Stunt Copter
Stunt Copter is a Macintosh game that was released in the mid to late 1980s and which involved piloting a small helicopter around a playfield. The player would have to position the helicopter and then click the mouse at the right time so that a person suspended from the aircraft would fall into a hay bale on a moving cart. Unless precisely timed, the person might fall onto the ground or injure the horse or the driver of the cart.[1]
The game was developed by Duane Blehm[2] whose other games included Cairo Shootout, ZeroGravity, and PUZZ'L. His small software company was known as HomeTown Software[3] and was located in Kansas.[4] Blehm died unexpectedly in June 1988.[5][6] After his death, his parents released his games and source code into the public domain.[7]
MacAddict magazine used Stunt Copter to demonstrate software compatibility of Mac OS X Public beta.[8] A Mac OS X version of the game has been released by Antell Software.[9]
An iPhone/iPod Touch version of the game was released by nerdgames in 2009.[9][10] In 2011, an iPad version of Stunt Copter was released by Apollo Software which is noted for its similarity to the original.[11]
References
- Prevost, Ruffin; Terrell, Rob (1994). "Chapter 5: Fun & Games". The Mac Shareware 500: The Last Word on the Best Virus-Free Mac Shareware, Second Edition. Ventana Press. p. 117. ISBN 1-56604-076-0.
For some reason, the game holds a stupid fascination for a few minutes before becoming witless and annoying.
- "Macworld Online, Fun and Games". Macworld. IDG. July 1995. p. 43. ISSN 0741-8647.
- "SOMAK Software Digest (commercial supplement inserted in the magazine), Arcade Games 2, Hometown Software Game Pack, p. 9". Florida Computer News. Vol. 1 no. 2. FCN Publishing. November 1989.
- Moss, Richard (March 22, 2018). The Secret History of Mac Gaming. Random House.
- "Norman Duane "Duane" Blehm (1951-1988)". Find A Grave. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- Moss, Richard (September 6, 2017). "Researching Mac gaming history part 2: Usenet". Unbound. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- Duane Blehm's Source Code on macintoshgarden.org "Source Code for Duane Blehm's games (Stunt Copter, ZeroGravity, Cairo Shootout), released into the public domain by his parents after his passing."
- Sammis, Ian; Reynolds, David (December 2000). "OS X Xposed, Software & Hardware Compatibility". MacAddict. No. 52. Future Network USA. p. 40. ISSN 1088-548X.
- Patterson, Blake (March 29, 2009). "Simple Mac Classic 'Stunt Copter' Comes to iPhone". TouchArcade. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- "StuntCopter". Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- "Apollo Software - Statys". Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2018.