FPS - long before Doom!
Midi Maze is a multiplayer first-person shooter that hit the shelves in 1987, thanks to the talents of Xanth FX. This really is an early taste of multiplayer first-person gaming, similar to a typical deathmatch. It takes place inside a labyrinth of weird smilies that roam looking for blood. So ignore their happy faces because they're anything but nice - and need killing!! You could say, the last sphere "standing" wins?
Once inside the maze, it becomes a tense cat-and-mouse game. The design of the corridors offers very little opportunity to hide, so you're constantly listening and watching for movement around the next corner. Encounters are often sudden, forcing split-second reactions as you fire before your opponent does.
Learning the layout of a newly-generated labyrinth becomes just as important as having quick joystick reflexes. Better players will anticipate likely routes, set up ambushes in co-op, or make a speedy escape after a successful hit. Despite the simple presentation, matches remain surprisingly exciting and can become wonderfully frantic! Bring your MIDI cables; the more players roam the maze together, the better.
The controls are rather straightforward and easy to master. You can use either the joystick or the mouse, but I think the joystick works much better (and I never expected to say that, since I figured the mouse would be best). Those without MIDI cables can play in Solo mode, which allows up to 15 computer-controlled bots with three levels of AI. Those with cables and ST friends can invite friends over and link up to 16 computers. Think about that, it is quite staggering for an '80s deathmatch. And this was 1987, folks!!
To set up a two-player game, you will need two MIDI cables to create a connection between your Atari ST computers. Connect the MIDI Out port of the first ST to the MIDI In port of the second, and then connect the MIDI Out port of the second ST to the MIDI In port of the first.
This "loop" allows both STs to send and receive game data simultaneously, with one serving as the Master and the other as the Slave. Your connection is simple, robust, and ready for play...
- Cable 1: ST A (MIDI Out) $\rightarrow$ ST B (MIDI In)
- Cable 2: ST B (MIDI Out) $\rightarrow$ ST A (MIDI In)
The graphics are understandably basic compared to later games. The walls appear to be "paper-thin" and without any texture or ambient lighting - but remember just how old this game is. Frame rates on any ST are fast and exceptionally smooth, and I was impressed to see the baddies have shadows, which adds to the 3D perspective. Sound effects aren't going to win any awards, but they do their job.
There is nothing I enjoy more than a good first-person shooter, and single-player works well, but this comes into its own when linked with other Atari computers. Few games can claim to have been ahead of their time, but Midi Maze certainly can. Years before LAN parties became popular on PCs, Atari ST owners could already link multiple machines together and enjoy frantic multiplayer battles over a local MIDI cable network.
Midi Maze is one of the best games I've featured and is easily a true Atari ST gaming legend!!
