Difference between revisions of "Microsoft Entertainment Pack (universe)"
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| 1991-??-?? || ''[[Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3]]'' || [[Windows 3]] || ''[[Fuji Golf]]'', [[IdleWild]], ''[[Klotski]]'', ''[[LifeGenesis]]'', ''[[SkiFree]]'', ''[[TetraVex]]'', ''[[TriPeaks]]'', ''[[WordZap]]''. | | 1991-??-?? || ''[[Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3]]'' || [[Windows 3]] || ''[[Fuji Golf]]'', [[IdleWild]], ''[[Klotski]]'', ''[[LifeGenesis]]'', ''[[SkiFree]]'', ''[[TetraVex]]'', ''[[TriPeaks]]'', ''[[WordZap]]''. | ||
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− | | 1992-??-?? || ''[[Microsoft Entertainment Pack 4]]'' || [[Windows 3]] || ''[[Chess (Microsoft)|Chess]]'', ''[[Go Figure!]]'', ''[[Tic | + | | 1992-??-?? || ''[[Microsoft Entertainment Pack 4]]'' || [[Windows 3]] || ''[[Chess (Microsoft)|Chess]]'', ''[[Go Figure!]]'', ''[[Tic Tac Drop]]'', ''[[Maxwell's Maniac]]'', ''[[Dr. Black Jack]]'', ''[[JezzBall]]'', ''[[Chip's Challenge (Microsoft)|Chip's Challenge]]''. |
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| 1994-??-?? || ''[[The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack]]'' || [[Windows 3]] || ''[[Chip's Challenge (Microsoft)|Chip's Challenge]]'', ''[[Dr. Black Jack]]'', ''[[FreeCell (Microsoft)|FreeCell]]'', ''[[Golf (Microsoft)|Golf]]'', ''[[JezzBall]]'', ''[[Pipe Dream]]'', ''[[Rodent's Revenge]]'', ''[[SkiFree]]'', ''[[Taipei]]'', ''[[TetraVex]]'', ''[[Tetris (Windows)|Tetris]]'', ''[[TriPeaks]]'', ''[[Tut's Tomb]]'' | | 1994-??-?? || ''[[The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack]]'' || [[Windows 3]] || ''[[Chip's Challenge (Microsoft)|Chip's Challenge]]'', ''[[Dr. Black Jack]]'', ''[[FreeCell (Microsoft)|FreeCell]]'', ''[[Golf (Microsoft)|Golf]]'', ''[[JezzBall]]'', ''[[Pipe Dream]]'', ''[[Rodent's Revenge]]'', ''[[SkiFree]]'', ''[[Taipei]]'', ''[[TetraVex]]'', ''[[Tetris (Windows)|Tetris]]'', ''[[TriPeaks]]'', ''[[Tut's Tomb]]'' |
Revision as of 12:26, 30 July 2020
The Microsoft Entertainment Pack is a series of compilation causal entertainment software packages initially published by Microsoft for the Windows 3 operating environment. Most of the games are either public domain card, board, or tile games, but there were a couple licensed games and unique games as well.
Microsoft began the project in 1990 as an attempt to make Windows 3 seem more appealing to home users. However, they had a very limited budget and inexperience team. No popular third-party developers signed onto the project, so the team just gathered the pet projects of internal Microsoft developers, which accounts for the general low-quality content of the programs. Some of the packs included a single licensed game.
The developers were paid for their programs, not with money, but with 10 shares of Microsoft stock. Microsoft released four collections over a three-year span, and the company must have either not have saw the sales they expected, or thought their job of attracting home users to the operating environment succeeded because they stopped marketing the brand after only a couple years. They released a "Best Of" compilation in 1994, and tried one last package in 1997, before giving up on it. In 2000-2001, they licensed out some of the games to be ported to the Game Boy Color, but only two packages were made.
Contents
Personal
My family's first home computer was a floor model which came with Microsoft Entertainment Pack For Windows, so I spent a lot of time playing those games. Other friends of mine had other packs, so, in my teen years, I played most of the games. Although none of the games are fantastic, I enjoy several of them. I appreciate the casual approach and wish Microsoft would have published more titles or, at the very least, updated them to better work with later versions of Windows.
Works
Logo
The first pack didn't use a special logo, but packs 2-4 used the logo below which utilizes the typeface Helvetica Ultra Compressed. Each box colored the logo differently, but black was used the most. The logo was italicized for the "Best Of" pack and "The Puzzle Collection." The first Game Boy Color release used the same typeface, but the second uses a unique title.