The Colony
Encyclopedia
The Colony is a first-person shooter
developed by David Alan Smith. It was published by Mindscape.
The 1988 Macintosh release came in two versions, one in color and one with black-and-white graphics. The DOS version, released the same year, was available in black-and-white only. The 1990 Amiga version was in color.
Previous first-person perspective games of the era used precomputed views, such as The Sentinel, or fixed-perspective graphics, such as Phantom Slayer
. The Colony was one of the first games of its kind to let the player move freely while rendering graphics in real time
. It was also the first 3D
game to let the player drive a vehicle.
, while 2D
images such as doors, letters, and the Apple logo
were crafted using the game engine.
It is interesting to note that at the time of the game's development, the standard method of programming for the Macintosh was to use an Apple Lisa
. Development tools
for the Macintosh did not exist when the Macintosh was initially released. David Alan Smith completed the first scenes of The Colony with a C
compiler
ported
to the Macintosh by Softworks
. Those first scenes were developed on a Macintosh with only 128KB
of RAM and a single floppy disk drive. Eventually, development tools were made available on the Macintosh, allowing Mr. Smith to complete his work using the Megamax C
and Lightspeed C
compilers - on a Macintosh upgrade
d to 512KB of RAM and a 20MB
hard drive.
commented favorably on the combination of both action and adventure elements, but noted the immense difficulty of the game. Amiga Format
echoed this feeling by giving it a 51% score and complaining that "the graphics are sketchy and unrealistic and the gameplay is repetitive and frustrating". However, Macworld
named it Best Adventure Game of the Year in 1988 and in 2000 listed it as one of The Top Ten Mac Gaming Thingies of the Last 1,000 Years.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
developed by David Alan Smith. It was published by Mindscape.
The 1988 Macintosh release came in two versions, one in color and one with black-and-white graphics. The DOS version, released the same year, was available in black-and-white only. The 1990 Amiga version was in color.
Previous first-person perspective games of the era used precomputed views, such as The Sentinel, or fixed-perspective graphics, such as Phantom Slayer
Phantom Slayer
Phantom Slayer is a computer game released by Med Systems in 1982 for the TRS-80 Color Computer and Dragon 32/64. Written by Ken Kalish, Phantom Slayer is considered by some to be a very early forerunner of the modern First-person shooter genre....
. The Colony was one of the first games of its kind to let the player move freely while rendering graphics in real time
Real-time computer graphics
Real-time computer graphics is the subfield of computer graphics focused on producing and analyzing images in real time. The term is most often used in reference to interactive 3D computer graphics, typically using a GPU, with video games the most noticeable users...
. It was also the first 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
game to let the player drive a vehicle.
Plot
The player takes the role of a marshal responding to a distress call from a research colony. After crash-landing on the planet, the marshal must repair their damaged ship, investigate the colony, and eventually discover and stop an alien race plotting to take over the universe.Development
Instead of a 360-degree circle, The Colony used 256 "pseudo-degrees" which allowed the game engine to rotate the player's perspective using only one byte of data. Bit-map graphics were drawn using MacPaintMacPaint
MacPaint was a bitmap-based graphics painting software program developed by Apple Computer and released with the original Macintosh personal computer on January 22, 1984. It was sold separately for US$195 with its word processor counterpart, MacWrite. MacPaint was notable because it could generate...
, while 2D
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
images such as doors, letters, and the Apple logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
were crafted using the game engine.
It is interesting to note that at the time of the game's development, the standard method of programming for the Macintosh was to use an Apple Lisa
Apple Lisa
The Apple Lisa—also known as the Lisa—is a :personal computer designed by Apple Computer, Inc. during the early 1980s....
. Development tools
Programming tool
A programming tool or software development tool is a program or application that software developers use to create, debug, maintain, or otherwise support other programs and applications...
for the Macintosh did not exist when the Macintosh was initially released. David Alan Smith completed the first scenes of The Colony with a C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
compiler
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to the Macintosh by Softworks
Softworks Limited
Softworks Limited is a developer of computer software. It was incorporated in the State of Illinois in 1977. Softworks develops and markets compilers and other programmer tools....
. Those first scenes were developed on a Macintosh with only 128KB
Byte
The byte is a unit of digital information in computing and telecommunications that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, a byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the basic addressable element in many computer...
of RAM and a single floppy disk drive. Eventually, development tools were made available on the Macintosh, allowing Mr. Smith to complete his work using the Megamax C
Megamax C
Megamax C was a K&R implementation of C for the Atari ST, Apple IIGS and Macintosh computers. The package included a one-pass compiler, resource construction kit and documentation...
and Lightspeed C
THINK C
THINK C was an extension of ANSI C for Mac OS developed by THINK Technologies; although named Lightspeed C in the original mid-1986 release, it was later renamed THINK C. THINK Technologies was later acquired by Symantec Corporation and the product continued to be developed by the original author,...
compilers - on a Macintosh upgrade
Upgrade
The term upgrade refers to the replacement of a product with a newer version of the same product. It is most often used in computing and consumer electronics, generally meaning a replacement of hardware, software or firmware with a newer or better version, in order to bring the system up to date...
d to 512KB of RAM and a 20MB
Byte
The byte is a unit of digital information in computing and telecommunications that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, a byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the basic addressable element in many computer...
hard drive.
Reception
Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
commented favorably on the combination of both action and adventure elements, but noted the immense difficulty of the game. Amiga Format
Amiga Format
Amiga Format was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ACE to EMAP, Future split the dual-format title ST/Amiga Format into two separate publications...
echoed this feeling by giving it a 51% score and complaining that "the graphics are sketchy and unrealistic and the gameplay is repetitive and frustrating". However, Macworld
Macworld
Macworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
named it Best Adventure Game of the Year in 1988 and in 2000 listed it as one of The Top Ten Mac Gaming Thingies of the Last 1,000 Years.
External links
- My Colony Memoir on David Alan Smith's blog
- The Top Ten Mac Gaming Thingies of the Last 1,000 Years at Macworld
- Amiga Format review of The Colony at the Amiga Magazine Rack