Maelstrom (1992 video game)
| Maelstrom | |
|---|---|
| Logo | |
| Developer(s) | Ambrosia Software |
| Publisher(s) | Ambrosia Software |
| Designer(s) | Andrew Welch |
| Platforms | Mac OS, Linux, Mobile phones |
| Release date(s) | 1992 |
| Genre(s) | Multi-directional shooter |
| Mode(s) | single player |
Maelstrom is a 2D video game developed by Andrew Welch, released in November 1992 for Macintosh.[1] The game is an enhanced clone of Atari's 1979 Asteroids arcade game, with additional features and improved graphics.[2][3] Maelstrom was initially released when there were few action games for the high resolution, color displays of the Macintosh, so it garnered interest despite being a dated concept, and led to the creation of Ambrosia Software. The game was later released under GPL and Creative Commons license as Free Software. Ports for many operating systems, such as Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, resulted from this.
Gameplay
Maelstrom is played as a 2D overview in a section of space. The object of the game is to reach the highest score possible by shooting asteroids with a plasma cannon from a spaceship that the player controls. The ship can move in any direction across the screen and also has a limited amount of shield. The player may also pick up powerups throughout the levels and encounter unusual objects and enemies throughout the game.
Technical details
Maelstrom was created using THINK C and uses 18,000 lines of C code with 9,000 lines of inline assembler. The game was initially released in November 1992 as unlimited shareware for the Macintosh. At the time of its release, Maelstrom took full advantage of the Macintosh's multi-media capabilities and broke ground for further developments of the platform in the “anti-productivity software” arena. In 1993, Maelstrom received the "Shareware Industry Award for Best Game"[4] and other awards.[5]
Ambrosia Software gave the source-code to Sam Lantinga, who created a SDL port from it and released it in 1995. Latinga's version also included some novelties like networked multiplayer gaming. In 1999 Ambrosia Software released Latinga's version 3.0 as Open-source software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).[5] In 2010, Andrew Welch and Ian Gilman released the game's contents under the free Creative Commons license Attribution,[6] which makes Maelstrom completely Free Software.
References
- ↑ answer from the official FAQ on the release date
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2000-1992 SIA Winner on siavoting.com "1993 Winners - Almanac, Maelstrom, [...]"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Mercurial > Maelstrom / changeset on libsdl.org "Andrew Welch and Ian Gilman allow the artwork and animations to be used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license" (15 April 2010)
External links
- Official Page
- Maelstrom 3.0 on libsdl.org
