Little Computer People

Last updated
Little Computer People
Little computer people cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Activision
Publisher(s) Activision
Designer(s) David Crane
Rich Gold
Platform(s) Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, PC-9801, PC-8801, ZX Spectrum
ReleaseCommodore 64
  • NA: September 27, 1985 [1]
  • EU: November 1985 [2]
ZX Spectrum, Amstrad
  • EU: Late 1985
Apple II
Atari ST, Amiga
1987
Genre(s) Social simulation game
Mode(s) Single-player

Little Computer People, also called House-on-a-Disk, is a social simulation game released in 1985 by Activision for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, [4] Atari ST and Apple II. An Amiga version was released in 1987. Two Japanese versions were also released in 1987, a Family Computer Disk System version, published in Japan by DOG (a subsidiary of Square), and a PC-8801 version.

Contents

Gameplay

The game has no win conditions, and one setting: a sideways view of the inside of a three-story house. [5] After a short time, an animated character will move in and occupy the house. He goes about a daily routine, doing everyday things like cooking, watching television or reading the newspaper. Players are able to interact with this person in various ways, including entering simple commands for the character to perform, playing a game of poker with him and offering presents. On occasion, the character initiates contact on his own, inviting the player to a game or writing a letter explaining his feelings and needs. Each copy of the game generates its own unique character, so no two copies play exactly the same. [4] The character's name is randomly selected from a list of 256 names. [6]

The documentation accompanying the game fully keeps up the pretense of the "little people" being real, and living inside one's computer (the software merely "bringing them out"), with the player as their caretaker.

Two versions of the game exist for the Commodore 64: the disk version, which plays as described above, and the cassette version, which omits several features. [7] On tape versions, the Little Computer Person is generated from scratch every time the game is started up (not only on the first boot, as with other versions), and thus does not go through the "moving in" sequence seen on other versions. Also, on cassette versions the Computer Person has no memory, and does not communicate meaningfully with the user, and the card games, such as poker, cannot be played.

Development

The initial idea for Little Computer People was developed by Rich Gold, who wanted to create a Pet Person computer program similar to that of the Pet Rock toys of the 1970s. Gold was able to develop some funding for it and hired James Wickstead Design Associates to realize it as a game concept which was in development for about a year. [8] [9] This team refined the concept of a Pet Person who lived in a house. [8] Gold initially struggled to find a publisher for the product. [8] [10] At this point, the game was like screensaver, that the players would be able to boot and just see what the character was doing. [10] Gold met with Activision president Jim Levy was an interesting enough product to show to game developer David Crane, who had popular hits with games like Pitfall! (1982) and Ghostbusters (1984) for his opinion. [11] [8] At this point in time, Activision was one of the largest video game publishers in the industry. [10] Crane said he offered to take on the project, but not as a finished game for publishing but as a starting point for an interactive product. [8] Crane saw the project as going beyond the Pet rock concept in what Crane described as "one of the hardest programming challenges of my career." [10] Crane wanted to add interactivity and argued with Gold with this concept, who said it was contrary to the initial Pet Rock concept. [10] Crane later recalled in 2005 that "Part of me wanted to make him the smartest thing in computing maybe even to pass the Turing test — but with the constraints of time in the software business that was impractical." [10] Including the development of James Wickstead Design Associates, the game took about two years to develop in a period when most games were developed in four to five months. [9]

Crane made the game so that each copy of it would be unique. Each copy of the game had built in parameters that gave the character a unique personality and mood parameters. [10] He stated that this turned out to be one of the important aspects of the game as based on his personality and mood, the character could opt to ignore your commands. [10] While the game has the character live off a real-time six hour game schedule for a day, Crane thought it may have been better to have the character live off of a real-time schedule such as booting the game up at night would have the character sleeping. [12]

