Apple II Bits

I love Lode Runner: the platform-puzzle game by Doug E. Smith features fast action, clever strategy, and timeless gameplay. The Apple II original spawned a franchise that includes at least forty desktop, mobile, and board games, with Lode Runner Legacy being the most recent installment.

I was reminded while visiting Stavros Karatsoridis this weekend just how few of those Lode Runner sequels I’ve played. While perusing Stavros’ retrocomputing collection, I found boxed copies of Lode Runner: The Legend Returns and Lode Runner: The Mad Monks’ Revenge, released in 1994 and 1995 respectively. I was still exclusively an Apple II user at that time, causing me to miss these classic Mac and Windows titles.

Fortunately, Stavros pointed me to a modern alternative to emulating these classics: an unofficial modern port of Mad Monks’ Revenge, dubbed the Definitive Edition. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux, uses the same graphics and sounds as the 1995 original, and optionally features the same bugs. It is actively supported, with the latest version having been released just this month, yet it features full compatibility with any custom levels released for the the original Mad Monks’ Revenge. There’s even a turbo mode that emulates my childhood experience of playing Lode Runner on an accelerated Apple IIe.

After Stavros and I said our goodbyes, I downloaded the Mac version of the Definitive Edition to my laptop. Alas, I was quickly stymied: none of the keyboard inputs worked at all, even after I\ remapping them. But the controls default to a numerical keypad, so I connected an extended keyboard and was up and running — and digging! Mad Monks’ Revenge starts off with some enemy-free levels as an opportunity to get to know the miner’s abilities. Before long, I was dashing up ladders, burying monks, and capturing gold. There were some new mechanics as well, such as a red key to unlock a corresponding red door, though I couldn’t figure out how to actually collect the key, despite having gotten all the level’s gold. Later levels feature bombs and other unique tools and mechanics.

I’ve so far played Mad Monks’ Revenge for only a handful of minutes, but I’ll be exploring it further. I haven’t try the local multiplayer mode, the online multiplayer found no random games for me to join, and, like in the original game, the level editor doesn’t appeal to me. But I’m happy to have a free, authentic, new-to-me one-player Lode Runner to explore — thanks, Stavros!

Photo courtesy Stavros Karatsoridis

At KansasFest 2010, I presented a session on modern spiritual successors to classic games. Among them was The Silver Lining, an unofficial sequel to King’s Quest. The fan-produced game was long delayed due to legal issues with the official copyright holders of the King’s Quest series, finally being cleared to begin its episodic release in 2010. Although received to mixed reviews, it was nonetheless a welcome, if unofficial, revival of the King’s Quest series, which had lain dormant since Mask of Eternity’s 1998 release.

Now it is time for the series to receive an official revival. The brand name of original publisher Sierra has been revived, and in 2015, they will publish King’s Quest.

The new game has the blessing of none other than Sierra founders Ken and Roberta Williams, who accepted an award for their contributions to the industry at the recent Game Awards.

Apple II users should be interested to see where this series goes, as its origin is on their favorite computer. Many early King’s Quest games were released for the Apple II or IIGS:

• • Wizard and the Princess (1980)
• • King’s Quest: Quest for the Crown (1984)
• • King’s Quest II: Romancing the Throne (1985)
• • King’s Quest III: To Heir Is Human (1986)
• • King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella (1988)

Will this latest sequel return the game to its roots? Or will it be a reboot for a new generation of gamers? We’ll find out when it releases in Fall 2015 for PlayStation 3 & 4, Xbox 360 & One, and Windows.