Midnight Synergy Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Apologizes if this was discussed before, I didn't see in in a search. Look at this auction: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350253213226&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:CA:1123 It's for the Octopussy game (which I didn't think was ever released, nor was a prototype found). What is odd about the ad are the newspaper review quotes. Did Parker Bros make them up? Was there a prototype released to the press? Just curious, does anyone know the story? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zwackery Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 The video game market in the United States had been in existence a full decade before Bond's emergence into the industry. Expanding its board game properties, Parker Brothers had found success in 1978 with their electronic handheld game Merlin and was thinking about video games. In 1981, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the head of Atari's home computer division approached the senior vice president of research and development at Parker Brothers to ask if Atari could license some Parker Brothers board games for video game conversion. Parker Brothers decided Atari's interest, as the most powerful video game company at the time, was evidence enough that they should develop their own games. In a move that would have made Q himself proud, Parker Brothers was able to reverse-engineer Atari's hardware which enabled them to go independently into cartridge production. In-house development of their own games coupled with the licensing of easily identifi able properties would be the key to the company's success, and for their first title they turned to film and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. With the stunning success of their first set of releases, the next wave of games by Parker Brothers in 1983 would include more titles based on the Star Wars license and the addition of another lucrative film franchise with James Bond 007. Due to an ambitious production schedule, Parker Brothers had to subcontract production of James Bond 007 to an external company, Western Technologies. While Western Technologies was working on the game, Parker Brothers had already announced the title and its concept in a 1983 game catalogue: Based on the daring train sequence from the James Bond adventure, 'Octopussy'. Take the train ride of your life with Agent 007 in this fast-moving action video adventure. A deadly knife-thrower and some trigger happy gunmen are on your heels as you battle across the top of a speeding train. Think fast – and act even faster – as you try to avoid their attacks without being knocked off the train. Parker Brothers even went so far as to create promotional display boxes for the unreleased game. The first advertised the title of the game as 'James Bond 007 as seen in Octopussy', complete with the film's stylised, tentacled logo from the theatrical poster. The picture on the front of the box replicated the famous view of Bond seen through the barrel of a gun used in the cinematic introduction sequence. The second display box removed the 'as seen in Octopussy' tag line and replaced the graphic with a close-up drawing of a very recognisable Roger Moore, clad in tuxedo and brandishing a handgun. The change in concept art was a reflection of a growing problem with the production of the game and a harbinger of Bond's often complicated adaptation to video games. According to Joe Gaucher, lead designer and programmer for the Atari 2600 version, Parker Brothers approached his company, On Time Software, because Western Technologies was behind schedule on releasing a Bond game. The 'Octopussy' version apparently existed in some form, although it was never completed. Internally at Parker Brothers, Charlie Heath, a programmer with the company from June-November 1982, programmed a short Bond demo based on Moonraker where the player was 'in space orbiting earth in the space shuttle, chasing bio-terrorist pods to shoot them down before they break up in the atmosphere, while [the] shuttle and the pod are being buffeted about by reentry.' Gaucher remarked that Parker Brothers stipulated that the game 'had to have the James Bond 007 opening, correct music and proper James Bond action,' but left everything else open to interpretation. In the game that was eventually released for the Atari 2600, players guided Bond through an oil rig raid based on Diamonds Are Forever (1971), an attack on Stromberg's undersea hideaway from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), and a space sequence from Moonraker (1979). The box art returned to the first display version, again with 'as seen in Octopussy' removed, with 007 now returned to a fairly generic looking, tuxedo-clad man. The Atari 5200 and Colecovision versions began with a new underwater level based on For Your Eyes Only (1981). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 @Zwackery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kripto Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I'm surprised no homebrew creator has taken a shot at getting this train scene up and running. God knows that many VCS fans would be loving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight Synergy Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 Zwackery, thanks for the copied article, but it doesn't actually answer my question - I'm curious about the newspaper review blurbs in the ad. Where did they come from - were they just made up by Parker Bros, or did some people actually play enough of a playable "train sequence" game to make those comments? (and apologizes, I meant to post this in the main 2600 section, not the Marketplace) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight Synergy Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 Actually, I just looked at the ad again - the newspaper names are Rolling Pebble, Daily Platter, etc... so I guess I can assume they were just made up by Parker Bros as a joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 (and apologizes, I meant to post this in the main 2600 section, not the Marketplace) You didn't, posts with ebay links get moved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Hunter Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Apologizes if this was discussed before, I didn't see in in a search. Look at this auction: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350253213226&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:CA:1123 It's for the Octopussy game (which I didn't think was ever released, nor was a prototype found). What is odd about the ad are the newspaper review quotes. Did Parker Bros make them up? Was there a prototype released to the press? Just curious, does anyone know the story? http://atarimania.com/detail_soft.php?MENU=2&VERSION_ID=20133 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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