Welcome! The story in this document is an excerpt, which we have brought back through time for your reading pleasure. The future is constantly varying, and the final outcome of certain events can influence other possibilities, including the wording of a text. In other words, this entire story is subject to change, and each time you read it there will likely be subtle differences. The most recent possibility of this text is included with each new version of WallRunners. Enjoy!
Excerpted from The History Of Famous Games, First Edition, published 8-22-2034:
Chapter Seven
WallRunners™
WallRunners is yet another example of a classic that never dies. From its humble beginnings as two black lines in 1996, it has grown and evolved progressively over the years, maintaining its position among the top multi-player games. Its addictive, competitive, and enjoyable gameplay keeps it alive from one generation to the next. The author, famous gamer Dusty Kothenbeutel, has always kept a new advancement waiting just over the horizon, kept up with the latest trendy features, and most importantly, always given the gamers exactly what they ask for in a multi-player game. WallRunners's success still continues today. Truly it has earned its place in the Interactive Gaming Hall Of Fame.
The Beginning
WallRunners started out in 1996 as a simple hack, initially named SuperBike. The author, Dusty Kothenbeutel, tells the story:
“The game had quite a simple beginning. I was a senior in high school, and I was one of only three students who had laptops, and the only one that was a Mac [smiling proudly]. I carried it everywhere, working away diligently on future, long-term projects, many of which you would now recognize. At the lunch table, we were always messing around with different things I had on it.
“One day, I decided it would be useful to have a simple two-player game, as all of the games I had at the time were one-player. Without any plans, I started pounding out some code in FutureBASIC, and in about five or ten minutes I had a barely-functional program that did the job. Thus, SuperBike 1.0 was born. It was just a quick little hack, but it kept us entertained day after day. The concept was inspired by a game the computer programs played in the old Disney movie TRON.
“After a week or so, I decided I could add a little variety by adding a simple weapon. This became SuperBike 1.1. Firing the 'missile' cleared away a 10-pixel circle around the player's 'Bike', which back then was just a black pixel. That kept us all quite entertained during lunch for the rest of the year. After I graduated, I really didn't play it at all for quite a while, until I formed my company, Cinnamon Computer Products, in 1998, and I suddenly decided to release it to the public.”
Rediscovery
After forming Cinnamon Computer Products, Mr. Kothenbeutel started the Cinnamon GameSoft label and prepared a new version of SuperBike. He added a very basic computer player, to create a one-player mode, and then released it for the first time to the public as SuperBike 1.2, as freeware. “I figured, it's really pathetic, but hey, it's really fun, so I might as well throw it out there as freeware and let others enjoy it too. All I asked was that they tell me if they liked it. A couple people even did, and they became friends and testers” he told us.
Introducing WallRunners
Mr. Kothenbeutel had a number of ideas for improving the game, and he realized it would require a complete rewrite. It would also require his "Cinnamon Application Framework" (CAF), which was just being created at the time (in the C language). In an effort to provide a better-quality program in the meantime, he rewrote it again from scratch, still in FutureBASIC. Additions included a full interface (with menus), gameplay options, much-improved controls, smoother motion, and a significantly better computer player. He knew that he would not be able to make a truly 'good' later version with FutureBASIC, but it was a significant improvement, while precisely duplicating everything from the previous incarnation.
He also determined that it would be necessary to find a different name. "Superbike" is a class of motorbikes, and he did not want to confuse the many fans of motorbike racing. Even more so, he wished to avoid name conflicts with games based upon the sport. After a little bit of brainstorming, Mr. Kothenbeutel came up with the now-famous "WallRunners" name, and version 2.0 was released on February 20, 1999, as $5.00 shareware.
The Next Evolution
After completing CAF by the fall of 1999, Mr. Kothenbeutel once again rewrote WallRunners from scratch under the new framework, this time incorporating sprite-based color graphics, new weapons, sound, and many other enhancements. WallRunners v3.0 was a completely new, prodigiously better WallRunners than ever before. Raising the shareware fee to $10 to compensate for all the new features, WR v3.0 was released on November 1, 1999.
By keeping the same tried-and-true, addictive gameplay, while at the same time creating an entirely new, much better game, Cinnamon GameSoft secured WallRunners as a successful, worthy title. Suggestions and comments poured in from players everywhere, and Dusty Kothenbeutel himself had many more ideas to add to it. Over a series of updated versions, new features were added and the game was elaborated upon.
Growing By Leaps & Bounds
By the turn of the millenium, in 2001, it was once again time for a major leap forward. WallRunners v4.0 introduced network play, where now any two players could compete across the Internet from anywhere in the world. Network play was also platform-independent, further increasing the playability and popularity of the game. Also new in v4.0, a built-in "ladder" system kept track of all WallRunners players across the Internet, compiling them into one Grand Ladder, kept up-to-date and freely accessible through the WallRunners web site. There are also Ladders for various geographical regions and also for Clans of players. The competition to be the highest-ranked player in the world or in one's Clan remains fierce to this day. Version 4.0 also marked the first Linux version of WallRunners. The price for both versions was raised to $19.95, a reflection of the high quality and depth of the game.
In addition to Linux, WR v4.0 was also released shortly afterwards for Sega's Dreamcast console, taking advantage of its built-in modem and networking capabilities. Again, smartly, the networkability of WallRunners was designed to be platform-independent, so the existing Mac OS and Linux versions functioned flawlessly with the Dreamcast version, thus allowing even more players to get in on the WallRunners phenomenon. As a further incentive, the suggested retail for the Dreamcast edition was set aggresively at $24.95, resulting in an average street price of $19.95, to match the price of the computer versions. The Dreamcast version of WallRunners fully supported all the features of the computer versions, including the Internet-based Ladder and Clan system. A special browser interface was added as part of the console version, specifically to enable the viewing and manipulation of these features.
Moving Into 3D
The next logical step in the evolution of WallRunners was the move to 3D. WallRunners 3D v1.0 was released in 2002 for the price of $24.95, or an upgrade price of $14.95. It featured an entirely new 3D game engine, played from a first-person perspective. All of the features of WR v4.0 were retained, and even more were added. The original WallRunners was preserved as WallRunners Classic, included free with WR 3D, or available separately for $14.95.
Both the speed of play and the size of the playfield were increased in WR 3D. A group mode was also added, allowing up to 32 players in a game simultaneously, instead of just two. This made for a fast-paced, exciting match. Typically, half or more of the players would crash in the congestion during the first 15-30 seconds, leaving a messy, challenging playfield for the remaining players. Group games would not apply toward the Ladders, but a separate Top Lists system kept track of the best group players with various statistics, such as Most Wins, Longest Survival, Most Kills, Highest Winning Percentage, Longest Winning Streak, Biggest Chicken, etc.
