Columns for HP-UX (found HP-UX port of Match-3 puzzle game; 1989)
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 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).
Availability
The game's port was being researched as early as 2020 by a Twitter/X Username @trevgauntletneu.
External Links
- https://segaretro.org/Columns#Development
- https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/05/the-original-version-of-columns-for-the-hp-ux-has-just-been-found
- https://twitter.com/TrevgauntletNeu/status/1785901663313698838/photo/1
- https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_hp9000hpuxheXWindowSystemAug92_17150035