Alter Ego: The Retro Life Sim

An obviously perceptive someone once said that "most game designers are sorely lacking inspiration, simply because most video game people have read one book and seen one movie in their life, which is Lord of the Rings and Aliens or variations of that". Quite true that, but what game would an expert in clinical and forensic psychology come up with?

Well, according to the brilliant Retro Gamer magazine (do yourselves a favour and check it out here), he'd come up with Alter Ego, provided of course he were none other than Dr Peter Favaro, an actual Dr. in psychology. Also, a man with a deep understanding of the gaming medium and a pretty twisted sense of humor.

Alter Ego, the game the good doctor designed, was published by brave Activision back in 1986 (PC, C64, Apple II), and was the first -and to this day only- truly complex and scientific life simulation game that wasn't afraid to stress the player or get really personal. Violence, sex, death, pure bad luck, humor and rock bands were of course included, and sarcastically narrated to the player through well written prose, successfully creating a sense of realism, that managed to feel as varied in mood as life itself.

The game though, definitely an inspiration to the Sims and Kudos (reviewed here), was above all a way to experiment with life choices using only a computer and a simple graphical interface. Interestingly, two different versions of Alter Ego were released: Male and Female. Both of them managed to be as psychoanalytical as a game will probably ever be. Sadly, none of them managed to give any good money-making advice. Pity.

Now, before you go and watch the Meaning of Life (a wisest of choices, if I may say so) you could choose to actually play a rather faithful remake of Alter Ego by following this harmless link. Or maybe have a look at the game's MobyGames entry. Better yet download the original DOS version (Male & Female versions included) while reading the Making of... Alter Ego in Retro Gamer issue 33.

[Update] Read an interview with Peter Favaro!

Related @ Gnome's Lair: the (early) history of the FPS, 80s CD gaming, hundreds of freely emulated NES classics



Related Tags: Alter Ego, Retro gaming, Activision, Retro game, Retro, Games, Game, Life Simulation, The Sims, Peter Favaro, Free game, Freeware, Free