Spiderbot / Arac

[Chris++]

For years, I often played a very intriguing adventure game that I had on a disk full of pirat... (ahem) archived programs. The title screen and file name called it Spiderbot, but I've recently learned that the game was released in 1986 by Addictive Software as Arac, whatever that means. Does anyone know the story behind this game? Was it issued by a prior company as Spiderbot and then re-released by Addictive as Arac, or is this one of those "different title in Europe vs. America" games? Thanks for any info.

 

Edited November 20, 2015 by Chris++

[carlsson]

Right on the nail about that! The European release by Addictive 1986 is called Arac, and the US release by Epyx 1987 is called Spiderbot.

 

It was remarkably common for games to be renamed when sold overseas, regardless of which direction it travelled. In this case, I don't know which of the two names fits best, or perhaps if there was some other game/product called Arac or similar that could've collided for the US release.

[Chris++]

Ah, I see. Thank you! I appreciate getting the lowdown on that.

 

(Maybe Arac was actually supposed to be ARAC -- i.e. a fictional anagram. Hmmm. Annihilating Roaming Arachnid Cyborg? Well, I tried... )

 

 

[carlsson]

Gamebase64.com is rather good at linking games, sequels and hacks together next time you're unsure.

 

According to the review in Zzap!64, Arac simply is short for Arachnid, just like Rhino is short for Rhinoceros.

 

Could it be that "arachnid" is a word very rarely recognized in US English, so Epyx thought it'd be better to spell out the spider part in plain text to not confuse buyers?

Edited November 20, 2015 by carlsson

[Chris++]

Good point. Or perhaps Spiderbot was just considered a more "grabbing" title than the rather cryptic Arac. The most successful marketing among my countrymen in the U.S. seems to be, sadly, not making them think too much.

 

[carlsson]

I've forgotten why IK+ became Chop 'n Drop in the US, to take one well known example, but perhaps IK+ also was seen too cryptic even if you had heard about the first International Karate, and it is very straightforward, actually a bit brutal about a game where you chop until you drop. (Black Friday at the martial arts' club?)