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New game on Earok's Arcade: Firestart

Well, okay, it isn't exactly a new game. In fact, it is simply a newer edition of the very first finished 3D game that I released publicly, one that was enteredinto the Retro Remakes 2006 competition. Firestart is a remake of the classic C64 game Project Firestart, one of the finest on that platform and arguably the first survival horror game ever.

My interpretation of the game swaps the side scrolling perspective for a first person one. Regardless, it attempts to stay as faithful to the original as possible, keeping most of the same locations, quests and cutscenes. Certainly not a trivial task when faced with a strict three month deadline!

When my version was originally released at the end of 2006, it received critical praise from a few but a critical drubbing from most, thanks in part to a bug that caused the game to crash randomly on nearly all computers. Over the last few days I have managed to fix that bug, and tidy up several other areas of the codebase. My interpretation of Firestart now runs smoother and more stable, and looks better then ever before.

There isn't much depth to the game, but it does have it's moments. It is effectively a spiritual predecessor to Derelict, so if you liked that then there's a good chance you might like this too. Also the latest Zombie game craze makes this game more relevant then it was three years ago.

A proper games page for it is coming, but for now you can download it from here. Enjoy.

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Comments

Sam (not verified)

Ah! Well done Erik (especially for fixing that notorious bug :)) - This is the game that introduced me to your work, and I still think it's as great as ever. It's also damn scary!

JoshuaSmyth (not verified)

Cool, makes me want to play more sci-fi games.

Oh, and I died.

geg (not verified)

 did I do graphics for this? Or was it Derelict? Actually I think I only ever TALKED about doing graphics, the lazy tool that I am...

Earok
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Joined: 02/06/2009

Eep! Reuploading another version of the game as the one on the site wouldn't play sound for some reason. Thanks @Sam for pointing this out to me.

Cheers for the feedback guys.

@geg I don't think you did any art for Firestart, but you did do at least a little for Derelict in the early stages from memory. You also did a title screen for my aborted 'Raid Over Moscow' game.

JoshuaSmyth (not verified)

I was going to mention that sound effects would add to the ambiance, but I wasn't sure if you wanted too much critique or not for one of your older games :)

Although, a flashlight would be awesome - my laptop screen is pretty dark.

Jim Harkins (not verified)

Very cool!  I remember trying the original a long time ago.  This'll be a good break from college finals.

Sam (not verified)

It actually kept me awake when I was writing my dissertation at uni :)