New game – The World of CD-i

Happy New… Philips CD-i Game :-)

Remember the good old days, when we would read a preview of a new CD-i game in our favourite gaming magazine? Well, we at The World of CD-i are very pleased to reveal, on this New Year’s Eve 2022 that a new title will be coming – in February 2023 😀
The game was first previewed in Philips Media CD-i Software catalogue 1995:
Treasures of Oz is similar to Merlin’s Apprentice and Labyrinth of Crete, but aimed at a younger audience. Featuring multiple puzzles, 3 levels of difficulty, and some games 🙂 It will be released by World of Games Publishing, who recently brought you the superb Felix the Cat. Have you bought your copy yet? If not, you can still snap it up at www.worldofgamespublishing.com.

Do get in touch with us at The World of CD-i to let us know what your CD-i highlights of 2022 have been, the year that CD-i celebrated its 30th anniversary since release in Europe.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and thank-you for supporting us throughout 2022 🙂

Interview with member CaptainJ plus big news!

We at The World of CD-i are very proud to bring you some big news in the CD-i community – as I discovered when I caught up recently with our member CaptainJ! Please read on….

Alan: What first got you interested in CD-i and for how long have you collected?

CaptainJ: I can tell you the exact date I was interested in the CD-i! One night in September of 1993, I couldn’t sleep and decided to watch TV. In the middle of the night an infomercial (remember those!?) came on about this new machine that could play games, movies, music, and more. That was of course the Philips CD-i! It was called the “Meaning Of Life” Infomercial and as I watched it I become obsessed with this machine and everything it could do! I am a huge FMV fan, and seeing games, movies and more come out of this with the visuals that it had, while my SNES and Genesis could not do anything close to that, made me want it even more!
The problem of course was the price at launch, and being 15 years old at the time, this wasn’t going to happen! Fast forward to Christmas of 1995, the CD-i at my local store had dropped to $299 (for the 450 model), and I finally got it with copies of Link: Faces Of Evil, Tetris, and Hanna Barbara Cartoon Carnival. From that moment on I have been a collector and have never looked back! I was even featured in a 2007 issue of Tips and Tricks magazine for my CD-i collection at the time!
Funny ending to the infomercial story, because this was the early 90’s, and because I would not have known to record it on my VCR, I never got to see it repeated again. I looked for it for years and in the early 2000’s I started an extensive search. Since YouTube and other video sites weren’t there yet to help me find the video, I put out a $200 reward to many video game websites to help me find it. Finally, a few years later, a TV station from Philadelphia called me and told me they had the original master tapes in their archives and sold it to me! I took that one, and the “Serviceman” Infomercial that I purchased from them as well, digitized them and got them out to the internet! Make sure you check it out on YouTube 😉

Alan: You used to run a store which stocked an extensive range of CD-i software and hardware. Please tell us more about it…

CaptainJ: I have been in the video game industry since 1996, but in 2003 I opened a chain of stores in northeastern Ohio called World Of Games. At the time I was working with what was left of the CD-i, PmPro, to not only fill my own collection, but to buy in bulk for my stores as well. They sold me leftover games in bulk, as well as CD-i 470 models with DVCs included. I was getting titles like Burn: Cycle, Tell Me Why, Muzzy, Pecos Bill, and the Sesame Street titles for as little as $1.50 a copy if you can believe that!

CD-i had recently closed shop in the few years preceding that and it was great to not only cater to the existing fans that were still there and looking for products, but to educate a whole other generation of CD-i fans as well! I sold that company in 2006 and turned World Of Games into a consultant company for people that wanted to own their own video game store, but were not sure how to accomplish this. I would help them with locations, design, materials, distributing, and training and it was a great feeling to help other people realize a dream that I had myself many years prior.

After many years, World Of Games changed one last time to the publishing company we are today! You can visit us at World Of Games (worldofgamespublishing.com)

Alan: Why do you think that CD-i was not as popular in the US than in Europe?

CaptainJ: As with most of the systems at that time, and there are many, nothing could stop the juggernaut that was Nintendo and Sega’s marketing and anything that tried to compete with the two in the States generally failed. This trend continued until the Playstation was released, which, if you know your lore, has to do with how the Nintendo games got on the CD-i (look it up!)
I think the European and Japanese markets were more open minded about new products and because of that they got to enjoy some great systems and titles that the US overlooked. In terms of the CD-i, because of this appreciation, the European market had a much better install base, and in turn more titles to be had.

Alan: You are about to launch an exciting new CD-i project. Please tell us about it and how our members can purchase it..

CaptainJ: I am proud to announce today that World Of Games will be releasing its first title for the CD-i, Felix The Cat’s Giant Electronic Comic Book on 11/11/22! Many people have got to play the near completed versions that are available out there, but we purchased the complete version (known as 1.03) from a private collector and have published it in original CD-i packaging. I think everyone will be very happy with how it turned out and it looks identical to an official CD-i release from back in the day! You can pre-order starting today at worldofgamespublishing.com or, to honor all the collectors out there, philipscd-i.com!. We ship worldwide and we hope you enjoy our first title!

