(links to even older news can be found
at the bottom of this page.)
December 8, 2003
Silly me for not updating the news section
sooner! Greystone has in fact started shipping on December 1! Research for Port of Call is already
underway. Check out the Coming Attractions section for some background on the game. Really cool pictures are coming
soon.
November 26, 2003
Greystone is officially postponed three days
to December 1, 2003. Howard hated to do this but the three day delay is
necessary to make certain the very best game possible is delivered to all
customers.Production of our new instructional video is
complete! All folio editions of all our games will come with this new QuickTime
Movie effective immediately! This new video is a tremendous resource to the many
new fans of Interactive Fiction. Howard has personally produced this video
based on his many interactions with newcomers to Interactive Fiction. It's
guaranteed to get even the newest adventurer up and running in no time.
All customers - past, present and future, are entitled to this video. If
you already purchased a game and would like a copy just send Howard an email. While Howard had the camera unpacked
and charged up he also shot a brand new promotional video! It launches today. Click here to view it now!
Happy Thanksgiving to
all of our USA guests!November 13, 2003
We're happy to announce
some exciting new initiatives directed at newcomers to Interactive Fiction!
Our research has shown
that some new players need a more comprehensive introduction to the world of
Interactive Fiction. Specifically, new players are very interested in BOFH
and the First Light and Greystone demos but encounter challenges in
getting started. Here's what we're doing to make our games more enjoyable
for everyone:
 |
The new Greystone CD
as well as all new First Light CDs will come with an instructional video on how
to play Interactive Fiction! Howard has personally directed this
project and will guide new players through the entire process from installation
to loading the games to actually playing them. This new video will be a
powerful resource for Interactive Fiction novices and experts alike.
Current customers who'd like a copy of the video need only send Howard an email.
|
 |
Starting January,
2004 Howard will personally conduct online workshops and chat sessions with
players! In real-time chat, novices will learn how to
play Interactive Fiction through demonstrations and hypothetical game scenarios.
Veterans will pick up the use of new commands and a whole new appreciation of
Malinche titles. All Malinche customers will be able to chat with Howard and
pick his brains! These chat sessions will be hosted at least two times per week.
|
These new resources are in
addition to our toll-free technical support and Howard's personal emails to
players needing game hints and advice.
In other news...
Greystone Beta 3 is in the hands of both beta
test teams. Read more in Coming Attractions.
Malinche's next work of Interactive Fiction
is tentatively titled "Port of Call". It's a naval adventure of global
proportions set aboard the legendary Iowa-class Battleship USS New Jersey.
November 5, 2003
Greystone Goes Beta!
The development cycle of Greystone is drawing
to a close. We are on schedule for our November 28th launch. Pre-Order now and you should have Greystone in
your hot little hands right on November 28th.
November 1, 2003
Release 2 of The Greystone Demo Launched
<sigh> I really rushed it. Nothing
major but a few minor bugs and even a spelling mistake or two snuck in to
Release 1. If you do not have Release 2 please drop me a note and I'll send the new version. It really would be worth
your while if you only have Release 1.
October 31, 2003
The Greystone Demo Launched.
October 24, 2003
Local coverage of Greystone heats up! Check out this article that ran today in Bergen County's The Daily Record.
Reminder: The Greystone Demo launches in Seven days.
October 14, 2003
Greystone is now in Alpha Test!
This nifty press
release has just launched.
October 8, 2003
As reported on the previews page, Greystone will be released on November 28th.
The Greystone demo will be released on
Halloween; October 31st.
As promised, here are some really nice
pictures from our visit to Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas back in August. Have
fun as we go retro! :)

Right before the opening...
.....naturally Howard is ready!

Action! As only found in Las Vegas!
Pretty intense, eh?

The original video game
The vaunted CGE Museum.
programmers speak I listen!
I saw quite a bit of Atari hardware
I've never seen before.
<deep shiver>

Fellow aficionados join me...
I was never a big Intellivision fan...
... but .I couldn't ignore this display.

