out of the door within the next four weeks.
MacSoft wasn't content with simply showcasing Unreal, however. Peter
Tamte, Executive Director at MacSoft, announced at the Apple party on
Thursday night that MacSoft will also be releasing two previously
unannounced games: Civilization Gold Edition, Total Annihilation, and Deer
Hunter. Civilization Gold came as a complete surprise to almost everyone
who was in attendance. The game is a collection of Civilization II, the
Fantastic Worlds Add-On, and an all-new multiplayer capability. The game is
also being produced for the PC by Microprose, but has been delayed and won't
ship until late July, placing the Mac version at an almost simultaneous
release with the PC. Targeted at a $44.95 price point, the game will replace
Civilization II for the Mac and exclusive discount orders will be taken for the
first time at MacWorld this July. When asked if the networking of Civ II Gold
will be compatible with the PC version, Tamte stated that it should, but has
not been fully tested yet.
The announcement of Total Annihilation came as a surprise to a good many
people at the event, although IMG readers may not be as surprised as we
hinted to the possibility in a recent Q&A Forum.
Finally, MacSoft confirmed the development of Deer Hunter for the Mac, a
game that has proven to be the black horse of computer games this year,
smashing Riven and Quake II in PC sales. Because the PC version of the game
is published by MacSoft's parent company, GT Interactive, Deer Hunter was
not a title that was difficult to obtain and will be released at this summer's
MacWorld at a low price of $19.99. When asked about the possibility of
using the PC version of Extended Season, the Deer Hunter add-on, with Mac
Deer Hunter, Tamte regretfully admitted that the two products are
incompatible, but that if the Mac version sells well, a Mac version of
Extended Season will be released.
Also displayed at the MacSoft booth was Real Pool, which has just been
released. The game features incredible graphics that don't require (or even
support) a 3-D accelerator; the physics and sound are second to none. Look
for our review of Real Pool in Issue 6-3 as well as an exclusive demo that
will not be available on the web!!
Lastly, MacSoft and Reality Bytes were showcasing Dark Vengeance, a new
third person medieval adventure. The game looks simply stunning, and will
support RAVE 3D acceleration when it is released.
Blizzard
IMG Editors Rafi Guroian, Chris McVeigh, and Greg Kramer met with
Blizzard's Mac Guru, Brian Love, and were given a hands-on preview of
Starcraft for the Mac! The game is running beautifully in one-player mode
and multiplayer is being finished up as we speak. The release date of
Starcraft is still being forecasted to be around the end of July, and we can
tell you that it is well worth the wait. Our jaws dropped as we saw Love
demonstrate the game to us; to see the gameplay framed in a Powerbook
5300's casing was enthralling, to say the least.
When asked about Diablo II for the Mac, Brian told us that the game is at least
a year away, and no final decision has been made to port the game to the Mac,
but from what we were able to gather, as long as Diablo and Starcraft sales
prove popular, Blizzard won't be hard convinced to keep supporting the Mac.
Sierra 
Sierra entered E3 a changed company. After
Ken Williams' (Sierra's founder) departure
from the company, Sierra has undergone a
major transformation. No longer are all titles
released under the same label. Sierra is now
divided into several smaller segments: Sierra
Attractions, Sierra FX, Sierra Home, Sierra
Sports, and Dynamix. Sierra Attractions will
come out of Sierra's newest home (and coropo-
rate headquarters) based in Bellevue, Wash-
ington. Sierra FX (also known as Yosemite
Entertainment) will remain a developing house
(and very much Mac-aware) as it readies Quest
For Glory V for the Mac.
In Quest for Glory news, we spent a significant amount of time with the
Yosemite Entertainment/Sierra FX team and game designers Cory and Lori
Cole. The game is shaping up nicely and has recently been given a face lift,
throwing the graphics up a notch to the 16 bit (thousands of colors) mark.
The game's special effects look simply amazing; spells now cast an eerie light
on surrounding territory and projectiles now behave as they should, sticking
into wood, bouncing off of rocks, and remaining there until they are picked
up again. As far as IMG's Rafi Guroian is concerned, this is truly what a
Sierra game should be, and always has been. Quest for Glory V is a true
Sierra Classic.
