In our first edition, we'll explore the cosmos in one of the most savagely difficult NES games of all time.
So was Silver Surfer a hit? Well, it certainly didn’t live up to Arcadia and Mastertronic’s expectations, but the game has developed something of a cult following in recent years thanks to its harrowing challenge. The recent PAX East convention in Boston actually held a contest to see if anyone was able to finish a level (boss and all) without using a continue.
As for Graeme Devine, he ended up leaving Mastertronic a couple years later. After Martin Alper fired him for wanting to pursue development on CD-ROMs, expressing concerns about the format’s viability over floppy disks, he decided to go out on his own. In 1993 Devine’s first CD-ROM-based title, The 7th Guest, went on to sell over two million copies, and was one of the primary reasons for game development flourishing on CDs. Some time later he found himself at Ensemble Studios, working on games like Age of Empires 3 and the company's final release, Halo Wars. These days you can find him in Cupertino, California, hard at work at Apple within the iPhone Game Development team.
The Silver Surfer's gone on to make cameos and appearances as a bonus character in games as recent as October 2009's Marvel Superhero Squad, but he's yet to star in a game since his 1990 outing, which is a shame – Norrin Radd has a rich history as one of Marvel's most prominent cosmic characters, and it'd be a wasted opportunity if he never had the spotlight in this medium again.
That wraps up the first Reset Button, folks! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to shoot me an email or chat it up in the Talkback thread. I'll be paying attention to your requests for future spotlights, so make your voice heard! And in the meantime, be sure to check out the next episode of Radio Free Nintendo, where you'll be able to hear my full interview with Graeme Devine on developing Silver Surfer and his other projects in the gaming industry.
