When I first heard about this I was doubtful; when I saw this Theme Park clone for the Commodore 64 actually running, I still couldn’t believe it.
First released in 1994 by Electronic Arts (developed by Bullfrog), Theme Park was one of the best strategy titles of the year. I bought it for the Amiga, which was slowly becoming less of an arcade gaming platform for me and more of a strategy/sim machine.
Theme Park looked great, but game play is essentially setting prices and building rides, avoiding closure of your park. Considering this, it should come as no surprise that a C64 can handle a game like Theme Park, at least until the graphics come into play.
Well, it’s time to revise your expecations. Developer Arlasoft has released Funfair Inc. on itch.io, a game that is essentially Theme Park, but on the C64, with some surprisingly good graphics. It also features
- 32 rides and animal attractions
- 20 shops and gaming stalls
- 16 features and toilet facilities
The developer is giving the game away in its current state, and notes:
“This downloadable version is where development stopped a couple of years ago, I just hit a brick wall and the motivation to tackle even the smallest feature or bug appeared. Unfortunately unless I get into a position where I can do my own thing all day every day I don’t see me having the time or energy to finish it, but I will make the code available to anyone who wants to have a go. Most of the planned features are implemented, it would just be a question of bug fixing, adding mouse support and making sure all the finances and RNGs are balanced to make the game fun. At present it’s just a bit of a sandbox to muck around in and try and break :)”
I’ll be honest; if a version of Theme Park for the C64 that looked and played as well as this had been available in the mid-1990s, I’d have bought it ahead of the Amiga version.
You can grab a copy (and hopefully contribute to completing the game) by downloading Funfair Inc on itch.io.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.