I might be really dating myself here, but I fondly remember playing Crystal Quest — in pure black and white — back in the day on an ancient and utterly colorless Mac computer. In the game players took control of a circular spaceship flying around on a mission to collect every last crystal present, avoiding mines along the way, and then eventually escaping through the gate on the screen’s bottom after all of the crystals were grabbed. It’s easier said than done — however — as all too quickly a massive army of “Nasties” will show up to wipe you out, and with 12 wildly different Nasties to deal with — each of whom have their own unique strategy — surviving them quickly became a big challenge.
Controlling all of this action was one of the simplest control schemes ever: your ship had inertia, and your direction and velocity were controlled by where — and how fast — you moved your mouse. Firing your gun — which was your primary defense against the endless Nasties — had some hitches in it as well, for your bullets — at the exact moment of launching — always travelled forth in the same direction and velocity as your spaceship. You could also occasionally find super bombs that were activated via hitting the spacebar, but these were a rarity that you really wanted to save for those later levels when Crystal Quest would have enough objects on screen to make Bullet Hell games envious.
Although the original game won numerous awards back in the day — including a perfect 5 out of 5 from Macworld Magazine — Crystal Quest has otherwise largely faded from the limelight, now becoming generally unknown to the bulk of gamers living these days. Seeking to rectify this oversight is one John Ardussi, whom recently received permission from Patrick Buckland — the original creator — to produce a visually updated edition capable of working on nearly every Unity compatible system (including iOS devices). The only catch is that in order to begin construction of an HD faithful remake of the 1987 arcade-esque classic, John Ardussi is first going to need his Kickstarter project — which seeks to raise $30,000 in development funds — to be successful.
Currently a pledge of just $5 is all that’s needed to secure your very own PC/Mac copy of Crystal Quest Classic, and furthermore receive the game before any Johnny-Come-Lately. Meanwhile — for those even more dedicated to collecting every last gem — further backer rewards include: early Beta access, extra copies for your friends, the official backer t-shirt, a physical signed copy, the chance to help design a new Nasty, and more! However — should you now find yourself intrigued — it is utterly vital that you chip in your donations before March 9th arrives, as otherwise the developers won’t enough extra lives ready for when the impending rush of “Parasite” Nasties swoop in to wipe them out!
In closing, never forget the game manual’s original — and most sage — advice: “Stay cool at all times! Uncool dudes get stomped on.”