Joust (BBC Micro)

This computer port of Williams' feathery arcade game is mostly known for the struggles it went through before release; it was completed in 1984 by programmer Stuart Cheshire for the Atarisoft label, but a combination of Atari leaving the competitor markets and the failure of a different potential publisher, Aardvark Software, in getting a licensing agreement, resulted in this latter version being published by Stuart himself in 1986.

Hidden Messages#

Located throughout the game's tape are several hidden messages.

Found at Block 01 of JOUST (original) / SKIRM (re-release):

JOUST (C) D.D.Harriman 1986

Then, at Block 04 of the same file is a greeting:

Finally, the aforementioned MESSAGE reads as follows:

Hello Mr Pirate.  Welcome to Joust.  I hope you enjoy your exploration of my little program.  I would like to hear from you and to perhaps meet socially if you do crack the protection.  I am a dedicated pirate myself and I have included most of the protection techniques I have come across in games I have ripped off, plus a couple I thought of myself.  In case you mis-understand me, this is not some trick from GOSH to catch pirates, it is a genuine invitation from a bone-fide member of GASP (Guild of Anonymous Software Pirates) to anyone out there who thinks him(her)self (I should be so lucky) worthy of the name Software Pirate.  My name and address: Delos D. Harriman, 290 Clarence Road, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B74 4LT.  Tel 021-353 8069.  Good luck.  Even if you don't finish it, you could write to me to tell me how far you got,  you never know, you might be the only one to even get that far.  Or, on the other hand, there might be some fatal loophole in my protection scheme and everyone might do it.  Either way I'd like to hear from you.  Prepare to Joust, Buzzard bait!

The progammer's alias in this game, "Delos D. Harriman", is a reference to the same-titled character which originates from Robert A. Heinlein's science fiction stories, most notably Requiem and The Man Who Sold the Moon. "Maynard" may be Martin Maynard, head of Maynard International, of which Go-Dax Hi-Tek Entertainment was a publishing label for full-price games³.

Revisional Differences#

In February 1988, this port of Joust received a proper commercial release from Go-Dax Hi-Tek Entertainment, under the name "Skirmish". The most notable differences are in the game's loading sequence:

Original	Re-Release

• The logo at the top left corner was redesigned.
• The text "Harriman Enterprises" at the top corner was changed to "Top Ten Software", which was Maynard International's budget publishing label. Likewise, the instance of this name before the scrolling instructions appear was changed to "Maynard International".
• A copyright to Williams Electronics was removed. The mention of the company in the scrolling instructions was also removed.

References#