Great news, but for years this game was existing as a preview, but the guys at Protovision in 2011 have now released the game!
Check it all out here:
http://www.protovision-online.com/games/jimslim.htm
Case closed!
Welcome to Games That Weren't!
We are an Cancelled & Unreleased Video games archive with prototypes, developer history and assets for many computers and consoles of all ages. A non-profit large archive dedicated to preserving lost games that were never released to the public. Sharing history and stories from the developers, assets and more before it is too late. GTW has been preserving lost video game history online since 1999, and long before that offline.
Please Browse our archive and discover the many entries that we host for many different platforms.
Latest News and Posts
Jihad
This may possibly be what turned into Ace 2088, the space
version of Ace. Jihad was the working title for the game which John Cassells pixelled some work for.
John had the following to say…
"I *might* have some graphics for the game I was working on for
Cascade when I left… with a working title of Jihad (which at the time was a lot less controversial than in todays climate :)) it was a space based flight sim (think Ace 2 in space) Don’t think I ever had any running demos though as the main coder, Ian Martin was very protective about his code."
We do not know anything else about the game at present, and much more research is needed. Sadly we lost contact with John some time back, and need to get back in touch with him.
Ian Martin now needs to be tracked down so we can question him about the game and see if we can find out more. We may be unlikely to distribute anything we find due to Ian being
protective of his code, but hopefully he’ll be willing to allow us to put some of his old work on the web or at least answer some
questions.
More soon we hope…
Jet Action
A very old school type of game here, with a main jet which has to be guided through a series of caverns.
This is similiar in a way to Killer Watt, though lacking a lot of what that game had in terms of playability. Even the graphics leave a bit to be desired.
There is no known plot to the game – but we find out why thanks to Philipp Dopichaj who tells GTW:
“This original version was a demo for a game programming course in 64’er Sonderheft 73, JET ACTION has slightly updated graphics (sprites only) and tiny variations in level design. I doubt this was ever a commercial release, it’s just a lame “crack” of a game that was provided as source code with a level editor … The original demo is labeled “64’er game”.
Find attached the original version of the game that’s JET ACTION in your database, as released on 64’er Sonderheft 73. After decrunching has finished and the program has crashed, do a reset and SYS 3*4096.”
So this was not a proper game meant for release, and was just cracked… it was merely a programming tutorial. So we can close the case on this one :-)
Case closed!…
Jellybones
J.Morrison Micros was a very early development company that produced games for the Commodore 64 such as Bonka, Cybermen and Vultures … unfortunately they disappeared rather quickly too.
In issue 86 of Home Computer Weekly, another game called Jellybones was mentioned as a new title coming soon from the company. Unfortunately it never did and today the game is still at large.
We know very little apart from the mention in HCW, so do you know any more about the game?
Jasmyn Agent
Unfortunately I cannot say too much about this game as its all in German, but it looks to me as a Spy game using text commands.
Jasmyn is a female CIA spy, who has to probably solve some kind of mission.
No graphics are present, apart from some plain text.
A full version has not been seen anywhere, so the reason for the game’s disappearance is unknown.
A mysterious game, can anyone help?…
Jam It!
Jam It! is a neat little music game by Gregg Kustudic, who produced the Space Ace preview also in GTW.
This was sent in along with Space Ace, and may predate other games of its type where you have to time moves to the music. To review and describe the game, I borrow a lot from Gregg’s excellent instructions which he included.
The keyboard is used to play a drumset which includes a bass, snare, high hat, two toms, ride and crash. Keys used are displayed on the screen.
The drum set remains active after a mistake ends the current level, and may be played independently of the game for practice. As well, use of the high hat cannot generate a mistake, and therefore it is fun to play with the high hat during the game to make more complex percussion rhythms.
When the game is started, a pattern of beats and rests will appear underneath the drum kit. The player is then supposed to play each pattern back. Gregg can do this quite easily, but the game was never play tested, and he suspects that other players might find it frustratingly difficult.
When a number of patterns have been successfully completed, the level ends, and the game will always begin at the highest level completed.
Overall, its a great little finding for GTW and another piece of software preserved. Give it a try!
A nice early example of its genre… case closed!…
James Pond
Issue 5 of Commodore Format first introduced news that James Pond was to be converted on the C64 from the classic Amiga game. Apart from the terrible fish jokes that CF told, the prospect of seeing the game was rather exciting.
However, issues past and nothing of the game was reported on or ever seen. No clues to whom was doing the conversion either.
Then Commodore Format uttered the immortal words in Issue 13 and claimed that Millenium had decided not to carry on with the conversion.
Sadly this was it, there was no news about how far the game got. It can only be assumed that time was going on and the game was getting old, and by then the sequel was already on its way. Millenium did strangely do the sequel on the C64.
It is possible that the same crew behind the sequel on the C64 were infact initially assigned to the first game, before being dragged onto the second title instead. It’s a guess, but something at least to chase up. What with their great conversion, the first game may have been just as good.
Just how far it got will be something to find out very soon we hope!
A fishy tale with a fishy ending… Oh Cod!… <yawn>…
James Fly
This is a multi-directional platformer in the style of Sonic and James Pond 2. Its very fast, and the action is quick.
The released previews featured some lovely graphics and animations, but on a very small screen area. The majority of the screen seems to be taken up by a map which gradually builds up as you progress further into the game.
There was no real plot yet, and seems to be just about collecting shiny objects and avoiding various creatures. The levels are massive, and take a while to explore.
There are two previews to check out with two different levels. Hopefully some credits will help us find the people behind the game and see if any more exists. Recently added also is an additional preview, which includes sound effects and a new level.
