Just like we did on Halloween, we had the idea of bringing a special for Christmas, that time of dreams and magic. So we decided to tell you the story of the Mean Santa game. In 2016, my good friend Tim Duarte invited me to develop an Odyssey version of a game he, in partnership with John K. Harvey, had created for the Atari 2600. But who would be the best person to tell this story , if not Tim Duarte himself. And as our Christmas present, we left the game demo in the Vault . Have fun and have a good read.
MEAN SANTA
The idea for MEAN SANTA began in 2008. We wanted to come up with a way to celebrate the 100th print issue of the newsletter 2600 CONNECTION. I sketched the basic concept on 2 pieces of paper. Originally, it was going to be called EVIL SANTA. I am a huge fan of the 1966 animated cartoon Christmas special “HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS.” I sort of always wished there was a videogame for the Atari 2600 (or any other classic system for that matter).
TRAILER DR. SEUSS HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1966)
I liked the idea of a game where Santa was stealing the presents from the residents. So first, I came up with the concept where Santa is flying in his sleigh in the midnight sky. There had to be some opposition for him, so I thought large snowflakes could be avoided. Then, Santa would land his sleigh on to a house top. The transition to the second screen ( inside the house ) would then take place. I decided to make it a timed game. Fastest score would win. I still have those basic design sketches of the game’s concept.
THE ATARI VERSION
I had been in touch with John K. Harvey and he had written some articles for the 2600 Connection newsletter. He was up for the challenge to program the game. We pushed forward and MEAN SANTA was released for the Atari 2600 before the Christmas season 2009, right around the time issue # 100 of the 2600 Connection was published. There was a lot to learn in publishing a game because we were all hobbyists. Al Backiel was a huge help in the distribution and shipping. Dan Skelton provided fantastic artwork for the box and manual and game cartridge label.
THE VERSION FOR ODYSSEY2
Fast forward to 2016. I was still dabbling in publishing videogames. I had a published a number of the games for the Odyssey2 / Videopac. I turned to Rafael Cardoso to see if he would be up for the task of programming a version of MEAN SANTA. He was up for the challenge. I was confident that he would do a great job, as I was pleased with the working relationship formed with the publishing of his games WILDLIFE! and HAPPY BIRD! I submitted the ROM file of the Atari 2600 version so Rafael could play that version to get some ideas for the port. I believe he changed and expanded on some of the ideas around a bit, but the basic concept of my MEAN SANTA game is there. Rafael also created new artwork for the box and manual and game cartridge label. I did re-use Dan Skelton’s artwork in other pages of the manual. I am quite pleased with the finished product. I still offer it for sale!
THE VERSION FOR COLECOVISION
In Christmas 2019, I heard from Chris Derrig, a programmer of the Colecovision. He was an owner of the Atari version of MEAN SANTA, and he expressed interest in porting a version of my game to the Colecovision. How could I refuse? The finished product was released in November 2020. I had some issues because that was the first game that I published for that system. I think Chris did a wonderful job with the port of the game. It takes advantage of the power of the Colecovision system and there are many enhancements and hidden features. Aden Toledo Gutiérrez was brought on to the team and he provided a musical background soundtrack. I reverted back to Dan’s artwork and created an 8-page manual that is similar to the Odyssey2 manual. I still offer it for sale!
MISSING INTELLIVISION?
O que vem a seguir? Se tudo correr como planejado, uma versão INTELLIVISION será portada e lançada para o Natal de 2022! Dedos cruzados! Deseje-nos sorte!
THE ODYSSEY BRAZIL CHRISTMAS GIFT
What could make someone after hundreds of years of generosity turn to the dark side? Was it the blatant commercialization of Christmas, was it the behavior of people who only think about exchanging gifts or was it simply the attitude of spoiled children? Whatever the reason, Santa Claus is unrecognizable and this Christmas will not be the usual time of goodwill with men. This year, he’s going to take the presents instead of leaving them, and no bad weather or guard dogs will stand in his way.
At the beginning, you lead Santa Claus in a sleigh guided by a reindeer. At the bottom of the screen, a house appears in the lower right corner and you land on it to advance to the second screen. Now the challenge is to lead Santa Claus through a maze while collecting Christmas items such as planes, dolls, balls, candy canes, boats, he hasn’t even spared the Christmas tree. If you tap on the edge of the maze, you will be transported back to the center of the screen.
The game supports The Voice module, if you’re using it, you’ll hear synthesized Jingle Bells in the background while playing. Voice effects include a terrifying laugh when Santa Claus lands on a roof and “it’s easy” whenever he picks up an item.
Regarding the score, it follows the pattern of some Rafael Cardoso games with a stopwatch, but this time the time goes up, whoever fulfills the goal in the shortest time wins…
Now, hands on the joystick or keyboard and enjoy this Christmas present that Odyssey Brasil is giving you, play online on the PC to demo version MEAN SANTA in the new version of ODYSSEY VAULT, now supporting The Voice and VideoPac G7400 graphics plus…