Alan: Why do you think CD-I remains so popular today, and can you foresee releasing more CD-i titles in the future?

CaptainJ: I think CD-i remains popular because people hold a special place in their hearts for it. Whether it is someone that was able to purchase it in the very beginning and experience a whole new world of entertainment that had not been seen up to that point, to someone like me that had to wait in anticipation for the price to drop to happen to afford it, to someone that discovered the system long after it discontinued, everyone has their own special CD-i story.
And I want that story to continue – which is why World Of Games is going to be working on more titles to publish for the CD-i right away! One of those titles I will be announcing within a month or so and it is another completed original unreleased title that I bought from another private collector… so let the anticipation begin! 😀 As far as beyond that, World Of Games is looking to hire a part time designer for someone with CD-i developing experience to work on some original titles! This is a paid position – so if you have interest, please contact us through the website.

Alan: Ultimately, if Philips had focused more on the games market from the start, do you think it could have been more popular worldwide, and a contender to PSOne, N64 for market share?

CaptainJ: I think it not only needed to focus on more games but ones that were easier to play when it came to the action, which was a big thing then. Those of you that have tried to play any Zelda CD-i title with the one-handed controller will know what I am talking about!
Not to say it didn’t need to have movies, edutainment, children’s etc, because that’s what made the system so special, but CD-i was so ahead of its time that people didn’t yet understand what they had before them. If you think about the PS5 and XBSX today, it can play games, it can play movies, it can go on the internet, all the things CD-i was doing 25+ years ago – but again no one related the true potential of this great piece of hardware.
It was all about getting the system into peoples’ hands, and while they still would have faced the challenges with the other systems as I mentioned above, I think there would have been a little more market share for Philips to pocket at that time. More games like Nobelia at or near the launch date could really have turned things around.

Alan: What did you think of TwBurn’s Nobelia game?

CaptainJ: I think it’s a true statement of what could have been on the system. Nobelia shows that CD-i was capable of doing things that it should have been doing more of, and why companies at that time didn’t pursue more of that we will never know. When the first original title from World Of Games comes out, I hope it’s half as good as this masterpiece! Thank you again TwBurn for all of your work! 😀

Alan: Finally, if you were forced to choose 1 CD-i title, 1 CD-i gadget/controller and 1 CD-i console to keep, which would they be and why?

CaptainJ: The system and controller are easy, and that’s the original CD-i 220 and its thumbstick controller (22ER9051) from the very beginning! The awesome casing and futuristic drawer with the opening door is what got me hooked first up.
As far as the titles that’s a tough one but if I could only pick one it might have to be Tetris! I competed in the Nintendo World Championship in 1990 and that was one of the games we played in the tournament, so it has been a lifelong favorite. Combine that with the incredible backgrounds and soothing music on the CD-i and this makes it a version of Tetris everyone should try out!

Huge thanks to CaptainJ for talking to me, and I wish him all the very best with Felix the Cat and future releases 😀

New CD-i game Nobelia is finished!

This is it!
Jeffrey aka TwBurn has finished his 1st CD-i homebrew game! Congratulations!
The game is now under the test of several persons (including The World of CD-i mates) under the most CD-i players as possible to guarantee a full compatibility.
We are proud of him and proud for being part of it with cdifan knowledge improve a faster development.

This development started 1 year ago, and in May a demo was already available.
For someone that is not involved into the gaming industry… damn… 😎
He started from scratch, and even adapted a level editor specifically for this game.
The lucky ones who joined The Philips CD-i Community got the chance to watch all the evolution of this gem.

What kind of game is it?
You are Nobelia, a female character and will explore several zones in a top view reminding the firsts Zelda’s on NES to defeat enemies using bombs (like Bomberman).
The different soundtracks are wonderfully chosen, movements are fluids and the SFX well done.
Hours of fun will be present for you!

The game is awesome! If you have tested Demo 01, well, you will get surprised!

Jeffrey is now correcting some bugs already detected and at the same time, looking for the best way to release the game. Only a Digital release or a Digital and a Physical one. To define what to do, he has created a poll to know all the different opinions from the possible future buyers you can answer right here.

In addition, and this is something that didn’t happened for so long… Nobelia do have now an official trailer!

Congratulations!

New upcoming CD-i demo under work

After the wide success of Nobelia, Twilight Burn (TwBurn) is working on another project for a possible CD-i homebrew game, this time in 3D, based on SkyRoads from 1993.
You don’t know what is SkyRoads? It is a DOS game, you are a spaceship driving on a road with traps. You must stay on the track by avoiding walls (by jumping) and holes (turning left or right). You also can control your speed but will lose time (points). The goal is to reach the end of the road as fast as possible and get access to the next level. Nothing better than watch for the original game to get a better understanding of what we are talking about!

