Space (video game)
| Industry | Video game development |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | Steven Pederson, Sherwin Steffin |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Space, Space II, Empire (video game trilogy) |
Space (also known as Space I) is a text-based role-playing video game created for the Apple II by Steven Pederson and Sherwin Steffin of Edu-Ware Services. It stands as one of the earliest science fiction RPGs available on personal computer platforms. In the same year, an expansion titled Space II was launched, developed by David Mullich.
The gameplay mechanics were inspired by the Traveller RPG from Game Designers' Workshop, which led to a copyright infringement lawsuit against Edu-Ware in 1982. The dispute was resolved through an out-of-court agreement, resulting in the withdrawal of both Space and Space II from commercial distribution.
Gameplay
Participants generate characters situated within a futuristic interstellar civilization and assign them to military branches such as Navy, Army, Scouts, or Merchant Marines. Characters receive training tailored to their physical and cognitive attributes, gaining expertise in areas including hand-to-hand combat, bribery, sword fighting, computing, navigation, and starship operation. Training sessions can also improve fundamental abilities.
After serving four-year terms without injury, characters have the option to exit military service. Each game edition features post-service scenarios where characters can accumulate wealth or assets; however, skill enhancement is generally limited except in the Psychodelia scenario found in Space II. Throughout gameplay, most character attributes tend to deteriorate with age. Death leads to the immediate removal of the character’s data file.
Development
The concept for Space originated from Pederson and Steffin during Pederson’s time at UCLA. They leveraged this idea to obtain an Apple II from Rainbow Computing—a retailer distributing Edu-Ware titles—in exchange for discounted software. Following Rainbow’s early announcement of Space, Pederson and Steffin dedicated 24 continuous hours to debugging the game despite Edu-Ware not having a printer at that time.
Reception
Both titles garnered favorable critical reviews, with a 1980 Peelings II evaluation awarding them an "A−" grade. Bruce Webster assessed Space and Space II in issue No. 31 of The Space Gamer, expressing concerns about their worth at the asking price and suggesting that only those prepared to invest time modifying the games might find them valuable.
Expansion pack
David Mullich created Space II, released in 1979 as his inaugural project for Edu-Ware. This expansion introduced a character generation system along with two additional scenarios focused on risk-reward decision-making where players weigh hazardous options against possible benefits.
Lawsuit
In 1982, Edu-Ware was successfully sued by Game Designers' Workshop for infringing on the copyright of their Traveller tabletop role-playing game. The settlement required Edu-Ware to discontinue both Space and Space II. By that point, these games had already been replaced by Edu-Ware’s proprietary space-themed trilogy titled Empire, featuring an original role-playing framework.
External links
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