We also spoke with Sierra concerning a possible release of Diablo: Hellfire
for the Mac. As of now, there are no plans to port the title, although that
could change. Only time will tell.
Dynamix will be releasing a 3-D Ultra Pinball bundle in a few weeks pooling
together the three pinball games that have been an enormous success. The
bundle will also include a video tape chronicling the history of pinball as
well as a full copy of the Incredible Machine 3.0. The bundle will ship on 4
CD's (and the VHS tape). Sadly, Dynamix tells us that this is the last planned
release for the Macintosh they will be making. A fourth 3-D pinball game is
in the works, and though many of the programmers are Mac users,
Dynamix's corporate office doesn't think a Mac version would be profitable.
If you would like to see Dynamix to continue to support the Mac, you are
encouraged to send an email to sandy.muller@dynamix.com.
While we were visiting Sierra's private meeting room, we glanced over and
spotted Roberta Williams and Al Lowe sauntering about. Williams was
showcasing her latest game, King's Quest 8 which looks decent. The game
stars an all-new hero who is a resident of Daventry. When everyone else in
the kingdom is turned to stone, he is left with the task of returning the Mask
of Eternity to its rightful owner to restore peace. The game is completely 3D
driven, taking a third-person perspective on the action a-la Jedi Knight. The
game does retain some adventure qualities, but we weren't fully convinced
that this is the best way to go with the King's Quest Series. In our opinion,
Sierra Attractions should have taken a hint from Sierra FX and have followed
Quest for Glory V's lead. Every other company seems to be doing something
like King's Quest 8 now; no other company has even considered going back to
the tried-and-true 3D adventure as QFGV is doing.
Al Lowe is a scary man. That said, he is a very friendly guy and we had an
enjoyable conversation with him. Plugging his most recent title, Larry's
Casino, he did hint to us that Larry 8 is, in fact, in the works, although it is
unclear which division of Sierra will develop it. Lowe also confirmed for us
that Capitol Punishment is, in fact, "dead as a doornail."
"Frankly, it just wasn't funny," Lowe whispered to us. "On paper, it made
great sense, but in reality, it just wasn't fun."
Some of you may remember Capitol Punishment which mocked the US
government to no end. Players could join Bill and Hillary as they maneuvered
their way down WhiteWater Rapids, or help Senator Packwood find a good-
looking woman. Al tells us that the game eventually got repetitive and boring,
however, and was finally canned a few years ago.
THQ/Cyberflix
IMG met with THQ and Cyberflix, the distributors and producers of Redjack:
Revenge of the Bretheren (formerly known as Redjack's Revenge). Redjack
is shaping up to be a truly impressive game in the puppeteer genre. The
game, scheduled to ship August 21, will be appearing as a hybrid CD on
major retail store shelves.
 
Bungie 
Bungie was at E3 in full force as it plugged
Myth II which is scheduled to ship by the end
of this year. Also displayed on the giant kiosk
of monitors was another Bungie title in dev-
elopment at the San Jose branch: ONI. A fully-
featured martial arts game including weapon
combat, ONI stars a female police officer who
lives in a fully-realized asian city in the near
future. The game looks to be heavily influenced
by anime, and is said to be incredibly realistic.
Little information is being divulged from
Bungie, but keep your eyes here for any
further information.
Berkeley Systems
The folks at Berkeley and Jellyvision are at it again, bringing us You Don't
Know Jack 4, Head Rush, and Don't Touch That Dial, all game shows based on
the basic concept created by Harry Gottlieb (aka Nate Shapiro) of
Jellyvision.
Jack 4 incredibly outdoes all previous incarnations bring back all of the
previous hosts of Jack for a great game. Head Rush is a You Don't Know Jack
for teens, touching on topics such as Hanson, Scream, and Titanic. Finally,
Don't Touch that Dial, a Berkeley Systems creation, quizzes players on their
favorite commercials in a YDKJ-esque fashion. Although none of the
Jellyvision Jack hosts were on hand, we were able to snag an exclusive
preview Quicktime movie of Jack 4 that was being demoed at E3.
