A trip down Light Shock Lane

I take a nostalgic look back at the most significant output of the Italian games developer, Light Shock Software. Not only the titles that made it to retail and modern game databases, the ones that sadly fell by the wayside and remain largely incognito today.

To get the inside story I contacted as many of the former Light Shock staff as I could track down. What follows is their memories of the highs and lows of battling for chart position prominence, technical difficulties encountered, origin stories and conceptual evolution of each game, their response to critical reception, and what happened post-Light Shock following the company's dissolution.

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All Bound for Mu Mu Land

One of the most polished, unreleased Games That Weren't for the Amiga is no doubt Microprose's Boo! An 80% finished tamely horror-themed platformer also destined to appear on the SEGA Mega Drive and SNES. We were to play as a deceased teenager who whiles away his haunted existence roaming the quarters of a vast mansion unleashing boo-based jump-scares to fend off assailants. At key points, it would have been possible to switch to other lead sprites borrowed from Universal Classic Monsters. Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and Dracula, for instance.

To glean further insight into the promising evolution of the title, including its wacky dairy-oriented plot, I contacted Boo!'s then-producer, Stuart Whyte, to find out if he'd be up for a Q&A session. He was, and even managed to source some VHS footage of the game in action, which is now on my YouTube channel for all to marvel at!

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