Isle of the Dead

Originally planned to be a hack-and-slash game, Isle of the Dead was made to have the feel of horror pulp comics. A minicomic was included with the game on release. Reception to the game was negative, both on release and in retrospectives, with criticism given to its graphics, in-game map, and structure. Publications, such as Computer Gaming World, have called it one of the worst video games of all time.

• Title — Isle of the Dead • Developer — Rainmaker Software • Publisher — Merit Software • Designer — A. Sean Glaspell W. Scott Simmons • Programmer — Bruce J. Mack Bryan Kelsch • Artist — Myk Friedman • Composer — Scott Loehr • Released — 1993 • Genre — First-person shooter, point-and-click adventure • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — MS-DOS

• Illustration — Gameplay of Isle of the Dead, with the main character holding a machete Isle of the Dead is a first-person shooter and point-and-click adventure game. The plot follows the player character, Jake Dunbar, who is the only survivor of a plane crash on a tropical island filled with zombies that are being controlled by a mad scientist. The goal of the game is to escape the island and save the damsel in distress. After retrieving items from the wreckage, Dunbar explores the beach and moves further inland by hacking at the undergrowth with a machete. Dunbar can also interact with non-player characters and acquire guns, although ammunition is scarce and limited. Items can be stored and accessed in an inventory screen. The game switches from 3D to 2D when obtaining items, using an adventure game interface as well as commands such as "Look", "Get", and "Use". Instant-death traps also appear in the game; in one of these, a gun blows up in Dunbar's face if it is not lubricated. Quitting the game causes Dunbar to commit suicide by gunshot.

Isle of the Dead was developed by Rainmaker Software and published by Dallas, Texas-based company Merit Software. The game's concept and design was created by A. Sean Glaspell; it was programmed by Bruce J. Mack and Bryan Kelsch and featured art by Myk Friedman. While the intention was to create a hack-and-slash game, programmer Bryan Kelsch disliked how the game gave the player tasks without reason. Because of this, the programming teams added a script with narrative hooks, attempting to turn the game into a "good hack and slash game, but with a strong plot". Kelsch said the game was intended to have the feel of horror pulp comics, so a minicomic was included with the game. Isle of the Dead was later shown at the 1993 Consumer Electronics Show. The game was released 1993; a port for the Atari Jaguar CD was in development but never released.