The original Windows Entertainment Pack ( WEP ) is a collection of 16-bit casual computer games for Windows. The game is a bit unusual for the moment, as they will not run under MS-DOS. Many games are then released in Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack . There are four Entertainment Packages in the original series. All games run 16-bit on modern 32-bit versions of Windows but not on 64-bit Windows. Support for all versions of Microsoft Entertainment Pack expires on January 31, 2003.
Minesweeper from package 1 then bundled with Windows 3.1, and FreeCell is included in Windows 95. WinChess and Taipei , both written by David Norris, in Windows Vista, called Chess Titans and Mahjong Titans , respectively. Mahjong Titans is replaced with Microsoft Mahjong on Windows 8. Microsoft Solitaire Collection also includes the Tut's Tomb (like Pyramid < ) and TriPeaks .
Video Microsoft Entertainment Pack
Origin and development
Microsoft Entertainment Pack is designed by the company's "Business Entry" team, whose job is to make Windows more attractive to homes and small businesses. Former Microsoft product manager Bruce Ryan said the company did this because "worried that high operating system hardware requirements mean that people will only see it as a tool for big companies". The project is "almost no budget", and no major video game publishers are involved because they doubt the legitimacy of Windows as a platform game; therefore Ryan composed a series of games that have been used by Windows employees in their spare time.
Maps Microsoft Entertainment Pack
Description
Microsoft advertises Entertainment Packages for casual games on office computers. The boxes have slogans like "No more dull coffee" and "Just a few minutes between meetings? Get in Klotski's quick game". Marketing is successful; The World of Computer Games in 1992 described this series as "Gorilla of the Jungle Game Lite", with over 500,000 copies sold.
List of games
The original Microsoft Windows Entertainment Pack title includes:
Microsoft Entertainment Pack 1
- Cruel (card game)
- Golf (card game)
- Minesweeper , written by Rob Donner
- Pinned (Peg solitaire form), written by Mike Blaylock
- Taipei (later known as Mahjong Titans and Microsoft Mahjong)
- Tetris (Windows version)
- TicTactics (Tic-tac-toe variant)
- IdleWild (screensaver program), written by Brad Christian
Microsoft Entertainment Pack 2
- FreeCell (card game)
- Jigsawed (Jigsaw puzzle)
- Pipe Dream (by LucasArts), written by Eric Geyser
- Rattler Race
- Rodent Retaliation
- Stones , developed by Michael C. Miller
- Tut's Tomb
- IdleWild (screensaver program) - 8 new screen saver for this package
Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3
- Fuji Golf
- Klotski
- Life Genesis (based on Conway's Life Game, with two-player mode added)
- SkiFree , written by Chris Pirih
- TetraVex
- TriPeaks (card game)
- WordZap (word game)
- IdleWild (screensaver program) - 8 new screen saver for this package
Microsoft Entertainment Pack 4
- Chess
- Chip Challenge , written by Chuck Sommerville
- Dr. Black Jack (card game created by Mike Blaylock, based on games of the same name)
- Open Image!
- JezzBall
- Maxwell's Maniac
- Tic Tac Drop (Connect Four forms with quadrilateral, triangular and plus-shaped board and adjustable winning pattern and row and column number)
GameSampler
For much of the early 1990s, Gamesampler, part of the Entertainment Package small enough to fit on a single high density disk, was sent as the eleventh free disk added to ten empty Verbatim 3.5 "microfloppy diskettes in samplers including Jezzball >, Rodent Violence , Tetris , and Skifree . A "Best" disk of some of those games is also available at any time as a premium mail -in from Kellogg cereal.
32-bit version
In copies of Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 source code that leaked back in 2004, there was a 32-bit version of Cruel , Golf , Broken , < i> Reversi , Snake ( Rattler Race ), Taipei and TicTactics . However, FreeCell and Minesweeper already have an official 32-bit version bundled even with early versions of Windows NT. The original game developers of some games like SkiFree , TriPeaks, and WordZap now offer 32-bit versions. Third-party developers have also created 32-bit freeware clones from Klotski, TetraVex Rodent Revenge , and Tetris .
Port to Game Boy Color
A multicart contains seven games released for Game Boy Color as the The Best Of Entertainment Pack . Four of the multi-cart games are ported from Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack, while the remaining three are ported from other Microsoft Entertainment Pack compilations.
Reception and inheritance
Digital Trends noted, "For many people, the simple yet fun game found in Entertainment Packages provides the first flavor of the early PC game and serves as a gateway to more complex classics." PC World describes the package as a "prominent time waster".
See also
- Microsoft Entertainment Packages: Collectible Collection - 32-bit collection later for Windows 95
- Microsoft Pinball Arcade
- Microsoft Arcade
Note
References
External links
- Microsoft Entertainment Packages on MobyGames
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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