Dasse, a friend of mine is a big collector of Software Projects games, mainly the Miner Willy series. Those were programmed by Matthew Smith for the ZX Spectrum.
Before Software Projects was formed, Mr. Smith supposedly wrote a few games for other systems such as TRS-80 and VIC-20. One of those lost games is something called Monster Muncher. According to Dasse, perhaps a few hundred copies were made, if even that much.
Has anyone of you seen this game, or anything about it? I suppose it would be dated 1981-82. The name suggests it could be one more of those Pac-Man clones, but one can't be sure. I'm grateful for any tips, and even more so if anyone has a copy they're willing to part with.
Monster Muncher?
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Monster Muncher?
Anders Carlsson
I'd guess very much that it is a Pac man clone. I've not seen a copy, and I guess it will be one of those very obscure ebay auctions that Mayhem, Bokvamme and Osgorth will be fighting over 
EDIT - Paul Drury who writes for Retro Gamer magazine recently interviewed Matthew Smith. We could probably ask Matt through Paul if he by chance still had anything left of the game. It's unlikely though, as his TRS-80 stuff is long gone in a Dutch attic somewhere.
EDIT - Paul Drury who writes for Retro Gamer magazine recently interviewed Matthew Smith. We could probably ask Matt through Paul if he by chance still had anything left of the game. It's unlikely though, as his TRS-80 stuff is long gone in a Dutch attic somewhere.
Hm, yes. I think it was Matthew himself who mentioned this game somewhere. To me it sounds like something homemade or close to it, if "only" a few hundred copies were made. I don't know the volumes for many smaller labels in the beginning, but at least 500-1000 copies of each game meant to be distributed should've been manufactured unless it was strictly mail order from home.
Anyway, it was worth a try. I know all those you mentioned, and neither Bo nor Osgorth seem to have this title in their collections, to begin with.
Anyway, it was worth a try. I know all those you mentioned, and neither Bo nor Osgorth seem to have this title in their collections, to begin with.
Anders Carlsson
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Mayhem
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http://www.lulu.com/content/1276727
See page 11.
"Smith also wrote a game called Monster Muncher for the Commodore VIC-20, which was a blatant rip-off of the arcade classic Pac-Man. Monster Muncher was written for a new start-up software company. Written in BASIC, the game took him only a few hours to write, but the game was never published because the publisher went bankrupt a few weeks later."
Interesting info, terrible editing. Write writey write write.
See page 11.
"Smith also wrote a game called Monster Muncher for the Commodore VIC-20, which was a blatant rip-off of the arcade classic Pac-Man. Monster Muncher was written for a new start-up software company. Written in BASIC, the game took him only a few hours to write, but the game was never published because the publisher went bankrupt a few weeks later."
Interesting info, terrible editing. Write writey write write.
Weren't all Pac-Man clones blatant rip-offs? Very rarely they would introduce new elements to gameplay. It sounds like this one could've been published as a listing in Your Computer etc if Matthew had wanted. Actually a lot of machine code games were published in various magazines, some games of such good quality they could've been released commercially if the distribution had been granted.
Anders Carlsson
Re: Monster Muncher?
Just wanted to resurrect this thread to see if anyone out there ever found a copy of the Vic 20 version?
The Spectrum version is out there, but Matthew Smith's un-expanded Vic 20 version sadly isn't just yet. It's possible that only about 50 copies or so ever sold.
The Spectrum version is out there, but Matthew Smith's un-expanded Vic 20 version sadly isn't just yet. It's possible that only about 50 copies or so ever sold.