Playing cards with the character was almost not included due to a lack of time according to Crane, who said that that nearly all the time was focused on giving the character interactivity with its basic brain. [13] Steve Cartwright was between games when the development of Little Computer People was closing, with Crane giving Cartwright the parameters to include the card game feature. [8] Marketing staff at Activision formulated promotion through a newspaper story about the discovery of people living in computers everywhere. [12]

Release

The game was first released for the Commodore 64 and later for the Amiga computers in 1987. [14] as well as the Apple II, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. [8]

The game was re-released on the Activision C64 15 Pack for PC. This version allowed the player to generate a new person if the character died off somehow. [8] Initial ideas for expansion included friends visiting and new housing. [9]

Ports

Apple Town Story
Developer(s) Activision
Publisher(s) Square
Composer(s) Nobuo Uematsu
Platform(s) Family Computer Disk System
Release
  • JP: April 3, 1987
Genre(s) Simulation
Mode(s) Single-player

Apple Town Story (アップルタウン物語) is a port of Little Computer People to the Family Computer Disk System. The port was released by Square in 1987. Unlike previous versions of Little Computer People, the playable character is a girl wearing a pink dress and bow in her hair. The rooms of the house are also in a different configuration, featuring an outdoor balcony on the top floor. When the game is first played, a name for the character is chosen at random from a preprogrammed list. Apple Town Story lacks many of the features found in other versions of Little Computer People. The game's soundtrack was written by Nobuo Uematsu, who would later become recognized for his work in the Final Fantasy series. [15]

In December 1987, a second Japanese version of the game was released for the PC-8801 computer, titled Little Computer People (リトルコンピュータピープル). Like Apple Town Story, this game also features a female character, only older and more glamorous in appearance. Aside from the character, this version of the game is far more like the original in all other respects.

Reception

Roy Wagner reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World , and stated that "The game is more cute than fun or challenging. The range of activities are limited and not very exciting, but can be interesting. The 'game' is ideally suited for children. It does a good job of teaching about caring for another." [17]

Little Computer People earned a Zzap!64 Gold Medal Award in 1985. [2] Games magazine listed it as one of its top 10 best entertainment software produced in 1985. [18] Jerry Pournelle of BYTE named it his game of the month for December 1986, stating "That's not strictly a game, but it sure has consumed all the game time we have around here" and that the Amiga version's graphics were preferable to the Atari ST's. [19]

Compute! favorably reviewed the Atari ST version in 1987, stating that it had "enormous and subtle educational appeal" to children and others. The magazine concluded that Little Computer People "is a delightful program". [20] The game was voted best original game of the year at the 1986 Golden Joystick Awards. [21]

Reviews

Legacy

Little Computer People was described by Kim Wild of Retro Gamer as "selling well enough", but that the large amount of money in development and acquiring the property mean that any sequels were not a financial reality. [12] During the development of the Amiga version of the game, Crane was planning add-ons being made available. [12]

Little Computer People is often compared to an early predecessor to The Sims game series. [12] [11] When asked about its influence, Crane responded that "Almost everything we touched in those days could be constructed as the precursor to something on the market today. So rather than go there, I simple acknowledge that I took the first baby steps toward the simulation genre when I added human-like interactivity to Little Computer People." [12] Will Wright, designer of The Sims , has mentioned playing Little Computer People and receiving valuable feedback on The Sims from its designer, Rich Gold. [23]

In 1998, German electro musician Anthony Rother released a single titled "Little Computer People", which is inspired by the computer game, as part of the group The Little Computer People Project. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commodore 64</span> 8-bit home computer introduced in 1982

The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International. It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 12.5 and 17 million units. Volume production started in early 1982, marketing in August for US$595. Preceded by the VIC-20 and Commodore PET, the C64 took its name from its 64 kilobytes(65,536 bytes) of RAM. With support for multicolor sprites and a custom chip for waveform generation, the C64 could create superior visuals and audio compared to systems without such custom hardware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commodore International</span> Bahamian home computer and electronics manufacturer

Commodore International Corporation was a Bahamian home computer and electronics manufacturer with executive offices in the United States founded by Jack Tramiel and Irving Gould. Commodore International (CI), along with its subsidiary Commodore Business Machines (CBM), was a significant participant in the development of the home computer industry in the 1970s to early 1990s. In 1982, the company developed and marketed the world's second-best selling computer, the Commodore 64, and released its Amiga computer line in July 1985. Commodore was one of the world's largest personal computer manufacturers, with sales peaking in the last quarter of 1983 at $49 million.

