- There has been a few suspected refrences in
Crystal Caves to other games, television shows and other
various things. The ones that I and other Crystal Caves
fans have recognized are listed at 1trivia,
2trivia
and 3trivia.
Do you recall which of these are actual refrences?
I believe that George wrote much of the story. He was
the big Star Trek fan. Although not a big fan I'd caught
a good number of them like the "Trouble with
Tribbles". I just didn't have encyclopedic knowledge
like George.
There is an interesting story related to this. The fellow
that wrote the script for the Star Trek episode
"Trouble with Tribbles", David Gerrold,
actually played and liked the game. Mr. Gerrold, like
Jerry Pournelle, was also a computer guy and wrote
articles for computer magazines. I was reading a computer
mag (I think it was a programming mag called PC
Techniques) and I noticed that the author mentioned
Crystal Caves, talked about it a bit, called out that the
first episode was "Trouble with Twibbles" and
seemed to think that was funny. At the time I thought it
was cool but I didn't realize the significance. Not much
later I think I picked up a SF book he'd written and saw
that he wrote the Star Trek episode. I was pretty
floored. That probably had something to do with his
mention.
Hmm, I wonder if William Shatner has played it now…
Most of those other references came from George also. He
was the MULE fan. I think Altair referred to the star.
- If Mylo needed money so bad, why didn't he just
get crystals from the mines and invest them into stocks?
(from John the Ax)
John, John, John, I'm disappointed in you. Is that Ax
buried in your head? If you had read your prospectus
(what an interesting word - derived from
"prospector", no doubt) you'd know that stock
markets are volatile and can decline significantly in
response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory,
market, or economic developments. Past performance is no
guarantee of future results.
Mylo is far too smart for that fraudulent scheme.
:-)
- Is there a chance that the source code of
Crystal Caves and Secret Agent is going to be released?
(from memsys)
I suppose there is always a chance, if I could find
the pieces. And it would involve Apogee.
- Did you have any inspirations when you were
making Crystal Caves?
My biggest inspiration was that I didn't like the job
I had at the time. I wanted out. Game programming seemed
cool. I'd work a 40 hour week at my regular job, then
come home and put in another 40 or more on Crystal Caves.
I was pretty much obsessed. Not good for a marriage by
the way.
Also, I guess Miner 2049er and every game, movie, book
we'd ever come across.
- Which was your favorite level in Crystal Caves?
(from John the Ax)
It's shameful but I can't remember any specific
levels. Looking at the maps on your site brings back no
specifics. So I'll say I'll just say the entrance level,
because all doors lead to a level that more fun than that
one. And did you see the cool way that moon orbits that
planet? That is some cool tech!.
- Was there a reason Crystal Caves was split into
three different EXE files? Will you ever combine all
three games into one EXE? (from Wally*Won_Kenobie and 486
player)
That was the famous Apogee "hook". Put the
first episode out as shareware, then people will
presumably like it enough to purchase the other two. It
worked pretty well for the most part.
I don't think they will ever be combined. It would be
like rewriting history :)
- Will there ever be a Crystal Caves sequel?
(from 486 player)
Funny you should mention that. I'm working on Crystal
Caves 3D for the Xbox 360. It's very similar to the
highly acclaimed rendered flick "Killzone 2"
that is currently out for the PS3 except with miners and
pick-axes.
On second thought, there are no plans.
- Did you really work on Secret Agent? (from
Frenkel)
I did not work on Secret Agent. That game used the
same tile based programming tools. George also did
artwork for both games, so some things might look
similar.
- What happened to Maxx Universe and Mojo
Science? (from Frenkel)
Wow, I didn't think anyone connected such things. I
shopped it around for a while, threw some money out the
window. I gave up and found gainful employment. I still
have a cool demo tape for all my trouble though.
Again, a big thank you to Frank for taking the time
to answer these questions. Thanks also to everyone who
posted questions for Frank at the Public
Commander Keen Forums and DOS Games
Forums.
