Connection between Below The Root and CD-i Zelda games

[Segataritensoftii]

Apologies if I'm on the wrong forum. This is also related to Classic Computing, so...

 

I have reason to believe that a modified version of the engine for Windham Classics' C64 and Apple II games Below The Root and Alice in Wonderland was used in the CD-i Zelda games.

 

At the risk of sounding like a crazy conspiracy theorist, allow me to explain: American Laser Games made a game for CD-i called Alice In Wonderland, which looks and plays very similarly to the Windham Classics game of the same name. It is probably a remake.

 

Before that, the same company made a game called Laser Lords using a very similar engine. Some of the programmers of Laser Lords and Alice in Wonderland went on the make the CD-i Zelda games. It's possible that the awkward and clunky controls of that game were a result of trying to modify the engine to support a sidescrolling action game.

 

In short, this:

 

led to this:

 

I just thought this was interesting.

Edited September 27, 2013 by Segataritensoftii

[high voltage]

yes, same programmer (Del DeSharone).

 

there's s an article in an issue of Retro Gamer (can't remember which issue) about him, CDi, Spinnaker and the problems about progamming for the CDi

[karokoenig]

Pity if the connection is real. "Below the Root" was a really decent game.

[Seob]

yes, same programmer (Del DeSharone).

 

there's s an article in an issue of Retro Gamer (can't remember which issue) about him, CDi, Spinnaker and the problems about progamming for the CDi

Yes the problem with the CD-i controls are part of Philips decision that any program running on the CD-i should be controllable with every controller available for the system.

Thus you can control a car using the CD-i peacekeeper gun, or a platform game using a mouse. The downside of this is that the controls lack a bit in response.

[JamesD]

Given the different CPU and poor support for C or Pascal programming languages on the 6502 (especially at that time) I'd have to say the programmer may have followed the same general design but didn't use any of the same code.

[high voltage]

Here's part of the article

[Seob]

Here's part of the article

Do you know what issue number it's from?

I'm one of the few guys, i think, who like the system. I got a nice collection of 67 CD-i games and a total of 3 different CD-i players and about all the possible controllers for the system.