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Emulators and Fantasy Villains: Case Study on GATE (Bright Software 1991) #2

by Eugen Pfister, Aurelia Brandenburg, Adrian Demleitner, Arno Görgen, Addrich Mauch, and Kevin Negele. Additional research and editing by Corinne Hirter

GATE (Bright Software 1991 / Apple IIgs) is a Gauntlet-inspired action game that was developed by the Swiss studio Bright Software for the Apple IIgs in 1991, towards the very end of the platform’s lifespan. In this part two of our case study, we analyse the story, audio-visual aesthetics and game mechanics of the  game as a historical source, its reception and conclude our case study.

This is the second part of our two-part case study on the game GATE. You can find the first part here.

Continue reading Emulators and Fantasy Villains: Case Study on GATE (Bright Software 1991) #2

Curiosity and Computer Stores: Case Study on GATE (Bright Software 1991) #1

by Eugen Pfister, Aurelia Brandenburg, Adrian Demleitner, Arno Görgen, Addrich Mauch, and Kevin Negele. Additional research and editing by Corinne Hirter

At the end of the 1980s, four young people met in the Basel area and started developing a game called GATE for the Apple IIg in their free time. They came together partly through ice skating, a computer store and an early fascination with computers. The result was an unlikely reinterpretation of Gauntlet for the Apple IIgs, unlikely because the computer was already fourteen years old at the time of programming. The game itself even found a publisher, first in France and then in the USA, but it failed to achieve great success.

Continue reading Curiosity and Computer Stores: Case Study on GATE (Bright Software 1991) #1