StuntCopter

A helicopter, a tiny little man, and a horse-drawn wagon. That doesn't sound like much of an idea for a game, but it's the basis for StuntCopter, a shareware Mac game released by teenage programmer Duane Blehm in October 1986. Blehm released two other games -- Zero Gravity and Cairo ShootOut! -- and updated versions of StuntCopter before his untimely death a few years later. His parents decided to release the games into the public domain, where they have become increasingly difficult to run on current hardware.

But now gamers can once again enjoy the simple-yet-gratifying gameplay of StuntCopter (without jumping through hoops to make it run). The game was ported to OS X by Antell Software in 2004 (get it here; requires Mac OS 10.4 or later), and to the iPhone by nerdgames in 2009.

The Current State of Mac Gaming: Looking Ahead

Mac gamers are a sad bunch. Every few years someone or something comes along that is going to transform the Mac gaming landscape. But nothing happens. Promise after promise has been broken, and few good things have emerged. So you can excuse the cynics who say gaming on the Mac will never amount to anything. Most look elsewhere for their gaming fix, either unsatisfied with or unaware of the paltry offerings on display, especially given the oftentimes-long delays and poor performance compared to other platforms. It seems like the Mac just isn't on anyone's radar. But, as has been the case in looking at the past and present of gaming on the Mac, the issue is more complicated than it at first seems.

The Current State of Mac Gaming: Don't Forget the Little Guys

Small developers have long had a strong following on the Mac, from the early days of shareware with Pangea Software, Duane Blehm, John Calhoun, and Cyan (amongst others), to the emergence of Ambrosia Software, Spiderweb Software and Freeverse in the mid-90s, and countless others who have tried their luck making games for the Mac.

MacTech: Fusion vs. Parallels

In what is one of the most complete and comprehensive comparisons between VMware Fusion and Parallels virtualization software for Mac, MacTech concludes that across the board Parallels outperforms Fusion.  Not only in start up times, normal application execution, disk activity, and compatibility, but also in 3D graphics and gaming.  If you're looking for a solid thorough comparison of these virtualization products, this is the best I've seen.  You can read the entire article here.

Commodore Amiga Emulator coming to iPhone

TouchArcade reports "Retro gaming fans can add another item to their "things in life to be excited for" list, as we just got word that Manomio, who brought us the C64 for iPhone [App Store] emulator, is currently working on bringing an Amiga emulator to the App Store."

C64, the Commodore 64 emulator referenced, had troubles with the AppStore approval process when it was discovered that the user was able to execute arbitrary BASIC code through the emulator.  The Commodore Amiga granted users even more freedom and it will be interesting to see the delivery system and application package that Manomio submit to the AppStore.

Virtual ][ Updated

Slow batch of news in 2010 it seems.    Well folks, here's an update to the Apple ][ Emulator.   Here's a list of features to those new to this application or this site.  

• Emulates the Apple ][, ][+ and //e
• Supports USB game pad and joystick
• Store a running machine and resume later on
• Full-screen mode
• Epson FX-80 and Imagewriter II emulation
• Many configurable peripheral cards
• Realistic sound effects, including Mockingboard emulation
• Convert original Apple II diskettes
• Index your Apple II disk images
• Debug Apple II programs

Not a lot of changes to this release but here's the list.

• The program now accepts "dsk" image files with 41 tracks (the maximum so far was 40).
• A recent Snow Leopard upgrade broke the "Make Movie from Apple II Screen" feature. This has been fixed.
• Cassette tape files now get file name extension "cass" instead of "aif". As a result, the cassette tape icon appears correctly again in Snow Leopard. Old "aif" files can still be read

Visit Homepage      Download now

The Current State of Mac Gaming: Commercial Reality of Today

Last time, I wrote about history of gaming on the Mac.  We took a look at how it came to be in such a sorry state by the time Apple announced the move from PowerPC to Intel architecture.  We left off with the reaction to the Intel switch from developers, commentators and users. Some predicted the transition would be the final death-knell of Mac games, since there was no longer a barrier to playing Windows games on the Mac. Others suggested it would kill the porting industry, but only harm rather than destroy business for the few surviving developers of original Mac games. The more optimistic types thought it might be a boon for Mac gaming, as both porting and multi-platform development would be significantly easier now that Macs were built from the same parts as their PC brethren.

Glider PRO

The quintessential paper plane simulator, John Calhoun's shareware classic Glider first emerged in 1988 "for all Macs". Its basic premise involved the player guiding a paper plane through 15 rooms, while avoiding obstacles (including a cat) and keeping the "glider" airborne, with the help of upward air movement from vents. Subsequent versions added new rooms, features, and obstacles, but the gameplay remained essentially the same.

Glider's simple mechanics and undeniable charm spawned a dedicated fan community, consisting mostly of modders, who created new levels or "houses" for the game. There was even a fanzine for a few years in the mid-90s.

Glider PRO, the fifth major version of Glider, was released in 1994 for Macs running System 7 or better. It was repeatedly updated to run on newer hardware, and even got a commercial release on CD, before publisher Casady & Greene went out of business in 2003. John Calhoun released all versions of Glider as freeware soon after.

The Current State of Mac Gaming: How It Got This Way

The Mac isn't exactly known for its ability to play games. And given the repeated snubbing from big publishers and developers in recent years, this isn't without reason. But it hasn't always been a wasteland for games, sparsely populated by a handful of the PC's sloppy seconds. In this series of articles I will discuss the highs and lows of Mac gaming.  We start with some history, then we will look in-depth at the current situation, and finally we will take a look to the future.

Will the tablet succeed?

Next week we will be introduced to a new product from Apple.  This product will be the long rumored tablet-device which Steve Jobs has been intimately involved with for the past couple of years.  I don't care what the device is called (my money is with iPad at this point), what I do care about it is what the device can do for me.  I'm a gamer; so why should I care?