The Space Bar

The Space Bar

Infobox VG |title = The Space Bar


developer = Boffo Games
publisher = Rocket Science Games, SegaSoft
designer = Steve Meretzky (director, interactive screenplay)
Patricia Pizer (interactive screenplay)
Tom Bok (interactive screenplay)
Ron Cobb (concept art)
released = 1997
genre = Adventure game
modes = Single player
platforms = Windows, Mac
ratings = ESRB: M

"The Space Bar" is part of the Graphical Adventure genre for personal computers co-developed by Boffo Games and published by Rocket Science Games and SegaSoft in 1997. The game featured a 3-D environment which allowed the player to rotate (as opposed to Rocket Science's earlier production Obsidian in which the camera was usually fixed), and a humorous cast of aliens in the framework of a mystery. The player fills the role of a detective, interacting with characters and objects via a first-person interface. The name itself is a pun, as the game takes place in a bar in outer space--literally a "space bar" rather than the space bar found on a computer's keyboard.

Created at the end of the mainstream lifespan of the Adventure Game genre it received critical reviews but enjoyed lackluster sales and proved to be the last game produced by either the Rocket Science or Boffo Games studios. Famous more for being the death knell of two once-promising game developers than for its innovative gameplay and outstanding graphics for the time, it has garnered little in the way of a following over the years. This is due mostly to the difficulty of its gameplay and several annoying bugs that crept into the final version of the game.

When the game was released, The Sci Fi Channel held a giveaway on its website. By finding and clicking on certain banners scattered throughout the site, the visitor was able to enter the drawing. One of the prizes was a copy of the newly-released game.

Originally Rocket Science Games was set to publish the Space Bar, but when their previous games sold poorly RSG looked to outside publishers for the needed cash to keep developing, SegaSoft then became RSG's sole publisher. After publishing two titles for RSG they released the Space Bar, but by the time the game was finished SegaSoft was shutting RSG to cut their losses after the financial failure of the previous two titles and gave the game only a limited marketing push.

External links

*moby game|id=/space-bar|name="The Space Bar"
* [http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=7017 Article about Steve Meretzky] at Gamasutra


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Space bar — The space bar, spacebar, or space key, is a key on an alphanumeric keyboard in the form of a horizontal bar in the lowermost row, significantly wider than other keys. Its main purpose is to conveniently enter the space, e.g., between words during …   Wikipedia

  • space bar — ˈspace bar noun [countable] COMPUTING the long key at the bottom of a computer keyboard that you press to make a space * * * space bar UK US (also spacebar) noun [C, usually singular] IT ► on a computer keyboard, the long bar below the letter …   Financial and business terms

  • space bar — space ,bar noun count the long narrow bar at the front of a computer keyboard that you press to make a space between words when you are typing …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • space bar — n. a bar, as at the bottom of a typewriter keyboard, pressed to leave a blank space or spaces rather than to produce a character …   English World dictionary

  • space bar — n the wide key at the bottom of a computer ↑keyboard or ↑typewriter that you press to make a space …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • space bar — noun the bar shaped typewriter key that introduces spaces when used • Hypernyms: ↑key • Part Holonyms: ↑typewriter keyboard * * * noun 1. : a bar (as on a typewriter) that on each depression causes the carriage to move one space to the left 2. :… …   Useful english dictionary

  • The Space (Theatre) — Infobox Venue name = The Space image caption = nickname = location = 269 West Ferry Road Tower Hamlets coordinates = coord|51.488384| 0.019031|display=title,inline type = Arts venue genre = broke ground = built = opened = 1994 renovated =… …   Wikipedia

  • space bar — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms space bar : singular space bar plural space bars computing the long narrow bar at the front of a computer keyboard that you press to make a space between words when you are typing …   English dictionary

  • space bar — 1. a horizontal bar on a typewriter keyboard that is depressed in order to resume typing one space to the right. 2. a horizontal bar on a computer keyboard that is depressed in order to move the cursor one space to the right or, often, to perform …   Universalium

  • space bar — noun a) A key, in the shape of a bar, near the bottom of a keyboard, that generates a space character when pressed <! b) A drinking establishment in outer space …   Wiktionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”