The collection was so dense...
...My favorite computer the Atari
line was well represented!
Wakka, wakka wakka...
Show Highlights
(not in any particular order):
Buying some new Atari games (shrink
wrapped!), meeting Andrew Thornton (an amateur Interactive Fiction author of
Olympic standard) and my neighbor's table -- she had totally big boobs! Mama mia!
Trip highlights: Comped room at the Las Vegas
Hilton, all meals at the Paris hotel comped (the buffet is over the top) and
$400 in blackjack winnings before and after the CGE show. Nice game sales
of First Light! A visit to Admiral Venture Corp's Corporate Headquarters.
Nice all around. :)
Howard loves Vegas! Always have, always will!
September 25, 2003
As more and more testimonials pour in from
customers very happy with Malinche games and customer service it made a lot of
sense to move all these great comments to their own page which can be found here. It's very
gratifying to see so much fruit resulting from our continuing efforts to bring
about a renaissance in text adventure games!
Greystone might be late. I can rush it to
meet the deadline but I just don't work like that. So much has been done but
yet more remains to be implemented. It's nearly October and while the game is
roughly 75% complete it's not ready for beta at this point. I was so looking
forward to a Halloween ship date. At the least Greystone will be in Beta by
then. I am actively recruiting beta testers as of now. If you'd like the
distinction of being on the Greystone beta test team please email me for details!
September 23, 2003
Lacegem, Ltd. has
become the exclusive distributor of First Light in Europe! Based in the United
Kingdom, Lacegem has been faithfully selling the Infocom classics for years. We
are proud to announce First Light's place among the legendary Infocom classics.
We encourage all European clients to purchase
their copy of First Light through Lacegem.
Pictures from the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas last
month are coming soon!
August 1, 2003
Interactive Fiction returns to the media! Laptop Magazine's September, 2003 issue will cover PDA games in all of its forms including <drum
roll please> Interactive Fiction and Malinche!
June 29, 2003
Viva Las Vegas!
Look for Malinche at the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas August 9th and 10th!
This is the largest event of its kind in the world. If you
love classic games make plans to attend. Lots of great people to meet,
fantastic guests, and excellent gaming all weekend long. And for something
extra special...
Greystone will be unveiled
at the show!
Be among the first to get a preview of Greystone!
Speaking of shows... here are some pictures from the
Midwest Classic:
Lights, camera...action!
Plenty of great pinball!

Collectors scout the area
The Computer Museum was impressive; a very complete
collection.

. New friends I made there! They flew in from Tokyo! Very
serious Atari fans!
Also, Mac OS X users will be pleased with the addition of Zoom
to our free downloads page.
This is a GUI interpreter that doesn't involve using Terminal. I've worked with
it on my iMac and it's really quite nice,.
June 19,2003
Justadventure.Com Rates First Light
with a Solid A!
Well, now it's official. First Light is a hit! Reviewer
Ricardo Pautassi lavished praise on First Light in his review at Justadventure.Com. Here are some
excerpts:
"PFL has
been described as a Zorkian game and it certainly shares many features with the
legendary Infocom game."
"As a matter of
fact, Delphin can be compared, in terms of richness of diversity, to the virtual
city portrayed in A Mind Forever Voyaging, one of Infocom's jewels."
"The game's
vocabulary is extensive and, in most occasions, multiple nouns are available to
call for an object."
"All in all, PFL is
a game that will appeal to both the hard-core IF player as well as the casual
adventurer and constitutes a must-play for those spellbound to fantasy."
"My
final word about Pentari: First Light is a clear, solid A."
Read the full
review here.
Ricardo also did a probing interview with me that can be read here.
If you're done reading you can order your copy of First Light Here!
But Wait There's More...
Malinche Inks Deal with its First
Major Distributor!
Howard has just sealed a deal with CDaccess.com! They will be selling First
Light very shortly with FedEx shipping! Established over ten years ago, they can
be counted on for reliable and professional service with an attention to detail.
Break out your cigars and celebrate this historical event; we have our first
official distributor!
June 15, 2003
We did it! As of today 51,223 copies of Malinche games have
been downloaded from Download.com!
Look for pictures from the Midwest Classic Gaming Show next
week.
Coming soon - Justadventure.com will be publishing their review
of First Light.
Fall Release Announced for Greystone. Click here to read all about
it.
June 1, 2003
Reminder! Malinche is
attending the Midwest Classic Gaming Show on June 7th! Stop by our table and meet Howard, the man behind
First Light, and purchase your autographed copy. There's lots of other cool
things to see and try such as pinball and arcade machines, live music, classic
game trading and selling and much more.
May 30th, 2003
Please note our new toll-free number!
(877)-299-7999
May 22nd, 2003
First Light Release 6 is out today with a few small bug fixes
and refinements.
Distribution of new updates is now done directly by email.
Please email Howard with the Subject "PFL
Update" to be automatically added to the updates mailing list!
On the Road Again! Look for us at the Midwest Classic Gaming Show
on June 7th!
We are rapidly approaching the 50,000 downloads milestone
of our games at Download.com!
Even older archived news can be found here