Pararena
Encyclopedia
Pararena is an action computer game for the Apple Macintosh computer originally written in 1990 by John Calhoun
and released as shareware. It is a mouse-controlled ball game where two players compete on hoverboard
s in a parabolic
arena with two "goals" on the sides. The objective is to gain scores by getting the ball into the other player's goal and, on the other hand, to protect one's own goal. The ball can be held for a while by squatting on it (holding the mouse button down) and then thrown to the current direction. If a player is tossed out of the arena still holding the ball, the opponent will get a score and the player will respawn in a few seconds.
The game is situated in space
and the two competing teams are called "Earth
" and "Taygete
".
In 1992, in association with Casady & Greene
, Calhoun wrote version 2.0 of Pararena which had 16 color graphics and was then a commercial product.
John Calhoun (software developer)
John Calhoun is an Apple Macintosh software developer. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he developed a series of shareware games for the Macintosh and Windows, under the name Soft Dorothy Software...
and released as shareware. It is a mouse-controlled ball game where two players compete on hoverboard
Hoverboard
A Hoverboard is a fictional hovering board used for personal transportation in the films Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III. Hoverboards resemble a skateboard without wheels. Through special effects the filmmakers depicted the boards hovering above the ground...
s in a parabolic
Parabola
In mathematics, the parabola is a conic section, the intersection of a right circular conical surface and a plane parallel to a generating straight line of that surface...
arena with two "goals" on the sides. The objective is to gain scores by getting the ball into the other player's goal and, on the other hand, to protect one's own goal. The ball can be held for a while by squatting on it (holding the mouse button down) and then thrown to the current direction. If a player is tossed out of the arena still holding the ball, the opponent will get a score and the player will respawn in a few seconds.
The game is situated in space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
and the two competing teams are called "Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
" and "Taygete
Taygete (moon)
Taygete , also known as ', is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S...
".
In 1992, in association with Casady & Greene
Casady & Greene
Casady & Greene, founded in 1984 by Robin Casady, was a software publisher of shareware products, primarily for the Macintosh. C&G published fonts in the earlier days of desktop publishing; founder Casady partnered with Michael Greene, founder of Greene Inc who developed QuickDex. An expansion into...
, Calhoun wrote version 2.0 of Pararena which had 16 color graphics and was then a commercial product.
External links
- [ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/mac/games/pararena121.sit Pararena 1.2.1] as a StuffItStuffItStuffIt is a family of computer software utilities for archiving and compressing files on the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows platforms: it was originally produced for the Macintosh. An old version for Linux and Sun Solaris 2.7 or later is also available...
archive in FUNETFUNETFUNET is the Finnish University and Research Network, a backbone network providing Internet connections for Finnish universities and polytechnics as well as other research facilities. It is governed by the state-owned CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd. The FUNET project started in December 1983 and...
's FTP archive of old Macintosh games - Pararena 2 Review by Matthew Wilber
- The Vintage Mac Museum: Pararena Slideshows
- Pararena download at the Macintosh Garden