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Hello and welcome to the Maniac HD developer blog!
This is where official updates to game development for the Mac and iOS will be documented. For now, how about some FAQS?
So what is Maniac?
Maniac is a game created in 1994 by Alex Metcalf for the old world Macintoshes running System 7/8/MacOS 9. It’s essentially Pacman combined with hangman featuring killer sounds, music and unique gameplay elements such as various powerups.
Watch a review here
And who are you exactly?
I’m Kyle, a 26 year old from Australia. I’ve been in and around computers my whole life, experimenting with various projects. I haven’t really sunk into just one thing. I learn what I need for each given project and go from there.
If you want to know more about me, you can check out kylegp.com
Why did you decide to recreate the game?
I had discovered Maniac on a game disc labelled “600 games”, written in permanent marker. I used to play it with my cousins whenever I went over to their place all the time. Nobody from the family remembers where the disc came from and unfortunately when I went to try and get it back some weeks ago, they had already thrown away the old Mac and the disc it was played on.
Stuck on nostalgia and the absolute love for Maniac, I have decided to let it live on inside our pockets in the present time with an iOS release (completely free) and also a Mac title. The Mac title is likely to come first as some complications with converting Maniac to touch will need some working out first.
When is Maniac HD going to be available?
There is no release date. It’s one of those “it’s ready when it’s ready” type deals. Sorry to the eager fans! Believe me though, I’m as excited as you are but lets not rush to a poor quality release. There is likely to be a demo for testers available sometime in the future to gather feedback.
A lot of graphics are being worked on first and those should be complete well within the next couple of months. After that will come sounds including the Maniac theme which I need to give some modern spice (carefully, because it already kicks ass).
How does Alex Metcalf feel about this?
Alex is totally on board with the remake. I have assured him of the level of quality I wish to bring to this adaption and full permission has been given for the project (with the exception of in game music copyrighted by others).
I will be making attempts to contact the original composers and requesting their permission for the adaption. If no luck emerges there, I’ll work something out.
The main theme for Maniac will be recreated in a refreshing take on the original, without butchering the original. It’s highly important to me that the game remains the same feel and nostalgia of the original, music, sounds, graphics and gameplay.
Stay tuned for further dev updates!
Maniac is copyright Alex Metcalf, 1994.