What could be more vaporwave than the first 'vaporwave' game being not only lost media but managing to predict the aesthetic 20 years before it became real? Even more, the game released in the 80s, a time seen very fondly by the Vaporwave movement.
And even more, the game is set in an abandoned mall.
I'm getting way to ahead of myself though. Let's begin with this. Independent game development in the late 1980s was in full swing. With PCs becoming more common you no longer needed an expensive SDK and assembly knowledge to make a video game. Commodore, Apple, MS-DOS, and more. There were a slew of systems out there you could develop for now. All you needed to do was either start programming or obtain a copy of a game engine and get to work.
Several programs were released that just did that. One such 'engine' was Silicon Beach Software's 'World Builder'. It was a point-and-click engine made for Apple's System 3. It was never as popular as the MacVenture games but still saw some enjoyment amongst its fans.
The most popular games made with World Builder were Enchanted Sceptres (1984) and Radical Castle (1986). They're about what you expect. Simple graphics, black and white images, and a basic UI. Like the MacVenture games there were multiple windows each displaying something about the game. If you like that old-school B/W look you'll be right at home. Hell, even if you like the really old MacVenture games and want something similar check those out.
There is one game in particular made with World Builder that I have been trying to track for a few years.
Death Mall 3000.
And I have to interject right here. I wrote this article back in August of 2021. I listed all of these magazines, cross-references and was even in possession of a possible address the developer lived. I was very close to just writing a letter seeing if I could get a copy. But, as I was editing it just now (August 17, 2023) I did a quick search of the game to see if I could find where I first heard of it and LO AND BEHOLD SOMEONE UPLOADED IT! In January 2022, a user called HyperCard Online had dumped the floppy disk image of the game! I am in awe. A project I was not aware of, HyperCard Online not only had dumped it but dumped tons of other indie games from the era online.
It's honestly surreal to see how much work I did and then *bam* it's right there. I'm not complaining though. I know that after this is done I am actually going to go play it. It looks even cooler than I thought! It has no doubt saved me a bunch of time in research as well. I don't even need to make that letter anymore.
So instead of writing about how my searches lead to dead ends and that 'this game is lost media', I will instead document what I originally wrote.
Death Mall 3000 is a point-and-click adventure game for System 3 that was independently released back in 1987. What I knew at the time was that it was your ship crashed onto some planet and you now have to explore this abandoned mall looking for a way out. I also had a single forum post where some random user claimed it was the best video game ever. Nobody replied to that user's post. I figure he was just baiting. From there my search began.
All of the sources I found that mention the game were from old Macintosh magazines. The first one I am going to present is the July 1987 issue of QuestBusters: The Adventurer's Journal, Volume 4. It briefly mentions Death Mall 3000 under a section called MacAdventures which just mentions the World Builder engine and describes it as an "off-the-wall" game. It also mentions a game called Enchanted Pencils. The little blurb does not mention any developers or ways to purchase either game. (I've since asked the HyperCard Online guy if he has heard Enchanted Pencils, no response yet).
MacWorld magazine, issue November 1988 has another reference to the game and the most substantial evidence yet. Page 73 contains a mention and screenshot of the game. It reads: "Death Mall 3000 takes you on an elaborate HyperCard adventure in a futuristic shopping mall. Encounter intergalactic creatures as you make your way through the mall." and "Death Mall 3000 by John Malay. An elaborate and well-drawn adventure game (go east, west, north, south) set in a shopping mall." Both blurbs were written by Scott Kronick.
There is another reference to the game in the November 1987 issue of MacWorld. It lists it as an honourable mention in a blurb about the best World Builder game alongside Radical Castle, T-Rex and Edg's World.
The February 1989 issue of MacWorld magazine references the game's title in an index leading back to the November issue.
The second last reference I found was from an old magazine called Compute!, Issue 124, December 1990. It is listed under 'Shareware and Public Domain Software for the Mac Plus or Higher'. The game, alongside another point-n-click game "Space Adventure" is listed as a bundle. Both games are listed as "out of this world (space) adventure games!". You could order the disk. I have not tried contacting the magazine to see if the service is still alive or if anyone there could send the software. Unfortunately this does not list any developers either. I am not now aware if Space Adventure is a sequel or related to related to Death Mall 3000 in any way.
There is also a completely random reference to the game on a fitness forum in 2002. It was mentioned by user ‘dballer’ in a thread about the best video games ever made. As I wrote earlier, nobody replied to him.
Let's dive into full OSINT territory now!
Looking up John Malay I got mixed results. I couldn't seem to find anyone who fit the identity of a now-old-aged Macintosh programmer (off the assumption he was an adult in the 80s). I found reference to a ‘John Malay’ in the book "The Macintosh Advisor" from 1986. It lists Mr. Malay as a coordinator of the Summit Mac Users Group. An address and phone number are listed too. The group's address was located in the Chatham Township, NJ. Last I checked there wasn't much at that address except an industrial building and mechanic shop. It's been 40 years though. I doubt this group is around in any substantial way anymore.
LinkedIn didn't have any John Malay's that were based in NJ. There is one from Pittsburgh which is relatively close but the page doesn't mention anything about being a programmer or having any major computer experience. I never got around to checking obituaries though I didn't want to explore that possibility yet.
As for the Summit Mac Users Group. I can't find any information about this other than the one reference above. I looked up the phone number on PeoplesFinder and it just says it's a landline in New Jersey. You have to pay PeoplesFinder for more information to get the phone numbers owner and address. Plus, with the game in my hands there's little reason to dig further down that hole. I think it's safe to say the group doesn't exist and that the phone number belongs to some random person now.
The original article included the actual places address with the intention that I should either call Malay directly or even mail him. Of course that’s now null and baring doxxing rules I won't repeat that information. I couldn't find anything at that address either. Dude does not live there anymore.
That was the conclusion of my research. Never did find John Malay, but I did find his game.
The game was distributed as a HyperCard. HyperCard is really just a fancier way of saying application. Like an EXE file or crap you keep in /usr/bin. It was distributed via floppy disks. To get the game back then you would have to contact John Malay, work out payment and he'd send you a copy of the game.
For emulation your best option is to either play the game directly on Archive.org or use SheepShaver, an emulator specializing old Macintosh systems. I think it's also possible to use Basilisk II but I have not tried it. Don't see why it wouldn't work.
If it's not obvious I am not a 'Mac-gamer' nor am I an expert in Apple systems in general.
I suppose I will conclude this with how it was found.
In 2017 the HyperCard project launched. It was a website that allowed users to upload their old HyperCards where it would then be preserved and posted to the Internet Archive. This steadily occurred with anonymous users uploading their old floppies until all uploading stopped at some point. The admin of the project announced that some issue had occurred with the uploading and was now fixed. On January 29, 2022, he dumped the posted cards and tons of HyperCard programs were released, at which point Death Mall 3000 was finally recovered and posted to Archive.org.
Booting up the game I've learned some new information. Game was released in 1988 and John Malay's company was referred as a Clockwork Universe. From what I understand that was the name of his website back then. I cannot find any information about Clockwork Universe unfortunately. This company was never mentioned in any of the references I found.
I am genuinely excited this has been found and is playable. I will either do a full playthrough and put it on YouTube or even just do a video essay on it. I really feel this game is a lost gem. It has the potential to be one of the most 'vaporwave' games ever made.
This article concludes the first phase of my Searchlight project. At this point I intend to make videos going over the 10 games I've covered. I have plenty more games to look for but I would like to first expand the searches for these 10.