Its not known what happened to this game, or what its plans were to be, but it was very good anyway! Oddly the game seems as if it was actually completed and Jazzcat has provided us with the full game. We need to find out more about its actual release, as it seems strange that this slipped under the radar. It is just a single load.
A great fast snazzy little platformer…
Jailbreak
Our next game comes in the form of the unfinished Jailbreak by Michael J L(Wanderer), a programmer for the C64 under groups such as Rampar and The Survivors.
The idea as the name suggests was to break out of prison over several stages of varying gameplay. Set in the future, the first part of the game has you running down corridors and shooting guards. The second part has you running to escape in a ship, where guards and helicopters attempt to stop you. The
final part took place in space, with your ship at the bottom of the screen and a alien ship at the top. You had to shoot pieces out of the barrier until there was enough room to get a shot at the ship.
The final level (the best part according to Michael) is currently unknown about, but sadly the source code was corrupted and lost… So the game preview currently ends abruptly.
It is for this reason that we add Jailbreak into the archives. Had the final level not corrupted, Jailbreak would have been offered to publishers. Instead a cracking group got hold of the game and sent it out everywhere, busting chances of this game ever being finished off and released properly. It is not the best game in the world, but a playable effort from Wanderer, and one which would have been a nice title to play. The preview requires some bug fixes, but you can see the potential in the game.
Apparently according to Michael, there is another version which has improved graphics by someone called "Fred", which we hope to find one day and release to the world. It is unsure if anything can be salvaged from the corrupted source code… it is always possible, and we may explore this route to restoring this
game to its full glory, for people to enjoy as Michael intended.
Check out the Creator Speaks with Michael to get the full details and story of this game. In the meantime, also check out the download and see a piece of history yet again. We hope to find out more very soon…..
More soon we hope!…
Jimmy’s Grand Prix
Yet another game from Beyond Belief which didn’t make it very far….
This neat looking game was actually previewed in Zzap!64 and Commodore Format, with them looking forward to the finished result….
It did look good, apart from some large sized cars in small sized grids…. it did look good, and possibly could have been BB’s best release for the C64.
According to a interview with Jim Scott, the game was going to feature eight single screen tracks and three cars (2 player with one drone). It was a Super Sprint type of game which would have money prizes to allow for upgrades to the car and various weapons such as missiles. It is rumoured that Commodore Force saw a mock-up cover for the game, which had Nigel Mansell on the front.
After eight months in development (Between 1992 and 1993), it had the hefty task of being reprogrammed to include greater degree of turning (32 rather than 16 angles) and better collision (Less bounce, so more like F1 than bumper cars). But this was the last that was heard about the game.
Interestingly there was also a Spectrum version in development from none other than Jonathan Cauldwell. Jonathan was asked to produce the conversion based on a spec given over the phone. He was told it was a top-down racer in the style of Grand Prix Simulator with 8 tracks, 3 cars and a shop to buy power-ups. Jonathan never saw the C64 game until recently coming across the shots on GTW64, hence the Spectrum version looks very different in terms of design. Jim Scott was generally happy with the progress, but things went quiet according to Jonathan. The only reference to Jonathan working for Beyond was in YS83.
Jonathan recently found a letter from Beyond Belief which detailed the game as follows for Jonathan to work from:
“You do not need to see the C64 version as it is fairly straight forward. It has 8 tracks, 3 cars (possible 2 players and 1 computer). You get a certain amount of money for finishing first or second, and after every 2 tracks you can go to a shop which will allow you to buy a turbo to increase speed, tyres to increase grip and steering traction to allow faster turning, and of course fuel. You start with 2 credits and when you finish third you lose a credit.”
The Spectrum version was actually finished, but never released by Beyond, though it did manage to sneak out… In the summer of 1993, Jonathan put together a compilation of mostly ex-covertape games with a few unpublished games, which YS in its infinite wisdom named the “Bumper Boogie Pack”, and Jimmy’s Grand Prix appeared on that, under the name of Grand Prix Drivers. Jonathan mentioned that It’s probably no coincidence that the title uses the same number of characters as “Jimmy’s Grand Prix” did. There’s even a tell-tale graphic on the status screen, where the racing car has a “Beyond Belief” logo on the side.
Unfortunately the C64 game seems to have been caught up in Beyond Belief’s demise…. a shame….. but maybe Jimmy could shed some light on this game and maybe let us have something of it, if we ever find the guy. We did recently find some more shots from the Beyond Interview which gave us the developer name – known only as “The Ghost” and part of a company called “Fantasy 2000 Software”. Their only link has been with Snare which Beyond Belief did release and was pretty much a straight Spectrum port job by The Ghost. Was “The Ghost” in fact Craig Wight? Craig confirms it was not sadly!
We are fairly convinced that the developer and artist was none other than David Jolliff. The graphical style matches the Jimmy’s Soccer games and Devastating Blow titles that he did. Both Soccer games are credited to “The Ghost”, and player names include J Smart, D Jolliff, B Pape – who were of course the R-Type group.
It is possible the alias was used by multiple people, though it seems a bit odd overall that just a selection of C64 titles used it and none of the ZX Spectrum/Amstrad editions had the alias.
This game is unlikely to have been fully finished, as Beyond Belief would have probably tried to sell it to Commodore Format, as they did with Shellshock to make some money back. But we believe that after many months in development, it would have got very far!
Another oddity is that there is a game called GTI Simulator from 1988, which is a similar game style, and oddly has a coder who called himself “The Silhouette”. Co-incidence?
Sadly it seems it got caught up in the collapse of Beyond Belief…
