Re: Rare IIgs Games

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Helix Energy writes ...
> 
> As maintainer of the Apple IIgs Gaming Memory Fairway, I'm becoming
> increasingly curious as to the rumours surrounding the development of some
> IIgs games that were never released.  The Fairway archive is currently
> quite complete in regards to every IIgs game that was released between
> 1986 to 1990.  But I'd like to know if I'm overlooking any games, and,
> there are any truth to the rumours of certain games made for the IIgs,
> including:
> 
> Zork Zero, I'm coming to the conclusion, does not exist for the IIgs.
> Although it was slated to be released by Infocom, along with all their new
> text/'graphic adventures in 1988/89, it never appeared as a proper
> release.  Rumours of its existance have been fanned by the fact that an
> 8-bit, 3.5 inch disk version has been floating around, but it doesn't
> interest me if its not the 16-bit IIgs native version.
>

     Next, maybe, to someone at Activision, the people most likely to know about
this would hang out on the Interactive Fantasy newsgroups. It seems like there
was talk of developing a IIgs interpreter which would run Zork Zero.


 
> Manhunter: San Francisco was slated to be Sierra's last IIgs release, in
> 1989.  I never ended up seeing it anywhere - I would have bought it in an
> instant if I did back then.  Anyone know what happened?  Was it released,
> but only for a very limited time?

 ....

> 
> Space Quest III - although Manhunter San Francisco was to be the last
> Sierra release, Space Quest III was advertised for a few issues on the
> back page of Questbusters magazine in 1991.  Was there any substance to
> this, or did the people at Questbusters not have any idea?
 ....

     At least in the early 1990's, getting clear answers from Sierra was not
always easy.

 
> Pool of Radiance, I've only heard rumours about a IIgs version having been
> made but not released.

     POR was the first of SSI's "AD&D" (a.k.a. "Gold Box") series. SSI
released a for-PC developement package ("Unlimited Adventures") for these games
in the early 1990's. The system is very flexible; so, although POR was not
released for IIgs, it is reasonably likely that a IIgs version was developed but
abandoned when SSI dropped the "Gold Box" format and released UA.
 
 ....

> Lords of the Rising Sun, was written in up in InCider magazine in 1988 or
> 1989 saying it was being worked on by both Manley and Associates and Ed
> Magnin.  I emailed Ed Magnin a couple of years ago and asked him about it
> and he said he never worked on a IIgs version of Lords of the Rising Sun,
> so it looks doubtful a IIgs version exists.

     Seems like they worked mainly with Accolade on PC games-- very much doubt
LRS for IIgs ever existed.

 ....

> Faery Tale Adventure was listed in InCider's 1988 gaming issue, but I
> never saw it available anywhere.  Was it actually released, or not?
> Anyone have a copy? :-)

     If it was released, that would be something of a chap. I was always bugging
the publisher-- think it was Micro Illusions-- about getting Apple II games for
review (including Faery Tale). They were mainly into Amiga stuff. 

 ....    

     You left out one of the top pieces of IIgs vapor ware: Bard's Tale III.
Supposedly, it is still being held up by the lack of artwork.

> 
> I'm also open to 1:1 scans of IIgs game boxes for the following games:
 ....

     Pretty nice collection!

     One game you list is Questron II/gs. Do you know if this is the later
release version? The original release would trash hard disks-- i.e., I'm pretty
sure it would trash your hard disk even if you booted from the diskette.




Rubywand