Retro365 | Fowl Play - Mops Computer Systems, Inc., 1983 - IBM PC (4K) @Retro365 | Uploaded October 2024 | Updated October 2024, 1 day ago.
A short play of Mops Computer Systems' Frogger clone, Fowl Play, released for the IBM PC in 1983.
After meeting at church and with a shared passion for computers and software, Morgan Watkins, 28, and Paul Rutz, 23, wanted to break into the competitive software industry. In May 1981, the two co-founded Mops Computer Systems, Inc. in Austin, Texas, operating out of a spare room in Watkins’s apartment. The two wanted to create traditional software and leave games to others but to gain attention and get the company off the ground, the two started developing Halls of Time, a 3D maze game for the now-aging TRS-80 home computer.
Halls of Time took 2,000 hours to design and was released in May 1982. Though interest and orders were modest, it proved a valuable learning experience for both. Now, looking to capitalize on the growing popularity of the IBM PC, in 1983, the duo, inspired by the Frogger-craze, developed their own Frogger clone, Fowl Play, where players had to guide chickens across a busy highway.
Mops hired a marketing firm to boost sales and get Fowl Play into retail stores, but it seems the game was ultimately only released as shareware (if you have any information on a published version I would love to know.)
Enjoy and please remember to visit my blog at https://www.retro365.blog where I post new articles every month.
A short play of Mops Computer Systems' Frogger clone, Fowl Play, released for the IBM PC in 1983.
After meeting at church and with a shared passion for computers and software, Morgan Watkins, 28, and Paul Rutz, 23, wanted to break into the competitive software industry. In May 1981, the two co-founded Mops Computer Systems, Inc. in Austin, Texas, operating out of a spare room in Watkins’s apartment. The two wanted to create traditional software and leave games to others but to gain attention and get the company off the ground, the two started developing Halls of Time, a 3D maze game for the now-aging TRS-80 home computer.
Halls of Time took 2,000 hours to design and was released in May 1982. Though interest and orders were modest, it proved a valuable learning experience for both. Now, looking to capitalize on the growing popularity of the IBM PC, in 1983, the duo, inspired by the Frogger-craze, developed their own Frogger clone, Fowl Play, where players had to guide chickens across a busy highway.
Mops hired a marketing firm to boost sales and get Fowl Play into retail stores, but it seems the game was ultimately only released as shareware (if you have any information on a published version I would love to know.)
Enjoy and please remember to visit my blog at https://www.retro365.blog where I post new articles every month.