<i>Paradroid</i> 1985 video game

Paradroid is a Commodore 64 computer game written by Andrew Braybrook and published by Hewson Consultants in 1985. It is a shoot 'em up with puzzle elements and was critically praised at release. The objective is to clear a fleet of spaceships of hostile robots by destroying them or taking them over via a mini-game. It was later remade as Paradroid 90 for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST home computers and as Paradroid 2000 for the Acorn Archimedes. There exist several fan-made remakes for modern PCs. In 2004 the Commodore 64 version was re-released as a built-in game on the C64 Direct-to-TV, and in 2008 for the Wii Virtual Console in Europe.

<i>Wizball</i> 1987 video game

Wizball is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Jon Hare and Chris Yates and released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and later in the year for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Versions for the Amiga and Atari ST were released in the following year. Wizball was also ported to IBM PC compatibles and the Thomson MO5.

<i>Ghostbusters</i> (1984 video game) 1984 video game

Ghostbusters is a licensed game by Activision based on the film of the same name. It was designed by David Crane and released for several home computer platforms in 1984, and later for video game console systems, including the Atari 2600, Master System and Nintendo Entertainment System. The primary target was the Commodore 64 and the programmer for the initial version of the game was Adam Bellin. All versions of the game were released in the USA except for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum versions, which were released only in Europe, and the MSX version, which was released only in Europe, South America, and Japan.

<i>Mercenary</i> (video game) 3D action-adventure game

Mercenary is a 3D action-adventure game written for the Atari 8-bit computers and published by Novagen Software in 1985. It was converted to the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga, and Commodore 16/116/Plus/4. The game uses vector graphics renderings of vast, sparse environments and has open-ended gameplay. It was also released as Mercenary: Escape from Targ and Mercenary: A Flight Simulator Adventure.

Thalamus Ltd was a British computer game developer that published titles for a number of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

<i>International Karate +</i> Video game published by System 3 in 1987

International Karate +, stylized as IK+, is a fighting game written by Archer Maclean and published in 1987 by System 3 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. It is a successor to International Karate (1985). Activision published the Commodore 64 version in the US as Chop N' Drop.

<i>Head over Heels</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Head Over Heels is an action-adventure game published by Ocean Software in 1987 for several home computers. It uses an isometric engine similar to the Filmation technique first developed by Ultimate Play the Game. Head Over Heels is the second isometric game by Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond, after their earlier Batman computer game was released in 1986. The game received favourable reviews and was described by Zzap!64 as an "all time classic".

<i>Shoot-Em-Up Construction Kit</i> 1987 video game

Shoot-'Em-Up Construction Kit is a game creation system for the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST created by Sensible Software and published by Outlaw in 1987. It allows the user to make simple shoot 'em ups by drawing sprites and backgrounds and editing attack patterns. The advertising promoted the Kit with the phrase "By the programmers of Wizball and Parallax".

<i>Nebulus</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Nebulus is a platform game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for home computer systems. International releases and ports were known by various other names: Castelian, Kyorochan Land, Subline, and Tower Toppler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tynesoft</span> Former software developer and publisher

Tynesoft Computer Software was a software developer and publisher in the 1980s and early 1990s.

<i>Winter Games</i> 1985 video game

Winter Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx, based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games.

<i>Garfield: Big Fat Hairy Deal</i> 1987 video game

Garfield: Big Fat Hairy Deal is a 1987 computer game for the Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and the Amiga based on the comic strip Garfield. It is the second video game based on Jim Davis' Garfield comics to be released, following 1986's Create with Garfield.

