From Newsgroup: comp.sys.apple2


Frome Wired.com ...


People Still Really Love the Apple II
-------------------------------------
The Apple II computer ceased production in 1993, but that hasn't
stopped fans like Mark Lemmert from continuing to create new
programs for it. Lemmert's game Nox Archaist, released last
month, is a role-playing game modeled on the classic Ultima
series.

"I always wondered if there could have been another iteration to
a game like Ultima on the Apple II that pushed it further,"
Lemmert says in Episode 450 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy
podcast. "Maybe not something on the level of Ultima 6 - because
that was obviously their first title that was not on the Apple -
but something somewhere between Ultima 5 and Ultima 6. I wanted
to find out if that was possible."

Most of the video games that are popular today were influenced
by Apple II games such as Ultima, Castle Wolfenstein, Prince of
Persia, and Wasteland. Games journalist David L. Craddock
explores the history of Apple II games in his 2017 book Break
Out, which is packed with photos and screenshots.

"The cool thing about all the pictures-concept art, illustrations,
and so forth - that I included is that all of those came from
[developers like] Richard Garriott, Brian Fargo, and Jordan
Mechner," Craddock says. "Everyone I talked to thought it was a
really cool idea and sent me a ton of stuff."

Many of those developers also appear as characters in Nox Archaist.
Lemmert was particularly excited to be able to include a cameo from
Steve Wozniak, inventor of the Apple II. "Steve Wozniak was
gracious enough to take the time, not only to agree to do it, but
then when Nox Archaist launched in December, he tweeted out that
he's an NPC in Nox Archaist," Lemmert says. "For a lifelong
Apple II fan, that's like getting a blessing from the Pope."

Apple II games may seem primitive by today's standards, but
Craddock thinks that many of them are just as much fun to play as
anything on the market. "For me a hallmark of developing a retro or
a retro-style game is working within those limitations," he says.
"It does force you to make some sacrifices, but also it brings out
a lot of creativity that maybe isn't as much in evidence today,
because we just have this spoil of riches in terms of resources and
hardware."

Listen to the complete interview with Mark Lemmert and David L.
Craddock in Episode 450 of Geek's Guide to the Galaxy.

MP3:

<https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/https://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/geeksguide450final.mp3>


And check out some highlights from the discussion below.


David L. Craddock on Oregon Trail:
"Oregon Trail was [originally] a text-only game programmed on a
mainframe, and students at the school where the teachers made it
played Oregon Trail by using dumb terminals connected to the
mainframe. Since there were no graphics, and you couldn't just press
keys to hunt the bison as they lumbered across the screen, you had
to type in 'bang' or 'pow.' So students became faster typists. They
also worked on their spelling. ... I think the main lesson overall
with games like Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego is that they didn't
feel [educational]. I don't think a lot of edutainment games that
were made on later generations of hardware necessarily captured
that."


Mark Lemmert on feelies:
"It's a quintissential part of a role-playing game to me. I bought
Ultima 5 as a kid, waited like five weeks for UPS to deliver it -
you know, ordering it out of a magazine or something. Not the way it
works anymore, of course. And the box arriving in the mail, and
opening it up, and reading through the manual. I was the kind of
person who would read the manual before playing the game, and the
cloth maps. It was so immersive. That was my experience with it as a
kid, and so when I set out to make Nox Archaist, that was always in
the back of my mind - 'If I'm going to do this, I should really,
really do it all the way and get the box and the feelies.' And
obviously that eventually worked out."


David L. Craddock on game developers:
"A lot of these developers are passing away, since all this happened
so long ago, and that's actually why I was glad to get to talk to
people like Doug and Gary Carlston, the co-founders of Broderbund,
when I could. ... The cool thing about talking with folks like John
Romero, John Carmack, Richard Garriott, and Burger Becky, these
people just love that they were involved in this scene, and are still
active in it, and will talk to you and walk you through anything you
want to hear about. So if anyone were ever to play an Apple II game
and have a question for any of them, you can tweet at them, and nine
times out of 10 they'll get back to you within 12 hours or so, and
just talk your ear off about those days."


Mark Lemmert on quick combat:
"I thought that a great way of pushing the boundaries on the tile RPG
would be to have the full-screen tactical combat system that everyone
expects, but also have a quick combat option. It wouldn't be a
substitute for tactical combat-you're not as likely to win battles in
quick combat as you are in tactical-but if you're in a situation
where you know you're way more powerful than the monster that just
attacked you, with quick combat you can be done with that battle in
seconds and moving on to the next thing. Even hardcore RPG players
have said that it was really a wonderful quality-of-life enhancement."


<https://www.wired.com/2021/01/geeks-guide-apple-ii-nox-archaist/>



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