Micro War 10 Int

MicroWar v1.0 International is a Space-Invaders-style fixed-screen shooter with a satirical computer-industry premise: you are an Apple Computer facing down hordes of Wintel invaders. Released as freeware around 1998-1999 by Pierre-Alain Dorange (under the maddog.prod handle), this is the English-localized build of the original French title.

Gameplay

The core is pure arcade Space Invaders - rows of descending enemies, a player ship sliding along the bottom, and a steady drumbeat of return fire. The twist is thematic: the alien hordes are Wintel PCs, and you are defending Apple's territory in "the cruel micro-computer industry." It is a small joke, but a heartfelt one for the platform.

System requirements

PowerPC Macintosh, Mac OS 7.5.5 or later, and QuickTime 2.5. Distributed as a StuffIt 5.x archive. The file is freeware and explicitly cleared for inclusion on CD-ROM compilations - the standard late-90s shareware distribution caveat.

Versions and language

The Info-Mac archive holds two MicroWar packages: micro-war-10-int (this entry, the v1.0 International English build) and micro-war-101-fr (the v1.0.1 French update). The 1.0.1 release notes mention compatibility fixes for the PowerBook 3400c and certain ProFormance video cards, with a "PageFlip" settings option for users encountering crashes or screen blink.

Source and credits

Author Pierre-Alain Dorange went on to write extensively on Mac and Apple II development; original distribution was via http://www.multimania.com/maddog/SHARE/MWIntl.html, a Multimania (Lycos France) personal page that has long since gone dark. The Info-Mac BinHex at game/arc/micro-war-10-int.hqx is the most stable surviving source.