Berserker Works Limited (BWL)
(note: if anyone has played any of these games, or has any
further info not listed here, please contact
me)
(this is a screen shot from Wings Out of Shadow)
Overview & List of Games (from Fred's
website)
Fifth Historian's Account
The New Media Reader
The Story of Berserker Works by Alex Ross (for the Games That
Weren't website)
Gallery!
Overview & List of Games
(from Fred's website)
From 1982 to 1989 Fred and Joan Saberhagen designed, implemented,
and distributed computer games. Our goal was to bring interactive
fiction to the computer. Fred's characters and stories were are
basic material. When we were forced to close our doors, three
very interesting projects were still in the works, unfortunately
never to be completed: an implementation of Fred's SWORDS books;
an adaptation of Stephen R. Donaldson's short story ANIMAL LOVER;
and a adaption of AFTERMATH/NUKE RAT based on a Gordon Dickson
short story.
Initial backing for the enterprise came from Baen Books. The
games were designed for home computers popular at the time, i.e.
Apple II series 48k, Macintosh 512k, Commodore 64, Atari 400/800,
IBM-PC, IBM-PC jr.
Berserker Works' main programming team consisted of Scott Walker,
Dennis and Mary Martinez, Lloyd Johnson, Tim Villanueva, and
Eddie Johnson. One sequence in WINGS OUT OF SHADOW was implemented
by Eddie Goldberger.
The games are now collectors items. Or so we can hope.
So, for all you history of computers buffs, here's a list of
all seven products designed and/or distributed by BERSERKER WORKS
LTD.
- WINGS OUT OF SHADOW.
Based on a short story by Fred Saberhagen. Featuring strategy,
tactics, adventure and arcade action.
- BERSERKER RAIDS. Fred Saberhagen
and Lloyd Johnson. The struggle for control of a ten-star cluster
between the remorseless Berserkers and two human forces.
- SIGN
OF THE WOLF. An illustrated Berserker story. A non-interactive
art gallery disc that combines a story with 32 breath-taking
illustrations. Flip through pages, set a bookmark, or view
your favorite scenes on demand. Certainly, one of the first
attempts at electronic fiction.
- PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Designed
by Jon Walter Williams. A Regency Romance of the Jane Austen
era. Attend balls, hunts, and house parties. Spread gossip!
Win the affections of a wealthy bachelor!! One to six players.
- WIZARD WAR. Designed by Lloyd
Johnson. Included a specially written story by Fred Saberhagen.
Strategy, battles, and magic.
- STAR BALL. Designed and implemented
by Dale Koehler. A 3-D racquetball action game. Only production
and distribution provided by Berserker Works.
- ELECTRIC DRAGON. Programmed
by Stephen Walton. An interactive Version of the I CHING is
the authorized electronic implementation of THE I CHING or
BOOK OF CHANGES. Only production and distribution provided
by Berserker Works.
For more words from Fred on BWL, read the outstanding
interview by Ken Rand.
Fifth Historian's Account
Back in the days when a computer game could be made without
a team of hundreds and for prices not exceeding a million dollars,
Fred and Joan Saberhagen had their own computer game company:
Berserker Works Ltd. (see below for a description from Fred's
site and a list of games) Several of the games they made, with
the help of artists and programmers, were based on the Berserker
series. Fred and Joan told me that they had fun working withthe
bright programmers they had on their team. They said they used
to think of an idea for something to put in a game, and the programmers
would say it was impossible to implement, but Fred & Joan
could see mental wheels start to turn, and sure enough, the programmers
would come back the next day with something like, "Okay,
MAYBE we could do it if..."
Those were pioneering days of computer gaming. I've personally
played the three Berserker-themed games (well one of them's not
really a game), and even with the comparatively limited technology
of that time, they brought the Berserker fiction to life. The Wings
Out of Shadow game in particular fused literature and interactive,
multi-genre gameplay in a way not found at all in mainstream
computer games today. It was even non-linear.
Sign
of the Wolf is available in its entirety on Fred's site,
so don't miss it! This was an early (then experimental) example
of an electronic storybook. Though it wasn't interactive, it
was innovative in its use of traditional literature in a new
media.
The
New Media Reader
Although most computer games today have not continued in the
veins of some of the BWL games, an interest in interactive fiction has persisted.
And thanks to this the Wings Out of Shadow game is now once again
available for purchase and play, in an emulated format along
with other historic software on a companion CD to the book, The
New Media Reader.
The New Media Reader is edited by Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Nick
Montfort and available from the MIT
Press (as well as Amazon).
The following is a description from the official New
Media Reader website:
The new media field has been developing for more than 50 years.
This reader collects the texts, videos, and computer programs—many
of them now almost impossible to find—that chronicle
the history and form the foundation of this still-emerging
field. General introductions by Janet H. Murray (author of
Hamlet on the Holodeck) and Lev Manovich (author of The Language
of New Media), along with short introductions to each of the
selections, place the works in their historical context and
explain their significance.
