Global Gladiators
Encyclopedia
Global Gladiators is a 1992 platform
game by Virgin Interactive
, originally programmed by David Perry
(who at the time had already moved to the United States
and was located on the recently formed Virgin Games USA
development studio) for the Mega Drive/Genesis and eventually ported by other Virgin Interactive teams in Europe
(with the help of Graftgold
and Krisalis Software
) to the Sega Master System
, Sega Game Gear
and the Commodore Amiga. A Super Nintendo
port was also in development but was never completed for undisclosed reasons, though a prototype exists on the Internet. The game is loosely based on the McDonald's
fast food
chain and has a strong environmentalist
message.
A Game Boy
port of the title was also fully developed (by Damian Stones, of Climax
) but was never released for the same legal reasons as the Super Nintendo port.
In the single-player game, the player controls Mick or Mack through four worlds; Slime World, Mystical Forest, Toxi-town and Arctic World. Each world has several sub-stages where the character must collect a certain number of Golden Arches
to advance.
They are guided in their quest by Ronald McDonald
, who appears at the beginning and the end of the game. The characters are armed with a Super Soaker
-type gun that shoots gooey projectiles.
The game engine is the same used in other Virgin Interactive games such as Cool Spot
and Disney's Aladdin
, as all of them (Mega Drive/Genesis versions) were handled by David Perry's programming team, which eventually turned into Shiny Entertainment
.
The music is composed by Tommy Tallarico
.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
game by Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
, originally programmed by David Perry
David Perry
David Perry is an Northern Irish video game developer who has created dozens of video games, the best known of which include Earthworm Jim, MDK, Messiah, Wild 9 and Enter the Matrix. He also founded Shiny Entertainment, where he worked from 1993 to 2006...
(who at the time had already moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was located on the recently formed Virgin Games USA
Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
development studio) for the Mega Drive/Genesis and eventually ported by other Virgin Interactive teams in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(with the help of Graftgold
Graftgold
Graftgold was an independent computer game developer that came to prominence in the 1980s, producing numerous computer games on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms.-The Hewson era:...
and Krisalis Software
Krisalis Software
Krisalis Software Ltd. was a video game developer and publisher founded by Tony Kavanagh, Peter Harrap, and Shaun Hollingworth in 1987 under the name Teque Software...
) to the Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
, Sega Game Gear
Sega Game Gear
The was Sega's first handheld game console. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....
and the Commodore Amiga. A Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
port was also in development but was never completed for undisclosed reasons, though a prototype exists on the Internet. The game is loosely based on the McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
chain and has a strong environmentalist
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
message.
A Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
port of the title was also fully developed (by Damian Stones, of Climax
Climax
- Common general uses :* Climax * Climax * Climax community* Climax vegetation in an ecosystem* Sexual climax, another term for orgasm- Brand names and titles :* The Climax, a 1944 film...
) but was never released for the same legal reasons as the Super Nintendo port.
In the single-player game, the player controls Mick or Mack through four worlds; Slime World, Mystical Forest, Toxi-town and Arctic World. Each world has several sub-stages where the character must collect a certain number of Golden Arches
Golden Arches
The Golden Arches are the symbol of McDonald's, the global fast-food hamburger chain. Originally, real arches were part of the restaurant design...
to advance.
They are guided in their quest by Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. In television commercials, the clown inhabits a fantasy world called McDonaldland, and has adventures with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, and...
, who appears at the beginning and the end of the game. The characters are armed with a Super Soaker
Super Soaker
Super Soaker is a brand of recreational water gun, first sold in 1990 by Larami and now produced by Hasbro under the Nerf brand. Invented by Lonnie Johnson on November 13, 1989, the first Super Soaker, the Super Soaker 50, was originally called the Power Drencher...
-type gun that shoots gooey projectiles.
The game engine is the same used in other Virgin Interactive games such as Cool Spot
Cool Spot
Cool Spot was a mascot for 7 Up beginning in the late 80s. During this time, the red spot in the 7 Up logo was anthropomorphized: given arms, legs, a mouth, and sunglasses....
and Disney's Aladdin
Disney's Aladdin (video game)
Disney's Aladdin is a series of video games based on the 1992 motion picture of the same name. Unlike most cross-platform games, the five versions are each significantly different games rather than all being ports of a single source.-Mega Drive/Genesis version:The game from Virgin based on the 1992...
, as all of them (Mega Drive/Genesis versions) were handled by David Perry's programming team, which eventually turned into Shiny Entertainment
Shiny Entertainment
Shiny Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Laguna Beach, Southern California, and the creator of several popular titles such as Earthworm Jim, MDK, Sacrifice and The Matrix: Path of Neo. Shiny was founded by David Perry in October 1993...
.
The music is composed by Tommy Tallarico
Tommy Tallarico
Tommy Tallarico is an American video game music composer and musician. He is best known as the co-creator of the concert series Video Games Live...
.
See also
- tUME The Universal Map EditorTUMEtUME is a tile based map editor originally created and designed by Greg Marquez and Gregg Tavares for the Commodore Amiga and later ported to MS-DOS by Dan Chang...
, One of the tools used in the creation of Global Gladiators.