<i>The Last Ninja</i> 1987 video game

The Last Ninja is an action-adventure game originally developed and published by System 3 in 1987 for the Commodore 64. It was converted to the Apple IIGS, MS-DOS, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1988, the Apple II series in 1989, the Amiga and Atari ST in 1990, and the Acorn Archimedes in 1991.

<i>Knightmare</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

Knightmare is a video game released by Activision in 1987 for ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and Atari ST. It was written by Mev Dinc, J.P. Dean, E.M. Dean and Nick Cooke, and is based on the Anglia Television show Knightmare. Four years later, Mindscape released entirely different game based on the show, also called Knightmare, for the Atari ST and Amiga.

<i>The Real Ghostbusters</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

The Real Ghostbusters is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East. It is loosely based on Ghostbusters. In Japan, Data East released it as a non-Ghostbusters arcade game under the title Meikyuu Hunter G. In 1989, Activision published The Real Ghostbusters for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Ghostbusters II</i> (computer video game) 1989 video game

Ghostbusters II is a 1989 action game based on the film of the same name. It was published by Activision for various computer platforms. British studio Foursfield developed a version for Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, which also got ported to the MSX by New Frontier. It features three levels based on scenes from the film. Dynamix developed a separate version for the DOS, also based on the film. The non-DOS versions were praised for the graphics and audio, but criticized for long loading times, disk swapping, and the final level. The DOS, Commodore 64 and Amiga versions were the only versions released in North America.

<i>The Running Man</i> (video game) 1989 video game

The Running Man is a 1989 beat 'em up video game based on the 1987 film of the same name. It was developed by Emerald Software and published by Grandslam Entertainments for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Judge Dredd</i> (1991 video game) 1991 video game

Judge Dredd is a 1991 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1991, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.

References

  1. ↑ "Little Computer People (Registration Number PA0000301880)". United States Copyright Office . Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Zzap! Test: The Activision Little Computer People Discovery Kit". Zzap!64 (7). Newsfield: 8–10. November 1985. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  3. ↑ "1985 Index" (PDF). Computer Entertainer . Vol. 4, no. 10. January 1986. p. 6.
  4. 1 2 Baker, T. Byrl, Unsung Heroes: Ground Breaking Games – Little Computer People, GameSpot, archived from the original on 2010-07-07, retrieved 2014-10-30
  5. ↑ "Little Computer People | Retro Gamer". 16 October 2008.
  6. ↑ 4AM's list of Little Computer People names
  7. ↑ "Little Computer People". Eurogamer.net. 26 October 2007.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Wild, p. 34.
  9. 1 2 3 Mott 2005, p. 107.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mott 2005, p. 106.
  11. 1 2 Mott 2005, p. 105.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wild, p. 35.
  13. ↑ Wild, p. 33.
  14. ↑ Wild, pp. 34–35.
  15. ↑ "Uematsu's Music". Square-Enix-USA.com. Archived from the original on 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  16. ↑ Zzap!64 review, Newsfield Publications, issue 7, page 8
  17. ↑ Wagner, Roy (March 1986). "The Commodore Key". Computer Gaming World. Vol. 1, no. 26. p. 38.
  18. ↑ Katz, Arnie; Kunkel, Bill; Worley, Joyce (December 1985). GAMES Magazine #70. Playboy Enterprises. pp. 47–48.
  19. ↑ Pournelle, Jerry (December 1986). "The Final Frontier". BYTE. p. 291. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  20. ↑ Randall, Neil (March 1987). "Little Computer People". Compute!. p. 70. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  21. ↑ "Golden Joystick Awards". Computer and Video Games (55). EMAP: 90. May 1986.
  22. ↑ "Asimov's v11n01 (1987 01)".
  23. ↑ "Will Wright: A chat about the two 'the' in source title "The Sims" and "SimCity"". CNN. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
  24. ↑ "The Little Computer People Project - Little Computer People". Discogs . 1998.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.