Terminal Reality
Terminal Reality was showcasing their jaw-dropping flight simulator, Fly!,
Which is being developed for both Mac and PC. The game, which is coded for
both Voodoo 1 and Voodoo 2 compatibility is looking simply incredible. A pure
simulation (no dogfighting or specific missions), the game features
satellite-generated topography, enabling players with actual flight maps to
literally fly anywhere in the world. The demo we were given left jaws
dropping as the PowerMac effortlessly ran the game with precision and
detail. Keep your eyes on this title.
Fox Interactive 
Fox Interactive's show booth was quite a scene
as they demoed X-Files: The Game. On top of it,
Gillian Anderson was on-hand on Saturday to sign
autographs. In addition, Anderson held a roundtable
discussion with selected media. IMG served as the
Macintosh representatives as Greg Kramer and
Chris McVeigh met with Anderson with twelve
other people. See issue 6-4 for a full report!
Disney Interactive
Disney was displaying one mac game, and was it ever impressive! Taking a
lead from Berkeley and Jellyvision, Disney Interactive was showcasing the D
Show, a You Don't Know Jack for Disney fans that incorporates audio and
video into the You Don't Know Jack game show interface. Although the show's
announcer seems a bit bland, Disney fans will enjoy the game for its
knowledge of heritage and obscure facts that seemed long-forgotten. Keep an
eye out for the D-Show this Christmas!!
Red Orb
IMG managed to arrange for a brief meeting with Red Orb producer Andrew
Pedersen concerning a Mac version of Prince of Persia 3D. According to
Pedersen, Red Orb is willing to meet with Apple and possible third-party
developers to work out a way a to bring POP 3D to the Mac. Red Orb doesn't
seem to be thoroughly convinced that the Mac can support the graphical
horsepower needed to power POP3D, and is willing to entertain Apple and
other parties concerning this matter. Pedersen tells us that Red Orb is more
than willing to bring POP 3D to the Mac if it can be done reasonably easily.
We'll keep you updated on this issue as it develops.
Sega PC
SegaPC had a kiosks of PowerMacs set up as it presented the sequel to
SimTower, Yoot's Tower. Although the game being demoed was the Japanese
edition, fans of SimTower will be pleased to know that the game's basic
format and premise remain the same, although the publisher and name have
changed. Stay tuned for more information on this title as it makes its way to
the states.
MicroConversions/Voodoo 2
IMG Editors Rafi Guroian and Chris McVeigh had a thoroughly enjoyable and
impromptu conversation for Micro Conversions' Robert Archer. Archer
assured us the Voodoo 2 for the Mac is coming and was quite excited about it.
Although the situation looked grim for a while, Micro Conversions was
successful in convincing both Apple and 3Dfx that Voodoo 2 for the Mac is a
good thing, and development of the PCI card is chugging along. Archer tells us
that the card will retail for approximately $299 and will be available in the
near future. We will be sure to keep you updated on this situation.
Simon & Schuster/Starship Titanic
The Starship Titanic's booth was outfitted with 5 or so computers demoing
Douglas Adam's newest adventure game. Mr. Adams was even present at the
booth, in fact, on Friday to sign autographs and take pictures. IMG News
Editor Rafi Guroian held a lengthy conversation with the famous author who
uses only Macs, and we have learned that the game should become available
this fall as early as November! In addition, the game will be shipped on a
hybrid CD utilizing the Quicktime 3.0 technology, so keep an eye out! Mr.
Adams seemed excited about the release of the Mac version as he hasn't been
able to play his own game due to the PC-specific availability. We will be
sure to keep you updated on any further developments.
TIG Entertainment
TIG Entertainment was showcasing Shadoan, the latest adventure game in the
Kingdom of the Far Reaches series. On-hand was Rick Dyer, creator of
Shadoan and Dragon's Lair. Look for IMG's review of Shadoan in Issue 6-3.
Digital Leisure
Digital Leisure was at E3 showcasing Dragon's Lair DVD which will be
appearing later this summer on the Mac. The game is the same old Dragon's
Lair we have come to know and love, but is now featured in MPEG-2 video,
giving the game the Laserdisc Quality it once had when it hit the arcades in
the 1980's. Dragon's Lair enthusiasts interested in the title will want to
keep tabs on this game, as Digital Leisure tells us that they have few plans of
promoting or advertising Dragon's Lair DVD for Mac.
 