For now the demo is on a very basic stage. No spaceship is placed, only the 3D roads are in movement. 2 short videos has been shared by TwBurn, the first one is a very primitive 3D rendering, being slower when more objects are shown. The second one is much better, with better graphics and a good speed.

Demo 1, very archaic.

Demo 2, better graphics and speed.

As you can see, for now, there is no FX sound or music and no background image.
He is working on placing a background still image and will try to add an Mpeg video, but as he said, “video could add unpredictable performance as the documentation is very minimal, and it’s hard to test/debug”.

As he is still in a very initial work, he still doesn’t know the name of this game but it might not be SkyRoads.
Will it have enemies to shoot? It is also unknown. He firstly wants to get the demo working, by toying with some tech.

To make this 3D visuals he used a Level Editor where he exported the level, then he used a 3D engine in Javascript to draw it, and finally, he converted it to CD-i graphics.

We can expect a pretty cool game based on quick choices, TwBurn has shown he is capable of premium work.

The Future is bright for the CD-i scene in 2022 with many things in the pipeline.
Many brilliant minds are present in our Interactive Community.

Nobelia available now!

Time has come my dear CD-i… It is now time to read something new, something exciting!
Yes, this is it, TwBurn’s is now selling his first Philips CD-i homebrew game Nobelia, right here.
It all started on February 2021, when he became curious about what he could do for the CD-i, beside his USB2CDi, he jumped into an adventure many of us would though it was impossible…
In September of the same year a playable demo was ready and now in March 2022 the game is complete! In just 1 year…
A handful of testers including us did a massive bug hunt in a very short time, it was almost an online tracking and solving issues with many builds released and burned discs for the good of the Community. We can now guarantee compatibility with most part (to not say all of them) for PAL and NTSC players.

Purchase now:
35€ for Europe, 37,50€ for Europe (non-UE) and 40€ for Worldwide (here).
If you are from the USA, you can go directly to our friends at Good Deal Games.

Buy the physical release and you will also get access to a digital copy to burn on a CD-R.

After all tested and working properly, TwBurn begun the game’s artwork and showed to the world he is not only good in hardware and programming, but also in digital design, and the final result is just astonishing! Look at that…

Let’s talk a little bit about the game:
I’ve got the privilege to play the complete game along the tests, and I am still amazed how cool it is… I stil wonder why back in the 90’s, nobody got a similar idea…?

Nobelia is a Bomberman game into a Legend of Zelda’s looking world.
“After investigating a portal that has opened up in your backyard, you find yourself transported to a new land. All of your wit and courage is needed to explore this place and seek out the tools needed to return home. And maybe, if you’re skilled and observant enough, you can find the seven golden coins that have been scattered throughout the world according to some legends.”
This is how he resumes the game.

https://youtu.be/ISqvzJca8qgThe game does not need a Digital Video Cartridge, play 30 levels, get different power-ups and collect hidden coins and 4 worlds! Enough things to make anyone happy!

CONTEST

Find all the coins and win a signed copy!
“The first person to find all seven coins, open all the chests and complete the game 100% will win a signed copy of Nobelia, as well as a yet to be determined small prize. In order to be eligible, a screenshot or photo of the ending screen and/or highscore screen at the “100%” tab must be supplied, together with a (small) description where, and how each of the seven coins were found in game. These can be mailed to nobelia@nmotion.nl.”

Thank you TwBurn, and thank you all testers!

Watermarks removed from The World of CD-i

It is now known that the Interactive Dreams blog run by Bas is closed, and the Twitter and Facebook page accounts related to it seem to have disappeared as well.
Of course the disappearance of a CD-i website is always negative for the whole community, ALWAYS.
It is also known that we have added watermarks on all our images due to them being used without asking or any references to their origin (this site, the forum and our Facebook Group), and we weren’t the only ones asking for such as we have now figured out. Information not verified was also asked to be confirmed before published.

I predicted right after our come back in April 2019 about the possibility of the Community losing sites, with the fact of trying to be everywhere and get every day’s posts. Maintaining a website seen by most part of the Community takes a lot of personal time (time many times taken from family) and responsibilities. We (The World of CD-i) left the CD-i scene 12 years ago for some reasons not needing to be discussed again, and also for the wear and tear it gave us.

We now believe the problem is not relevant anymore. In our “team room” we discuss everything that is done on the site, we all hate the watermarks. When they were implemented, I made it clear we were going to remove them when things would become normal (about crediting). We are people of our word, and that is why we will be removing the watermarks.
This affects more than 7000 images, watermarks need to be removed one by one manually. We believe one week will be enough, but some watermarks might remain for a while as they were added directly on image editing. After the initial watermark removals, we will do our best to also restore these remaining ones.

We do not know if Interactive Dreams will come back or not, under the same or a different name, we are all sad with the loss of a reference CD-i site, but we are still worried about the credits of this site, of our work, of our time spent on it. If we have to re-implement watermarks in the future, we will not hesitate.