CerealMan! (DOS)

CerealMan!

Platform: DOS Year: 1998 Developer: EricSoft Technologies Online: Download

CerealMan! is a frivolous Pac-Man clone for two simultaneous players. It was developed from 1997 to 1998 by 16-year-old Eric Gregory as EricSoft Technologies and Watermelon Productions, with in-game music from Audiotherapy and uncredited graphics, levels, and speech.

Screenshots

The title screen. The main menu. Controls, game speed, audio options. New Game, 10, 09, 08, 07, 06... Game start. All the things.

Music

All three songs have signs of being arranged using trackers, particularly the in-game ones: Both tempos are 125 BPM, and some of the instruments are reminiscent of Shamus from The Ultimate Soundtracker (AMI), the 4-channel MOD files in Snake Snap 2 (DOS), and Ken Silverman's KDM files.

Recording

All songs were recorded from the game on a Pentium 60 MHz with a Sound Blaster 16 CT1740. The second or third loop fades out within 10 seconds.

#	Title	Composer	Arranger	Length	Listen	Download
01	CerealMan! Theme Song	Unknown (at Westwood Studios)	Eric Gregory	2:47		Download
02	Mung	Audiotherapy	Audiotherapy	1:41		Download
03	Inane	Audiotherapy	Audiotherapy	1:42		Download

Credits

• Ripper: Professor Chaos
• Recorder: Professor Chaos
• Game Credits:
  • I've heard the CerealMan! theme song somewhere before...: Unknown credited as Sorry Westwood, but I had to do it :-)
  • Sound FX: Eric Gregory
  • Theme Song: Eric Gregory
  • SMIX Sound Code: Ethan Brodsky
  • Music: Audiotherapy
  • Apologies To: Unknown credited as Westwood
  • Not Credited Vocalist: Unknown
  • Not Credited Voice Actor: Unknown

(Sources: CEREAL.TXT, Creditz pages 1, 2, 3, and 6.)

Game Rip

Format	Download
	Download (Info)

Each song and each sound effect resides openly in the game's directory. The format is signed 8-bit PCM mono at 11025 Hz.

Audio Devices

Music
Sound

In the cereal.ini file, SOUND must be TRUE, and each of BASE, IRQ and DMA must either be a decimal number, a $ plus a hexadecimal number, or AUTO, which is automatically replaced with the BLASTER variable.

If a Sound Blaster is detected, you can change PLAYMUS and PLAYSND on the options screen. They are saved when you quit.

If Sound Blaster 16 is detected and DMA16 is between 4 and 254, everything plays quietly at 11025 Hz. Otherwise, it plays at 11111.1 Hz, adding 13 cents and 1 BPM, and sound effects may overdrive.

Releases

Gregory submitted the shareware version to several sites worldwide, and it quickly sold on CDs in China and Germany. The CEREAL.TXT pitches a full version with more music (and levels that probably have keys and doors), but it could only be ordered by check inside the USA.

USA Title: CerealMan! Platform: DOS Released: 1998-0?-?? Publisher: Watermelon Productions