Crafting Nostalgia: The Ultimate Free Linux Gaming Rig, Episode 45

Back to Part 1: Salvaging

Continuing from Part 44: The Saga of Kobo

For a period, the term “multimedia” was among the most trendy expressions in the computer software sector. Though this surge would begin to diminish with the collapse of the dot-com boom, numerous individuals and businesses bet both their livelihoods and futures on the development of customized interactive experiences, frequently to promote well-established companies and brands. Enter Lost Boys, a company situated in the Netherlands with the intention of doing precisely that.

Their most profitable client was the Dutch beer producer Dommelsch, for whom Lost Boys developed numerous branded sports games that were previously offered for free on the Dommelsch website. Among these was Roll’m Up, a pinball game first released in 1997 for Microsoft Windows. Lost Boys themselves subsequently issued Roll’m Up as a standalone product, bringing it to MacOS, Linux, and even BeOS to showcase the cross-platform capability of their Lost Platform multimedia framework.

To install Roll’m Up, I used the RPM package crafted by Australian Linux journalist John Murray, who seems to have largely taken over the game’s hosting after the Lost Boys website was dismantled around 2002. Where this game shines is in the assuredness of its presentation, with vibrant sound effects perfectly complemented by smooth and colorful animations. Compared to the popular X windows games of its time, Roll’m Up was undoubtedly a treat for the senses.

The Lost Platform even claims support for integrated video playback, as shown by a short film accessible by selecting the about screen. Keep in mind that Roll’m Up predates the introduction of the SMPEG library, which became Loki Software’s answer for handling video clips in their games. Even as recently as 2002, video playback could still be problematic in Linux, with BioWare having to skip Bink video support in their initial Linux version of Neverwinter Nights.

Above all, Roll’m Up provided a fitting alternative for any recent Linux adopters eager to play a round of 3D Pinball for Windows – Space Cadet, the pinball table initially developed by Maxis that was bundled with several editions of Microsoft Windows. Interestingly, this game was later ported to Linux in 2021 through the process of decompilation and reverse engineering, and today is even playable within your web browser.

Was there anything similar available for Linux? A limited number of free software alternatives do exist, but each comes with its own drawbacks. The most notable among these is Emilia Pinball, a complete 3D engine that allowed for the design of several pinball tables and even supports hardware acceleration through OpenGL. I was unable to successfully compile the 0.3.1 version of Emilia Pinball from the source tarball, but I did manage to install it by reconstructing a source RPM package designed for Fedora Core instead.

This release featured two tables, although additional ones were introduced in subsequent years, with the project still experiencing periodic bursts of activity. Also of interest is Spinball, a finalist from the CS 248 2000 Video Game Competition, alongside the half-finished endeavor that was Linball, plus a pinball table created for use with the Crystal Space 3D engine. None of these achieve the extraordinary level of refinement that Roll’m Up provides, enabling the game to remain relevant many years after its initial launch.

What hasn’t aged quite as gracefully is the game’s role as an advertisement. Beyond the expected visibility of the sponsor’s brand and product, there was even a system where players could accumulate “Dommelsch points” in exchange for actual beer from the brewery. While now merely a defunct system within the game, the possibility of obtaining alcohol through a free piece of software does raise concerns, particularly since I am aware it came into the hands of minors.

Roll’m Up previously featured an online high score leaderboard which has since been removed, but an archive of the “Hall of Fame” from June 2001 reveals that the top position was occupied by one Alexander Babych, who achieved a remarkable score of 894016643 along with 681142181 Dommelsch points. Roll’m Up also includes a local multiplayer option, allowing up to four players to take turns competing for the highest score.

It is unfortunate that Lost Boys never managed to further dissociate their efforts, as I can’t help but feel that the games would shine even brighter if permitted to be taken independently. Lost Boys would eventually find more reputable projects, developing educational software for the Anne Frank House and the Maritime Museum in Rotterdam, among other corporate clients, before the studio’s eventual closure. If only there existed a way to alter the passage of time.

Continuing in Part 46: Shattering Bubbles

Back to Part 1: Salvaging

Article sourced from GamingOnLinux.com.