I know this is said about too many games, but I really think this one looks like it was ahead of its time. I love the different rooms and the overall atmosphere. Very cool stuff!
Still have an original copy here, which I sherish like a treasure. Also still haven't been able to complete the game. I try every now and then on my Powerbook 170, but eventually fail. It certainly is the most amazing first person game I know with the most original vintage flair!
Sad thing is this game has more interactivity than more than two thirds of the games out now.
I wish more games would focus on interactivity instead of just graphics graphics graphics. I'd happily play a game with these kinds of simple graphics with brilliant gameplay. Love some of the techniques used too to simplify the engine. Gave me an interesting idea for something I am doing too.
Oh man! I had this game way back when and it was scary as hell. It's funny how it doesn't seem like something like this could have possibly been frightening in this day and age.
@hudsonkm - I think that the minimal style (by necessity of course) required the game player to add a lot more to the game - in the same way a novel might, where so much is left to the reader's imagination.
@davidasmith3d That sounds about right. I have a friend named Howard Shere. He worked on Spectre, and Gridz much later along with the coin-op Xenophobe.
Anyhow him and I had this conversation a few years back or so when I was going through some of the games in his office. He essentially said the same thing as your comment when it comes to what helped form the spooky mood in Colony.
Hey David, big fan of your game, would love to see a remake of it for modern consoles and PC. Have you or mindscape thought of redoing it? You could do your vision justice with modern hardware and game engines. I made a remake of the intro to this game with a bit of my own flavor. Would love to make a fan's version of this, I'd like your opinion on it?
Never knew this existed back in 87, then again I never owned an Apple comp. It was the Vic-20, C64, then 386's. I thought 3d games of this caliber werent created until Wolfenstein in 92! Great work.
David, there was one day I was playing through the sound files through the game. Was one of them really the beam of light hitting the map room floor in Raiders of the lost Ark?
It is possible. I grabbed sound files from everywhere I could. I think the initial crash landing warning notice was the sound of a Star Trek phaser reversed and slowed down.
"Yes, it crashed, we'll pick up in just a second" LOL
That's amazing for the 80s, it's funny to hear someone say "oh yes this was 2 bytes, maps were 4kb". Now days you can't even send a email without going over 4kb.
David, Thanks for The Colony. I spent a good deal of time trying to beat it. back in the day... Even though it was hard, I still have a lot of love for it because it really explored the boundaries of what could be done with computers.
Now, stop with all that corporate stuff you are doing and get back to what is obviously you true calling... making strange science fiction games that entertain and inspire ME! : )
Yes -you are right about the death traps, though you solve the game without the "Towers of Hanoi" solution. Keep in mind that this was quite early, so many of the "idioms" of the genre were being invented as I went along. Many worked, but some were simply sadistic - sorry about that. Also, reading a solution book when playing an adventure game like Colony is a bit like learning how a magic trick works as you watch the show. It does have a tendency to kill the magic.
The solution read more like a way to solve the "towers of Hanoi" puzzle than an adventure game.
I also got annoyed at the death traps. Like the monolith room (cool, but annoying) and the corridor that saps your energy until you die.
After that, I pretty much stopped playing because I didn't want to just cheat and follow the solution (then what's the point?), but I knew I'd never have the patience to work out all the teleporter swapping needed to finish it.
One day, a friend bought a book of adventure game solutions. It had the Colony in it and I took a look at it just to see if I was on the right track.
I pretty much lost interest when I discovered that the entire solution had less to do with following clues than it did with playing "musical teleporters".
Pick up pod A, go through to pod B. Drop A and pick up B. Go through A to C. Drop B and pick up C. Take it to D. Drop C, pick up D. Go through C, etc. (cont'd)
I wandered through the levels for hours, collecting dozens if not hundreds of the various dormant alien creatures. When I figured I had enough energy, I went back to the ship, selected level two weapons and armor and then died about 30 seconds later. No matter how many of the little blocks I collected, selecting anything other than level one weapons and armor meant instant death.
Then there's the whole idea that one teleporter can fit INSIDE another one, which didn't make sense. (cont'd)
I had the Amiga version of The Colony. I had a love/hate attitude toward it.
On the one hand, I was imcredibly impressed with the ability to walk around in pretty much real-time in 3D. I loved exploring the colony levels and how it all looked like a real place.
