Mazeworld Abyss

Mazeworld Abyss is a 1997 first-person 3-D arcade game from Farfetch Software, written for the Power Macintosh. The premise is deliberately spare: on each level you hunt down the Maze Jewel while dodging energy bolts hurled by a host of weird creatures wandering a randomly generated Maze Domain that reshuffles itself every play.

Procedural levels

The Info-Mac header is explicit about the variety angle - "The Maze Domain is randomly generated, so it's different each time you play" - putting it on the same shelf as other lightweight 1990s Mac maze-shooters that leaned on procedural layouts to stretch a small asset set.

What 1.5.x changed

Version 1.5 reworked gameplay to be simpler and cleaner: improved wall graphics, smoother sounds, and the removal of the original time limit. The 1.5.2 patch then dropped the enforced delay before the OK button activated in the shareware reminder dialog, after users complained that the wait made it look like payment was required before play.

Shareware and distribution

Mazeworld Abyss was $10 shareware. The author pointed players at http://members.aol.com/farfetch/ for screenshots and updates, a typical mid-90s indie distribution channel that paired Info-Mac uploads with an AOL personal homepage.

Compatibility

Per both the BinHex header and the Macintosh Garden listing, Mazeworld Abyss requires a Power Macintosh with 256-color or better graphics, 4.5 MB of free RAM, and System 7 or later. It also depends on Apple's ObjectSupportLib library, which was preinstalled on most PowerPC Macs of the era.