I recently started a game of Pirates! When I sat down to play today, the pirates were no longer the only ones spicing up their speech with arrs and ahoys. The merchants were doing it. The military were doing it. The nobles were doing it (awkwardly). The barmaids were doing it. Even the user interface was doing it.
I thought at first that it might have always been that way, and just escaped my notice, but that seemed unlikely. Next I thought I might have accidentally enabled a game option for it, but I didn’t remember reconfiguring anything.
Then another possibility came to mind. It seemed like a long shot, but just in case, I looked up today’s date. Sure enough, today is International Talk Like a Pirate day. This 20-year-old game apparently knows it, and switched every bit of its dialogue and writing into pirate speak to honour the occasion.
That’s awesome. Buncha nerds, hehe. I miss when games were made by a handful of friends, sure sometimes it meant they leaned a little too heavily on a mechanic that only played well in their opinion and stuff like that, the upsides were worth it though.
Crunch made sense then when all employees more or less owned the company.
I also like the fact that Sid Meier was never on board with having his name sticked on every product but the publishers pushed him to do so because of people like Peter Molyneux.
I read somewhere it was actually Robin Williams that convinced him it was a good idea. There a ton of c64 shovelware and brand recognition is a powerful tool if you can build something worthwhile
You can still get that by just playing very small indie games. There’s tons of small games out there being made by just a handful or even one person that have these kinds of little fun things scattered throughout them. They are harder to find by their nature but that culture is still very much alive in the indie space.
Running it wasn’t exactly straightforward. My CD-ROM copy was a no-go, but I managed to get the GOG version working in a 32-bit Wine prefix with DXVK. (I’m on linux.) Remaining problems are lack of wide-screen support (so I run it in a full-height window) and pauses between various scenes (which I might be able to solve with an older Wine version). It’s playable already, though; I’m glad I put in a little effort.
Other linux users wanting to try it might want to use Lutris, which seems to have install scripts for it, or a console emulator. Or maybe the Steam version works fine through Proton? I haven’t tried it.
I am on windows, so I’m not quite sure why my steam version of the game just…stopped working one day. And the work around fixed it. Until it didn’t. But now it’s better? Maybe? I haven’t checked in a few months, maybe it’s back to Not Better.
Same. I remember playing the original on an Amstrad in the 90s and it was already mind blowing. I was so happy they remade it, and even happier that they barely changed anything about it.
I played the hell out of this game in the 90’s, and then again when they re-released it. How fun is it to actually have to sneak into town and complete a stealth mission when your pirate’s got a high level of notoriety?
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I just lost The Game :(
It’s been twenty years.
https://xkcd.com/391/
I never forget Talk like a Pirate Day! It’s my daughter’s birthday! 😁
Happy birthday to her then!
May she plunder the shores and claim herself fair wenches across the seven seas!
Yarr, almost slipped me notice that today be 19th o’ September!
I loved this game. There was a pretty good iOS port a few years back but sadly it’s no longer supported.
That’s awesome. Buncha nerds, hehe. I miss when games were made by a handful of friends, sure sometimes it meant they leaned a little too heavily on a mechanic that only played well in their opinion and stuff like that, the upsides were worth it though.
Crunch made sense then when all employees more or less owned the company.
I also like the fact that Sid Meier was never on board with having his name sticked on every product but the publishers pushed him to do so because of people like Peter Molyneux.
To be clear, I think the original Pirates! actually was Sid Meier’s work. I’m not sure about this remake.
Yep, I also think so. My comment was mostly on an old interview he explained about dropping out the Sid Meyer’s part on new titles.
I read somewhere it was actually Robin Williams that convinced him it was a good idea. There a ton of c64 shovelware and brand recognition is a powerful tool if you can build something worthwhile
You can still get that by just playing very small indie games. There’s tons of small games out there being made by just a handful or even one person that have these kinds of little fun things scattered throughout them. They are harder to find by their nature but that culture is still very much alive in the indie space.
I could have sailed and sailed and sailed. Lived it. Loved it.
Never knew about the Easter egg. Nice find!
Ooh I’d give that fair maiden a good dance sequence.
Goodness I loved that game. Then it wouldn’t run for awhile. Then it worked again. Maybe.
I’d love a new one but I’m not hoping anymore.
Running it wasn’t exactly straightforward. My CD-ROM copy was a no-go, but I managed to get the GOG version working in a 32-bit Wine prefix with DXVK. (I’m on linux.) Remaining problems are lack of wide-screen support (so I run it in a full-height window) and pauses between various scenes (which I might be able to solve with an older Wine version). It’s playable already, though; I’m glad I put in a little effort.
Other linux users wanting to try it might want to use Lutris, which seems to have install scripts for it, or a console emulator. Or maybe the Steam version works fine through Proton? I haven’t tried it.
I am on windows, so I’m not quite sure why my steam version of the game just…stopped working one day. And the work around fixed it. Until it didn’t. But now it’s better? Maybe? I haven’t checked in a few months, maybe it’s back to Not Better.
Ahhhh computers.
At the very least, my steam copy on windows 10 worked just fine a week ago on my yearly playthrough.
Same. I remember playing the original on an Amstrad in the 90s and it was already mind blowing. I was so happy they remade it, and even happier that they barely changed anything about it.
That’s so cool.
I played the hell out of this game in the 90’s, and then again when they re-released it. How fun is it to actually have to sneak into town and complete a stealth mission when your pirate’s got a high level of notoriety?
Good find OP. This just might be my favorite gaming moment of this month.
Especially with 7 in the air!
Amazing game. Perfectly executed. This is an excellent detail and a testament to the care that went into this game.