Fireblaster  (Preview)
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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1993 Prism Leisure
Status: Preview, Findability: 4/5

Coding: Jason Kelk
Graphics: Jason Kelk
Sound: Sean Connolly

A surprise entry now for GTW64, which was to be an obscure conversion of an obscure Amiga/ST game called Fireblaster, which seemingly was released in 1986 and then re-released by Prism Software around 1989.

Jason Kelk was the developer of a C64 conversion, which was practically complete – 95% complete to be precise and just requiring some final bug fixing.

Interestingly, Jason suggests that the game was submitted as a conversion to Prism back in 1993, but for reasons currently unknown was not published – maybe as the C64 was on its way out?

The game utilizes some graphics from Cyberwing and is as playable as the final release.   At present it seems to stop after a few waves.

Thanks to Jason, we are now able to bring you the final version of the game to play for the first time, which was recovered from some of Jason’s work disks.  As you can see, the game is a simple blaster, but well worth a look with some snazzy presentation as you’d expect from Jason.

Enjoy!

Contributions: Jason Kelk

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Jason Kelk speaks about work on Fireblaster:

“During the early 1990s Prism Leisure were supplying software to Computerworld (the computer shop I used to work at) with games including a budget range called 16-Bit Pocket Power that were single 3.5” floppies in little plastic wallets that arrived in a cardboard display for shop counters.

Fireblaster was one of the games for the Amiga and Atari ST, a painfully simple and clunkily programmed gallery shooter that failed to showcase the 16-bit machines.

The idea for a C64 port was a spur of the moment thing; I was at a trade show with some of the people from the computer shop I worked in as we looked for new stock lines to consider carrying and Prism were there, pushing a couple of ranges. I wandered over and asked someone with a suit if they’d consider a C64 port of Fireblaster if I were to produce it and he showed an interest but, stupidly, I didn’t take a card or anything… and after getting things done to the point it was playable,

I fell out of love with the idea because it just felt only slightly less cheap and cheerless than the original.

A lot of Fireblaster’s in-game code and some of the presentation stuff like the title page was transferred to my vertical shooter Cyberwing so it didn’t go to waste.”


http://www.gamesthatwerent.com/gtw64/fireblaster/