Your very own 5th Historian worked long and hard along with Joan
Saberhagen, editor Nick Montfort,
and Apple II guru Tony Diaz to
bring Wings Out of Shadow back from the digital dust, and we
succeeded! You can now once again own and play this historic
and FUN computer game, which immerses you in the Berserker
story of the same name! Not to mention the fascinating rest
of the collection/book.
The Story of Berserker
Works
Alex Ross has done a brilliant and detailed article for
the Games That
Weren't website, entitled: The
Story of ‘Berserker Works.’
BWL Gallery
(click thumbnail for larger image)
Packaging for Berserker Raids
Packaging for Wings Out of Shadow
Packaging for Wizard War
Packaging for Sign of the Wolf
A flyer for BWL games!
Screenshot from Wings Out of Shadow, Title Screen
Screenshot from Wings Out of Shadow, Fighting the dragon at
the pulpit
Screenshot from Berserker Raids, Intro Screen (Commodore 64
version)
Screenshot from Berserker Raids, Title Screen (Commodore 64
version)
I saw the rest of the game before and recall it being much less graphic intensive
than Wings, but I've had trouble getting screenshots of the main game.
Don't miss SIGN
OF THE WOLF. The whole illustrated story can be found on
Fred's website.
Berserker Boardgame by Flying
Buffalo Inc. (FBI)
Game description from FBI's website and back of box:
Man against machine in a race for survival! This board game for two players
is a tactical space conflict game based on the novels & stories by
renowned SF and fantasy author Fred Saberhagen. The fearsome robotic dreadnoughts
from deep space race toward Earth in their attempt to destroy the birthplace
of mankind. Fighting against extinction is a hastily gathered force of
much smaller human ships. Cruisers and C-plus guns batter the Berserkers
from afar, while Earth's only hope - the ram ships - swarm like killer
bees. Inside the ram ships huddle the marines who must board the Berserker
and destroy it from within ...
Berserker is an easy and thrilling game of the human struggle
for survival against the Berserkers. Optional rules cover Earth
Shadow, Veterans, Prisoners, and a lengthy campaign game.
Game credits:
Designed by Fred Saberhagen and Richard
Loomis
Developed by Ugly John Carver and Michael
A. Stackpole
Produced by Flying Buffalo Inc. (product
#6101)
More info
It appears that this game is still available for $6.95 from Flying Buffalo
via their website. It can also
frequently be found on eBay.
This game apparently debuted in 1982, with some corrections
and additions to the rules dated 1991.
I have not played this game personally, but it does look like
it would be a fun entry-level strategy/tactical game. The basic
rules are straighforward but there appear to be enough options
to allow versatile gameplay. If anyone would like to contribute
a review or any memories about the game, please email
me.
The game has an entry at Board Game Geek here.
There's a small amount of additional info there. One member there
comments that: "This game was lampooned in a Murphy's
Rules cartoon something like this: 'This game represents
a battle between a killing machine the size of Earth's moon,
and about a dozen of Earth astronauts (the two sides are roughly
equal in firepower).'"
Well, there were a few more than a dozen. And let's not forget about Johann
Karlsen.. =)
Board Game Gallery
(click thumbnail for larger image)
Note: all of this artwork is copyright Flying Buffalo Inc.(FBI) and is reproduced
here with express permission of FBI President, Rick Loomis.
Box Cover
Art by Michael Carroll
Berserker Dreadnought Counters
Art by Denis Loubet
A bit of the strategic display/map
Various Counters, unpunched (Note: these counters are all the
same size in real life; the images just ended up being at different
resolutions)
    
Starweb by Flying
Buffalo Inc. (FBI)
This is a popular play-by-mail game which features the Berserkers
as one of the characters which players can choose. Each player
mails in his/her orders for one turn of gameplay, then receives
the results of everyone's actions and has two weeks (or one month
in the slow version) to make his/her next move.
Game description from FBI website and Starweb rulebook:
Starweb is a game of 15 stellar empires clashing over 255 worlds. Everyone
starts out equally, each with one homeworld. The object of the game is
to be the first to get approximately 10,000 victory points. When you sign
up for a game, you get to pick one of 6 different "character types",
each of which gets victory points for different things.
Octagon
Fred Saberhagen wrote a novel, Octagon, about players in a Starweb
game getting more than they bargained for. Some start turning
up dead, and one mysterious player may be behind it all.
This one sounds like great fun, but I've yet to get my hands
on it so can give no review. More info can be found on Fred's
site here.
Gallery
(click thumbnail for larger image)
Note: all of this artwork is copyright Flying Buffalo Inc.(FBI) and is reproduced
here with express permission of FBI Pesident, Rick Loomis.
Rulebook Cover
Art by Michael Carroll
Berserker Illustration
Art by Elizabeth Danforth
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