Ski Crazed

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Ski Crazed
Single-player

Ski Crazed is a 1987 skiing game video game developed by

JAM Software
and published by Baudville.

Development and release

In 1984,

JAM Software. Their first published software was a math program titled Math Jam, which was self-published and distributed to schools the following year. Upon encountering an educational bureaucracy that obstructed further distribution of Math Jam, Gavin and Rubin were motivated to pursue projects that appealed to their passion for video games.[1]

Over the course of a weekend, Rubin programmed a skiing game titled Ski Stud,[2][3] which presented an ethos that Gavin compared to the film Hot Dog…The Movie (1984). Rubin used the BASIC programming language, but due to low performance, Gavin later rewrote the game in assembly language, which significantly improved its speed. To create the graphics, Rubin had to work with the imperfect tools of that time. He used the pixel editor from the Pinball Construction Set, which had issues with cursor positioning accuracy. As a result, Rubin had to frequently fix errors and to carefully draw the graphics pixel by pixel. Transferring the created images into the game also was challenging. Pinball Construction Set did not have a function to save graphics, so the developers had to resort to workarounds. They intentionally triggered a reset of the Apple II hardware to gain access to the RAM, where the graphics data was temporarily stored, and then copied it for use in their game. This process had to be repeated multiple times, requiring patience and effort.[1]

Gavin and Rubin pitched Ski Stud to Baudville, a small Michigan-based publisher, who requested that the title be changed to Ski Crazed before purchasing it for US$250.[1][2] Baudville announced the game for the Apple II in September 1987 as part of its third-quarter release plans.[4] It was shipped in October 1987,[5] and it became JAM Software's first title.[3][6][7]

Reception

Computer Entertainer gave the game a score of 3 out of 4, stating: "There’s nothing serious here, from the funny-looking skier to the messages which your ski instructor indicates to you. Including the construction set gives the game the extra added fun that makes the difference"[8]

The game sold 1,000 copies.[7] and JAM Software made about US$1,500 from the game.[9] Gavin and Rubin used the money earned from the game's sales to invest in a second disc drive and continued their relationship with Baudville with their next game Dream Zone (1988).[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Colin Moriarty (October 4, 2013). "Rising to Greatness: The History of Naughty Dog". IGN. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "From Rags to Riches". Game Informer. October 1998. p. 18. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Rubin (November 2001). "Jason". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. p. 51. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "Baudville Announces Fourth Quarter Plans". Computer Entertainer. Vol. 6, no. 6. September 1987. p. 5. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Availability Update". Computer Entertainer. Vol. 6, no. 9. December 1987. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Puha, Thomas. "Interview: Naughty Dog's Jason Rubin". high-resolution.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 1998. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Pham, Alex (August 12, 2007). "Speech balloons are his newest thing". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Ski Crazed". Computer Entertainer. Vol. 6, no. 7. October 1987. p. 3. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  9. Newspapers.com
    .
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