On Wednesday, Java programming hut PopCap Games released another two games for Mac OS X: Mummy Maze Deluxe and Seven Seas Deluxe.

Created by PopCap game designers Jason Kapalka and Richard Cresswell, the games, originally coded in Java as Web-based puzzles, have been ported to Mac OS X by the Omni Group.

The games are updated re-makes of popular "classic" games. Based on the old puzzle game "Theseus And The Minotaur", Mummy Maze Deluxe features a hapless archeologist trying to escape from a cursed Egyptian pyramid:

The goal of Mummy Maze is to make your way through the treacherous chambers of an Egyptian pyramid to claim the treasure waiting at the top. The only problem? The pyramid is riddled with traps, infested with deadly scorpions, and haunted by relentless mummies. It'll take all your skill and nerve to outwit the challenges of the Mummy Maze!

You control the White Galleon, and your goal is to eliminate all the Pirate Ships on each level. You can destroy them with your Cannons, or lure them into collisions with island reefs and each other. But beware! There are smarter pirates lurking out there, along with even more dreadful things.

Stay tuned to IMG for further news of PopCap games releases for the Mac.

**Please note: As of this writing, the PopCap Games Mac web page required some bug-fixing. Players wanting to download either games from the PopCap web site will have to control-click on the games' links and chose "Download Link To Disk" from the contextual menu.

PopCap Games

Omni Group

When you say Westlake Interactive, you think Glenda Adams. However behind her stands a pride of talented and enthusiastic Mac programmers working hard to bring us the games we love to play. Brad Oliver is one of those talented programmers. Brad has contributed greatly to the Mac gaming scene through his MacMAME work and his work at Westlake.

IMG recently spoke with Brad Oliver about his work at Westlake, and the recent completion of his port of Jedi Knight II to the Mac.

Here's a clip from the interview:

IMG: The Jedi Knight 2 demo is a lot of fun. What was your involvement on JK2? What about Clone Campaigns?

BO: I did the Mac conversion of JK2 for Westlake and Aspyr. I didn't do much of anything with the Clone Campaigns expansion - that was Duane Johnson. I did do the conversion for Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, which largely built on the work I did with Mark Krenek for Age of Empires 2 since they use the same engine.

IMG: Did you get tired of the whole Star Wars thing after taking part in two Star Wars ports?

BO: Surprisingly no. Usually when I get close to completion on a port, I'm pretty tired of the game, whatever it is. Age2 is a game I still like to play, as are Centipede, SWGB and JK2. Maybe I've become better at not burning myself out, I don't know.

IMG Interview: Westlake's Brad Oliver

Westlake Interactive

Midget Wars, a mod for Quake III, has been updated to version 1.1. Midget Wars is a mod where players take control of tiny aliens as they battle over the most valuable resource of earth, marbles. The characters and weapons in the mod feature cell-shaded artwork, and it includes a new team-based gameplay mode centered around acquiring marbles. This new gameplay type, called Marble Collection, is very similar to the bombing run mode of Unreal Tournament 2003.

Here's a list of fixes in the patch:

This is a small update (314kb) that updates Midget War's source up to the 1.32 source. There are some other minor tweaks, as follows:

Fixes:
- Clients no longer kicked when someone is killed.
- Picking up the marble no longer removes all of your weapons

Updates
- The Energy Shield is now NOT an auto-pickup
- The 'Start Server' screen has been redesigned and now contains a max player limit and a
collection limit for Marble Collection games.

Midget Wars Download Page

Midget Wars Website

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