Port · Bullet-Proof Software · Shooter

Faceball

Nintendo exclusivePort

Faceball is a cancelled port for the Nintendo Virtual Boy.

Released: —
Platforms: Virtual Boy
Genres: Shooter
Developers: Bullet-Proof Software Locomotive Corporation
Publishers: Bullet-Proof Software
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: First person

About

MIDI Maze, also known as Faceball 2000, is a networked first-person shooter maze video game for the Atari ST developed by Xanth Software F/X and released in 1987 by Hybrid Arts. The game takes place in a maze of untextured walls. The world animates smoothly as the player turns, much like the earlier Wayout, instead of only permitting 90 degree changes of direction.

Using the MIDI ports on the Atari ST, the game is said to have introduced deathmatch combat to gaming in 1987. It also predated the LAN party concept by several years. The game found a wider audience when it was converted to Faceball 2000 on the Game Boy.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Up to 16 computers can be networked in a "MIDI Ring" by daisy chaining MIDI ports that are built into the Atari ST series.

The game area occupies only roughly a quarter of the screen and consists of a first-person view of a flat-shaded maze with a crosshair in the middle. All players are shown as Pac-Man-like smiley avatars in various colors. Bullets are represented as small spheres.

Development

The original MIDI Maze team at Xanth Software F/X consisted of James Yee as the business manager, Michael Park as the graphic and networking programmer, and George Miller writing the AI and drone logic.

Reception

In 1994, Sandy Petersen reviewed the game for Dragon magazine, giving it 2 out of 5 stars. Super Gamer magazine gave an overall review score of 82% writing: "Ultra successful on the little Game Boy, this 3-D maze shoot-'em-up has been totally uprated for the SNES."

, artificial, computer-enhanced, first-person perspective). In Faceball 2000, you assume the identity of a Holographically Assisted Physical Pattern Yielded for Active Computerized Embarkation – or HAPPYFACE – and hunt down your opponents. You can play alone or link up with as many as three additional players. More fun than real-life tag, and much more stimulating."

Legacy

Personal Computer World said that in 1987, MIDI Maze introduced the concept of deathmatch combat, using the built-in MIDI ports of the Atari ST for networking. TheGamer listed it as among ten games that revolutionized first-person shooters, which was also noted by Nostalgia Nerd and VG247. Ask.Audio marveled at how it used the Atari ST's MIDI port for multiplayer gaming, also noted by Paleotronic. Nomad's Reviews listed it as among the original first-person shooters, as did GamesRadar.

MIDI-Maze II was later developed by Markus Fritze for Sigma-Soft and released as shareware.