On the other hand, it was a frustrating game to play! Forgetting for a second that the Amiga version slowed down to about 1 frame every 5 2-3 seconds while fighting creatures, some things just didn't seem to work. (cont'd)
i was playing Mercenary on the 64.. it was deep but not as defined as this is, starglider II &
Carrier command in 87 /88?were pretty impressive, blew my mind.. glad you get this h ere, more credit is due to you and everyone that made the trail others traveled
i never heard of this game! i guess because it's a mac game, in the first place, and american too. i'm french. i can't believe such 3d rendering was ahieved in 1987! the first "3d" experience i had was "captain blood" around the same period.
The only issue I have with this is the really sluggish turning.
Otherwise, quite nice.
Phazonaddict 1 month ago
I know this is said about too many games, but I really think this one looks like it was ahead of its time. I love the different rooms and the overall atmosphere. Very cool stuff!
Chubzdoomer 2 months ago
BUT WILL IT BLEND?
byerscm 2 months ago
Still have an original copy here, which I sherish like a treasure. Also still haven't been able to complete the game. I try every now and then on my Powerbook 170, but eventually fail. It certainly is the most amazing first person game I know with the most original vintage flair!
Headsign 3 months ago
Sad thing is this game has more interactivity than more than two thirds of the games out now.
I wish more games would focus on interactivity instead of just graphics graphics graphics. I'd happily play a game with these kinds of simple graphics with brilliant gameplay. Love some of the techniques used too to simplify the engine. Gave me an interesting idea for something I am doing too.
Hunnter2k3 7 months ago
I think this was also the first game to feature crates! Does anyone know if real 3D crates existed before this?
davidasmith3d 9 months ago 2
like that toilette seat at this beginning
bashirD 9 months ago
Hey David. you should send this game to BarryDennen12 to review it. i think this game looks really cool.
comanche119 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
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yoko4d 1 year ago
This was one of the best games I ever played on my old Mac Plus.
MatrixRoland 1 year ago
Oh man! I had this game way back when and it was scary as hell. It's funny how it doesn't seem like something like this could have possibly been frightening in this day and age.
But back then it was.
hudsonkm 1 year ago
@hudsonkm - I think that the minimal style (by necessity of course) required the game player to add a lot more to the game - in the same way a novel might, where so much is left to the reader's imagination.
davidasmith3d 1 year ago
@davidasmith3d That sounds about right. I have a friend named Howard Shere. He worked on Spectre, and Gridz much later along with the coin-op Xenophobe.
Anyhow him and I had this conversation a few years back or so when I was going through some of the games in his office. He essentially said the same thing as your comment when it comes to what helped form the spooky mood in Colony.
hudsonkm 1 year ago
this is prety amazing expecially in the time zone with that tech
jrbender100 1 year ago
funny that doom and marathon didnt have desks and chairs or anything just sprites.
MakeItGoSplodey 1 year ago
Hey David, big fan of your game, would love to see a remake of it for modern consoles and PC. Have you or mindscape thought of redoing it? You could do your vision justice with modern hardware and game engines. I made a remake of the intro to this game with a bit of my own flavor. Would love to make a fan's version of this, I'd like your opinion on it?
CerrunosStudio 1 year ago
THAT IS SICK FOR BEING MADE 1987 o.O
zyriuz2 1 year ago
This game is fascist!
UltraBibendum 1 year ago
I can't believe I never knew about this game! Thank you so much for making this video... (and the game, for that matter!)
RavenWorks 2 years ago
After this, Faceball came along.
Then Wolfenstein 3D.
Then Doom.
Then Quake.
Then Tribes
Then Half-Life.
Then Halo (not very revolutionary but it has a huge fanbase).
ChexGuy331 2 years ago
Well,actually Maze War came first WAY back in 1974 which Faceball/MIDI Maze was inspired by.
Though I agree with your statement about Halo,pretty much everything in Halo has already been done before.
Trazen4 2 years ago
@ChexGuy331 DONT FUCKING FORGET GOLDENEYE
IPUNCHEDALION 1 year ago
What you did is just amazing. Thanks for bringing it on youtube !
HerrKommissar 2 years ago
Never knew this existed back in 87, then again I never owned an Apple comp. It was the Vic-20, C64, then 386's. I thought 3d games of this caliber werent created until Wolfenstein in 92! Great work.
GrailcodeDotNet 2 years ago
David, there was one day I was playing through the sound files through the game. Was one of them really the beam of light hitting the map room floor in Raiders of the lost Ark?
