A game which probably many wouldn’t have chosen to licence, but Big Apple software did back in 1989 as they tried to make their mark on the computer game market.
Jason Kendal (Who also did Proton for Big Apple) and Hugh Binns were assigned to completing this licence.
The game according to Hugh was based on a decathlon style of gameplay with features such as bitmap screen scrolling and hi-res sprite overlays to enhance the look and feel of the game.
Just as the game was starting to progress, the parent company decided to cut funding and the Big Apple company was closed down as a result. No-one else took on the strange licence, and so the California Raisins met their doom.
Just how far the game reached is still unknown… hopefully something of the game will be found, maybe graphics or even some of the code. It may be down to finding Jason Kendal who will know more.
One thing is that i’m glad the cartoon doesn’t get shown anymore.. it was tripe. Wouldn’t mind seeing the game though… :)
Swept up in a large current…
Contributions: Hugh Binns
Supporting content
Creator speaks
Hugh Binns speaks to GTW about work on California Raisins...
"Not sure if I should really admit this one but I did grfx for a license on the california raisins characters for a new publisher who I think were called 'The Big Apple' who came and went rapidly in the late 80's.
It was loosely based on a decathlon style gameplay with a bitmap screen scrolling and hi-res sprite overlays to give a sharp outline (ala stormload and loads of other stuff). I was working with Jason Kendall on it but it never completed as their parent company decided to cut funding and close them down.
Hugh Binns.
