Columns for HP-UX (found HP-UX port of Match-3 puzzle game; 1989): Difference between revisions

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==Information==
==Information==
Columns is a match-three puzzle video game first developed in 1989 by Jay Geertsen. The first version was made for the HP-UX, and later ported to Atari ST, Macintosh, Windows 3.x and DOS. In 1990, Sega bought the rights and created a series of games that ported to several consoles. Columns was the answer for a puzzle game exclusive to Sega after they lost the rights to publish Tetris. <ref name=":0">https://segaretro.org/Columns#Development</ref>
Columns is a match-three puzzle video game first developed in 1989 by Jay Geertsen. The first version was made for the HP-UX and later ported to Atari ST, Macintosh, Windows 3.x and DOS. In 1990, Sega bought the rights and created a series of games that ported to several consoles. Columns was the answer for a puzzle game exclusive to Sega after they lost the rights to publish Tetris. <ref name=":0">https://segaretro.org/Columns#Development</ref>


The HP-UX version of Columns, under version 9.x, is a port from a closed-source operating system (you have to pay for a license). Due to the lack of publicity, this game was not well known and cited a few times.<ref name=":0" /> <ref>https://www.pressreader.com/uk/retro-gamer/20190711/281599537055264</ref> <ref>https://moegamer.net/all-games/columns/</ref><ref>https://www.giantbomb.com/columns/3030-5487/</ref>
The HP-UX version of Columns, under version 9.x, is a port from a closed-source operating system (you have to pay for a license). Due to the lack of publicity, this game was not well known and cited a few times.<ref name=":0" /> <ref>https://www.pressreader.com/uk/retro-gamer/20190711/281599537055264</ref> <ref>https://moegamer.net/all-games/columns/</ref><ref>https://www.giantbomb.com/columns/3030-5487/</ref>


== Background ==
==Background==
 
The game itself is pre-installed in HP-UX (HP Unix) version 9.x, released in 1990. It was made available for HP 9000 Series of Workstations, computers designed for technical applications. A book cited this game on pages 405 & 406 of 452 in a book titled "Using the X Window System", released in August of 1992. It is a book system administrator running the X Window System, X11. The book itself does not mention how to the desktop environment, Visual User Environment (VUE). <ref>https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_hp9000hpuxheXWindowSystemAug92_17150035</ref>
The game itself is pre-installed in HP-UX (HP Unix) version 9.x, released in 1990. It was made available for HP 9000 Series of Workstations, computers designed for technical applications. A book cited this game in page 405 & 406 of 452 in a book titled "Using the X Window System", released in August of 1992. It is a book system administrators running the X Window System, X11. The book itself does not mention how to the desktop environment, Visual User Environment (VUE). <ref>https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_hp9000hpuxheXWindowSystemAug92_17150035</ref>


==Availability==
==Availability==
 
The game's port was being researched as early as 2020 by a Twitter/X Username @trevgauntletneu. They could not get to it due to the lack of the Operating System's availability and their experience with Linux and Unix. On May 1st, 2024, @trevgauntletneu found an emulated version of HP-UX version 9.1 running on MAME. <ref>https://archive.org/details/HPUX9MAME</ref>They managed to get HP-UX running on MAME version 0.256 after 8 hours of installation. On May 2nd past midnight, they made an announcement of their success and posted a screenshot and a video of the game in action. On May 3rd, 2024, they uploaded their HP-UX build for Linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Windows 10 versions on archive.org. Making this the first time the public will play the game, 35 years after it was first published. <ref>https://archive.org/details/hp-9k-370-ubuntu</ref><ref>https://archive.org/details/hp-9k-370-windows</ref><ref>https://archive.org/editxml/qemu-hp-ux-windows</ref>The MacOS Silicon build was made on May 18, 2024. <ref>https://archive.org/details/qemu-silicon</ref>  
The game's port was being researched as early as 2020 by a Twitter/X Username @trevgauntletneu. They could not get to it due to the lack of the Operating System's availability and their experience with Linux and Unix. In May 1st, 2024, @trevgauntletneu found an emulated version of HP-UX version 9.1 running on MAME. <ref>https://archive.org/details/HPUX9MAME</ref>They managed to get HP-UX running on MAME version 0.256 after 8 hours of installation. On May 2nd past midnight, they made an announcement of their success and posted a screenshot and a video of the game in action. On May 3rd, 2024, they uploaded their HP-UX build for Linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Windows 10 versions on archive.org. Making this the first time the public will play the game, 35 years after it was first published. <ref>https://archive.org/details/hp-9k-370-ubuntu</ref><ref>https://archive.org/details/hp-9k-370-windows</ref>The MacOS Silicon build has been made in May 18, 2024. <ref>https://archive.org/details/qemu-silicon</ref>  
<references />
<references />