Rozom 2 years ago
It is possible. I grabbed sound files from everywhere I could. I think the initial crash landing warning notice was the sound of a Star Trek phaser reversed and slowed down.
davidasmith3d 2 years ago
@Rozom Yes, I think it might have been. I grabbed sounds from everywhere I could.
davidasmith3d 1 year ago
"Yes, it crashed, we'll pick up in just a second" LOL
That's amazing for the 80s, it's funny to hear someone say "oh yes this was 2 bytes, maps were 4kb". Now days you can't even send a email without going over 4kb.
iamjames2 2 years ago
David, Thanks for The Colony. I spent a good deal of time trying to beat it. back in the day... Even though it was hard, I still have a lot of love for it because it really explored the boundaries of what could be done with computers.
Now, stop with all that corporate stuff you are doing and get back to what is obviously you true calling... making strange science fiction games that entertain and inspire ME! : )
Thanks again!
murdockscott 2 years ago
Yes -you are right about the death traps, though you solve the game without the "Towers of Hanoi" solution. Keep in mind that this was quite early, so many of the "idioms" of the genre were being invented as I went along. Many worked, but some were simply sadistic - sorry about that. Also, reading a solution book when playing an adventure game like Colony is a bit like learning how a magic trick works as you watch the show. It does have a tendency to kill the magic.
davidasmith3d 2 years ago
The solution read more like a way to solve the "towers of Hanoi" puzzle than an adventure game.
I also got annoyed at the death traps. Like the monolith room (cool, but annoying) and the corridor that saps your energy until you die.
After that, I pretty much stopped playing because I didn't want to just cheat and follow the solution (then what's the point?), but I knew I'd never have the patience to work out all the teleporter swapping needed to finish it.
(sorry the comments are in reverse)
lurkerrekrul 2 years ago
One day, a friend bought a book of adventure game solutions. It had the Colony in it and I took a look at it just to see if I was on the right track.
I pretty much lost interest when I discovered that the entire solution had less to do with following clues than it did with playing "musical teleporters".
Pick up pod A, go through to pod B. Drop A and pick up B. Go through A to C. Drop B and pick up C. Take it to D. Drop C, pick up D. Go through C, etc. (cont'd)
lurkerrekrul 2 years ago
I wandered through the levels for hours, collecting dozens if not hundreds of the various dormant alien creatures. When I figured I had enough energy, I went back to the ship, selected level two weapons and armor and then died about 30 seconds later. No matter how many of the little blocks I collected, selecting anything other than level one weapons and armor meant instant death.
Then there's the whole idea that one teleporter can fit INSIDE another one, which didn't make sense. (cont'd)
lurkerrekrul 2 years ago
I had the Amiga version of The Colony. I had a love/hate attitude toward it.
On the one hand, I was imcredibly impressed with the ability to walk around in pretty much real-time in 3D. I loved exploring the colony levels and how it all looked like a real place.
On the other hand, it was a frustrating game to play! Forgetting for a second that the Amiga version slowed down to about 1 frame every 5 2-3 seconds while fighting creatures, some things just didn't seem to work. (cont'd)
lurkerrekrul 2 years ago
Never seen this before, looks great.
conradhw 2 years ago
Wow, I've never heard of color version. Great game indeed.
CROLUL 2 years ago
this is indeed impressive, well crafted
i was playing Mercenary on the 64.. it was deep but not as defined as this is, starglider II &
Carrier command in 87 /88?were pretty impressive, blew my mind.. glad you get this h ere, more credit is due to you and everyone that made the trail others traveled
way2muchNFO 2 years ago
First 3D game I ever played. Thank you Dave Smith!
danwentz 3 years ago
man neat :)
seriouslyWeird 3 years ago 2
Twisty passages all alike! What a great little reference.
Ashleytb 3 years ago
A fantastic and well executed idea for a ludologic video. Seems like a groundbreaking game too.
Gnomeslair 3 years ago
"one of the very first"? "Mercenary: Escape From Targ" was released 2 years earlier.
meta404 3 years ago
I had never heard of Mercenary before. Looks pretty neat.
davidasmith3d 3 years ago
This game is more awesomer than all other games put together. :-)
Elhardt 3 years ago
i never heard of this game! i guess because it's a mac game, in the first place, and american too. i'm french. i can't believe such 3d rendering was ahieved in 1987! the first "3d" experience i had was "captain blood" around the same period.
humanvynil 3 years ago