Mobocracy (Apple Macintosh) - Games That Weren't

1990 Soft Dorothy Software

Platform: Apple Macintosh

Mobocracy was to be a post-apocalyptic side scroller, but was never to make it past the sketchpad phase. However, it left just enough behind to give you a glimpse of what might have been.

The game was envisioned as a gritty side scrolling action game set in a post apocalyptic world, developed during the early months of 1990. It had grim tone, ambitious mechanics, and big ideas that exceeded the resources and time available.

“Mobocracy was a very 90’s game,” Developer John Calhoun recalls. “Original file dates suggest February and March of 1990 were consumed with knocking this half-baked sketch out.”

Only a fragment of the game is functional today. The only accessible gameplay lies hidden under a “Practice” option in the File menu – a prototype of movement controls (A, D, arrow keys, space bar) that offers a basic feel for the character’s responsiveness. The artwork suggests far more: a heroine wielding a sword, mid-parry or thrust, though it’s unclear whether these actions were ever actually coded in.

Beneath the main display, the interface elements hint at what the full game might have offered – weapon selection, an inventory of bullets and gold, a fatigue system that drained with jumping and quickly recovered. There was even additional art for a ‘bounty wall’ and a weapons shop, but these features were never implemented.

“This was clearly a game that, whether the payoff was high or not, was clearly going to be a huge effort,” reflected John. While games like Prince of Persia or Metal Slug would eventually prove that fluid side-scrolling combat could work, the creator found themselves unsure of the format’s creative limits: “Maybe I would have felt more comfortable making it a 2-D Rogue-like instead. In any event, there were other fields still to sow.”

Thankfully John has created an archive with his work, which included this very early preview – so you can check it out for yourself below or on the link above.

With thanks to John Calhoun for contributing to the archive.