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*Sega Retro: https://segaretro.org/Columns#Development
*Sega Retro: https://segaretro.org/Columns#Development
*Time Extension Article: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/05/the-original-version-of-columns-for-the-hp-ux-has-just-been-found
*Time Extension Article: https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/05/the-original-version-of-columns-for-the-hp-ux-has-just-been-found
* Discovery: https://twitter.com/TrevgauntletNeu/status/1785901663313698838/photo/1
*Discovery: https://twitter.com/TrevgauntletNeu/status/1785901663313698838/photo/1
*Archived Manual: https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_hp9000hpuxheXWindowSystemAug92_17150035
*Archived Manual: https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_hp9000hpuxheXWindowSystemAug92_17150035
*Original Post Announcement: https://twitter.com/TrevgauntletNeu/status/1218198709646872576
*Original Post Announcement: https://twitter.com/TrevgauntletNeu/status/1218198709646872576
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*Windows 10 Build: https://archive.org/details/hp-9k-370-windows
*Windows 10 Build: https://archive.org/details/hp-9k-370-windows
*MacOS Silicon Build: https://archive.org/details/qemu-silicon
*MacOS Silicon Build: https://archive.org/details/qemu-silicon
*Windows 10/11 QEMU Build: https://archive.org/editxml/qemu-hp-ux-windows
==References==
==References==
<references />
<references />

Latest revision as of 19:11, 19 May 2024

ColumnsHPUX1.jpg

The first screenshot of the game, 35 years after its release.

Status: Found

Information

Columns is a match-three puzzle video game first developed in 1989 by Jay Geertsen. The first version was made for the HP-UX and later ported to Atari ST, Macintosh, Windows 3.x and DOS. In 1990, Sega bought the rights and created a series of games that ported to several consoles. Columns was the answer for a puzzle game exclusive to Sega after they lost the rights to publish Tetris. [1]

The HP-UX version of Columns, under version 9.x, is a port from a closed-source operating system (you have to pay for a license). Due to the lack of publicity, this game was not well known and cited a few times.[1] [2] [3][4]

Background

The game itself is pre-installed in HP-UX (HP Unix) version 9.x, released in 1990. It was made available for HP 9000 Series of Workstations, computers designed for technical applications. A book cited this game on pages 405 & 406 of 452 in a book titled "Using the X Window System", released in August of 1992. It is a book system administrator running the X Window System, X11. The book itself does not mention how to the desktop environment, Visual User Environment (VUE). [5]

Availability

The game's port was being researched as early as 2020 by a Twitter/X Username @trevgauntletneu. They could not get to it due to the lack of the Operating System's availability and their experience with Linux and Unix. On May 1st, 2024, @trevgauntletneu found an emulated version of HP-UX version 9.1 running on MAME. [6]They managed to get HP-UX running on MAME version 0.256 after 8 hours of installation. On May 2nd past midnight, they made an announcement of their success and posted a screenshot and a video of the game in action. On May 3rd, 2024, they uploaded their HP-UX build for Linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Windows 10 versions on archive.org. Making this the first time the public will play the game, 35 years after it was first published. [7][8][9]The MacOS Silicon build was made on May 18, 2024. [10]

External Links

References