Meantime (video game)

Meantime is a cancelled role-playing video game originally intended for the Apple II and possibly for the Commodore 64. It was a follow-up to 1986's Wasteland, produced by Interplay, using the same engine as Wasteland. Brian Fargo (head of Interplay at the time) halted development for this platform, in part due to the falling 8-bit computer market. Later attempts were made to finish the game for MS-DOS, but the project was canceled for good after the release of the competing Ultima VII, as it was felt they would be releasing a graphically inferior product.

Although set in the same universe as Wasteland, and with similar engine and gameplay (although it was reported that the game was supposed to use a combat system similar to Champions of Krynn), Meantime was to feature an entirely unique storyline. The basic premise was that the player would travel through time, and recruit famous historical figures to the player's party. For example, Amelia Earhart joins the party when she is rescued from a Japanese prison camp, and Wernher von Braun does when he is helped to escape the Soviets at the end of World War II. Each character would also have a particular specialty; Cyrano de Bergerac, for example, would have an expert fencing skill. The party would attempt to repair damage caused by a similar party of time-traveling villains, attempting to alter the course of history by influencing events.

The work on the game was first reported in the press in early 1989. The Meantime design team include people from the Wasteland. The project was initially led by Alan Pavlish; also involved were Mark O'Green and Liz Danforth. Unlike Wasteland, a map editor was created for the game, preventing the need to know assembly code when creating game areas. When the maps used in the game were around 75% done, Liz Danforth left the project. This, coupled with declining Apple II sales, led Brian Fargo to cancel the game.

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