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LaserForce
After the success of Jigsaw! I really wanted to write a great game that would show off the possibilities of the Apple IIgs. The fact was that with a 2.8 MHz processor and slow video memory it wasn't easy to write a fast scrolling game like the ones that existed for the Commodore Amiga. That was the main reason that I started to work on a game that many considered a 3D version of Lode Runner. In fact it was based on a game that my friend Javier Rullán Ruano had written years before for the Apple II+ and that was only available in Spain.
LaserForce does not move large sprites on the screen but managing the 3D effects was very difficult. I tried to do it in real time but the processor couldn't handle the task, therefore I had to move to a different scheme and pre-calculate all the masks. LaserForce is therefore really a 2D game with a 3D appearance. This is very similar to what others did on eigth bit computers like the ZX Spectrum.
LaserForce was not a commercial success. When the game came out the platform was already in big trouble and many gamers had moved to other alternatives. However, I have met many persons who have told me that they had enjoyed the game and that was really what I wanted to achieve when I started programming.
LaserForce gameplay on YouTube
A short demo of the first two levels of Laserforce. Not very exciting, because the first few levels were designed to help the players understand the game, not to be challenging and also because the player isn't very good.