A very old C64 title that has seemingly been lost to time, highlighted to us by Håvar Bruvold Hojem and spotted in a 1984 US gaming catalogue called Soft Encyclopaedia.
The title was apparently to be released on cartridge, and was described as follows (description taken straight from the catalogue):
“This game is an analogy of life, wherein the goal is to live the longest, fullest life possible. In babyhood, the player must use building blocks to trap personality traits in the corners. The more traits trapped, the more opportunities the person will have later, and the longer his or her overall lifespan.
After choosing an opportunity compatible with the player’s game personality, the gamer moves along a neighbourhood grid. The object of this screen is to collect enough common interests to join a conversation.
In the experience corridor, the player must steer clear of worries, fears, and doubts, which are health-threatening. Catching a hope reverses some of the negative emotions’ effects. At the end of the game, a high-speed, multi-layered recap of the game is shown. The richer your lifespan, the prettier the show.”
In a strange way it sounds like a mix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Deus Ex Machina and Alter Ego and a very intriguing game indeed.
The question is whether it was actually released, and if so – can the game be preserved some day? A poster on twitter suggested that they had seen the game, but it isn’t clear if they might be getting mixed up with another game, such as Alter Ego.
Well – it seems it may have been this game that they saw on the Atari. The description matches up, so perhaps Reston Software got the rights to do a C64 conversion? We at least now know thanks to Fabrizio Bartoloni what the game was going to look and feel like.
If you know anything more about the game, please do get in touch.
