And we’re back to the RPGs! Only this time, the RPG is in SPAAAACE!

That’s kind of an obscure screenshot, but the game’s main screen has the title logo on it. I guess the developers just didn’t need the expansive amount of space that 320×200 provided so they could waste some on always reminding you what game you were playing…

Name and developer, please. If you’re the first one to get it right, I’ll let you into my zombie-proof bunker when the zombie apocalypse breaks out. You’ll have to prove that you’re not infected first, of course. I’m not going to fall for that one!

Gianfranco Berardi, whose name I just love to type, is our winner! Here’s his winning email!

GOT IT!

I was right about the first one. I found a website that hosted old
emulators and found Penny Arcade. I played it, and it looked incredibly
similar to the screen shot.

First game: Penny Arcade by Bill Budge

Second game: Rings of Zilfin by Ali N. Atabek of Strategic Simulations,
Inc.

Third game: Styx by Matthew Smith of Bug-Byte Software Ltd

Since the second screen shot clues were later games by the authors, the
thing that these games all have in common is that they are the first or
early-made games by the authors.

Did I win? B-)

You are absolutely correct on all counts! A winner is you! Shine get! Flawless victory! Ding 70! You have ascended to Avatarhood!

I swear, next time I do this I’ll make it a little easier…

Okay, I have gotten ZERO entries in the Name That Game! 33 contest. In fact, all I’ve gotten are IMs from my friends saying “What the HELL?”

So it’s time to give some hints. Here are three new screenshots. Now, listen up, pilgrim – these are not screenshots from the three games you must guess. No, these are three screenshots from much more recognizable games that are related to the first three games in some way. By identifying the second screenshot and doing some research, you should be able to identify the first.

At least, I hope so. It would kind of suck for me to have created a contest that only I could ever possibly win.

ANYhoo.

Here is the screenshot for Game 1 again:

And here is the hint screenshot for Game 1:

Here is the screenshot for Game 2 again:

And here is the hint screenshot for Game 2:

Here is the screenshot for Game 3 again:

And finally, here is the hint screenshot for Game 3:

Original rules still stand – the first email I get at anthony.salter@gmail.com that correctly identifies the three games, their developers and tells me what they have in common will win the prize!

All right, here are the three games.

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3:

In order to win, you will need to email the names of all three games, the developers of all three games, and the common theme that ties all three games together to anthony.salter@gmail.com. The first correct email that drops into my inbox takes the prize! Good luck!

EDIT: Yeah, they are too hard. So I will drop a couple hints. The first and second games are both for the Apple II. The last game is for the ZX Spectrum.

EDIT 2: All right, all right. It’s obvious I made these way too hard. So if I don’t have a correct entry (and right now I have no entries whatsoever) by tomorrow (Saturday) at 12 noon Central Time, I will post some additional hints.

I’m really torn over these screenshots that I’ve chosen. It’s possible they are way too hard. Of course, I’ve thought this before…but maybe I should tone them down just a little bit – no! Every time I think something is really tough somebody guesses it in five minutes. It won’t be any different now. The only Name That Game! that was never identified was Below the Root, and frankly that surprised me. So I guess I should keep them the way they are…

This week’s Name That Game! is going to be special. I’ll be offering a real prize – a copy of Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2 Episode 1. Which means that we’re going to have to be slightly more formal about how we do things this week.

At 8:00 AM Central Time (sorry, but that’s what local time is for me), I will post three screenshots. The first person to MAIL me with

* The names of all three games,

* The names of the developers of all three games, and

* The unique theme that ties all three games together

will win the prize. Please note the word MAIL above. Do NOT put your answers in a comment – indeed, I won’t be allowing comments on that post until AFTER the contest is over.

Because I want this to be slightly harder than your average Name That Game! I will not be restricting myself to the PC or a certain timeframe. I will choose games from all of space and time! So be prepared.

The prize will require a Steam account. If you don’t have one, get one. They are free.

I don’t anticipate any problems, but if there are…well, it’s my contest, so I am the arbitrator, which means that my judgement is final.

If in the past I have requested that you no longer guess on these contests, that restriction is now lifted. This means that you are now unretired, Warren.

Oooh, I can hardly wait for this! This is going to be so much fun!

Today we are kicking it really, really old-school.

Name and developer, please! Plus, a few years after this version was made, the same company (under a new name) remade it to be more action-oriented and released it under a different name. Bonus points if you can name that game too!

Your reward will be…hmmm…

Well, now I’m thinking. When I bought The Orange Box I got a free gift certificate for Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 (since I already owned them) and I’ve been wondering what to do with them. It wouldn’t be fair to give them away on this Name That Game…but maybe next week I’ll do a super-special one and award them as a real prize! So I guess your reward today is that you know I’m going to do this next week!

Okay! This is another one of those games that is adored by its adherents but makes the rest of us kind of scratch our heads…

Name and developer, please. If you are the first person to respond correctly, you get to go to State!

Time for another Name That Game! Sorry for missing last week. And sorry for the Mac screenshot, but this was the best one I could find. The PC version was basically identical.

As is should be pretty obvious, this is a 4X space game, but it’s relatively lesser-known. Its two best features were ease of play (much easier than any of the “heavies” of this genre) and multiplayer.

Name and developer, please! Your reward? Hmmm…okay, the next time we play Soul Calibur II, I’ll totally let you win! Promise!

And now back to our regularly scheduled Name That Game. That’s right, I’m not cheating with this one, nor am I trying to make some sort of weird point about game development! It’s just “guess the game” time! Yipee!

This is another one of those games that about ten people played, but all ten of them loved. It came out in 1999 and failed not only because it was a third-person action-adventure game when everyone was going nutso over first-person shooters, but also because it used a unique rendering technique that caused certain parts of the game to appear quite pretty while other parts…did not. And it didn’t get marketed for crap either, which also didn’t help.

Name and developer, please. Your reward? I won’t throw you into my torture chamber!

PS: Warren, I think you’ve been retired long enough. Feel free to resume guessing.