Game tester online

I normally find myself sifting through pages and pages of information while putting together introduction posts. My task at these times is not so much about hunting down bits of trivia from the far corners of the web, but more about making a relevant and comprehensible snapshot of all that is readily available. Earthrise has by far the least amount of information available of all the games on the list so far, so this should be pretty quick! I do know that the game was written, programmed and animated by a guy called Matt Gruson. It was his first attempt at making a game, but he would go on to design and produce a better known adventure game, Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender a couple of years later. Gruson was assisted by Van Collins, who provided the artwork and backgrounds, as well as by Doug McLeod, who designed all the packaging. Both of these guys have been involved in other games over time, but none that are relevant to this blog. From what I can tell, Earthrise has an interface similar to the one found in Sierra’s adventure games, with a text-based parser and EGA graphics. The screenshots that I’ve seen look VERY simplistic, so the story is going to have to be pretty gripping if it has any chance of impressing me.


Speaking of story, Earthrise (its full title is Earthrise: A Guild Investigation) is a science fiction game within which I will play an astronaut that’s been sent to an asteroid to investigate some sort of communication failure. If I’m not mistaken, it will then become my task to save Earth from a collision with the asteroid, but that’s about as much as I’ve been willing to read to avoid spoilers. Interestingly, Earthrise is the name of an amazing photograph taken by real life astronaut William Anders during the 1968 Apollo 8 mission. I have to wonder whether the name of the photo and in fact the photo itself had any influence on Gruson when designing the game. I’ve downloaded a copy of Earthrise (I highly doubt it’s available to purchase anywhere, but please let me know if you know something I don’t) and will be playing it in DOSBox. I’ve not been able to find a manual of any sort, so hopefully I’m not required to look at one while playing. If anyone manages to get one somewhere, I’d reward them with CAPs. Well, that’s about it I’m afraid! I’m always excited to start a new game, and this one’s no different. Is anyone willing to join me on this one?

After spending the last week in a role where I was expected to hunt down the human rebellion on behalf of an invading army of aliens, gearing up in my police uniform to protect and serve the community of Lytton seems a little unexciting in comparison.  However, I did enjoy Police Quest 1 quite a bit when I played it earlier this year, despite my qualms about the puzzles being based almost entirely on following strict procedures from the manual rather than any logical deduction on my behalf. I have no idea whether the sequel follows a similar procedural form of gameplay or whether it takes a more investigative and logical application approach, but either way it’s sure to be an interesting ride.


Police Quest 2 was the third game to showcase Sierra’s SCI engine after King’s Quest IV and Leisure Suit Larry 2. Former police officer Jim Walls was once again involved in the design of the game, including real life scenarios he faced during his time with the force, and making sure correct police protocol was used throughout. Apart from his involvement (and that of veteran programmer Robert Heitman), Police Quest 2 seems to have been a breeding ground for numerous programmers and animators, none of whom appear in credits prior to the game, yet do so on many that would be released in the years following. Of particular note are programmers Robert Fischbach (Quest for Glory I & II, Conquests of Camelot & the Longbow) and Jerry Shaw (Quest for Glory I- III, Gabriel Knight I & II) , and music composer Mark Seibert (Quest for Glory I-III, Space Quest III & IV, King’s Quest V-VIII).


I’ll be playing the one and only PC version of the game, which I own as part of the Police Quest 1+2+3+4 collection I purchased from GOG a while back. The included manual has no background information on what has occurred between Police Quest I and II, and instead acts as a Homicide Officer’s Guide, suggesting I’ll be referring to it a lot in the coming days. It contains very similar information to the first game’s manual, including operation, arrest and investigation procedures, as well as radio, vehicle and penal code information. I know very little about the game itself, but a few readers have already suggested there are quite a few dead ends, so I’ll have to be extra alert at all times. I believe Officer Charles will be assisting me once again, but I’ll have to wait for my first briefing to see who else will be assigned to the case. Officer Sonny Bonds, ready for action!