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Prerelease:Brain Dead 13

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This page details pre-release information and/or media for Brain Dead 13 (DOS, Mac OS Classic).

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Brain Dead 13 (PlayStation).

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Brain Dead 13 (3DO).

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Brain Dead 13 (CD-i).

Hmmm...
To do:
Maybe more timeline things, also double-check ReadySoft's prerelease MPEGs for differences.

Development Timeline

Original Release

1994

  • April — Development begins.[1]
  • June 23–25[2] — At Summer CES, ReadySoft reveals that their workforce has more than tripled in working on the game.[3][4]
  • ReadySoft's CD-ROM version of Space Ace advertises Brain Dead 13.[5]
  • December — The first magazine ads for the game roll out.[6]

1995

  • January — A missed launch month for the 3DO version.[7]
  • January 6–9[8] — The game is shown at Winter CES.[9]
  • February — A missed launch month for any version of the game.[10]
  • March 22 — The date on the PC release's setup program.
  • April 3–12 — The dates on the files in the PC version's demo.[11]
  • May — A missed launch month for the 3DO[12][13] and PC[14] versions.
  • June — A missed launch month for the 3DO[13] and PC[14] versions.
  • July — A missed launch month for the 3DO version.[15]
  • August — A missed launch month for the 3DO version.[16][17]
  • August — CD-i Magazine UK announces that ReadySoft has licensed the game to Philips for a CD-i release, aiming to have it out by Christmas.[18]
  • September — A missed launch month for the PC[19] and Sega Saturn[20] versions.
  • October — A missed launch month for the Jaguar CD[21] and Sega Saturn[22] versions.
  • October 2 — Date on the executables and input sound effects in the PlayStation release.
  • November — A missed launch month for the PlayStation version.[23]
  • November 19 — The date on the PC release's batch script for installation.
  • December 6 — The date on the PC release's DOS executable, as well as AUTOPLAY.EXE.
  • December 13 — The date on the PC release's Windows executable, as well as on BD.DAT.
  • December 15 — Brain Dead 13 is released for DOS and Windows in North America.[24]
  • Between December 17–24 — Brain Dead 13 is released for 3DO in North America.[25][26]
  • Brain Dead 13 is released for DOS and Windows in Europe.[27]

1996

  • January 21 — Date on the SEQ00X.OUT files in the PlayStation release.
  • January 27 — A missed launch date for the PlayStation version.[28]
  • February — GamePro mentions that the ultimately-cancelled Sega CD version is still on the radar at this point.[29]
  • February 19 — The date on BIGFILE.MAC in the Mac OS Classic release.
  • March — Brain Dead 13 is released for Mac OS Classic in North America.[30]
  • March 15 — Brain Dead 13 is released for the Jaguar CD in North America.[24][31]
  • April — Brain Dead 13 is released for the Jaguar CD in Europe.[32]
  • June 3 — Brain Dead 13 is released for the PlayStation in North America.[24]
  • June 27 — Date on the abstract, bibliographic, and copyright files in the CD-i release.
  • August 14 — Date on the .rtf files in the CD-i release.
  • September 23 — Brain Dead 13 is released for Sega Saturn in North America.[24]
  • October 4 — Date on the executables and debug files in the CD-i release.
  • October 10 — Brain Dead 13 is released for Sega Saturn in Japan.[24][33]
  • October 18 — Brain Dead 13 is released for PlayStation in Japan.[24][34]

1997

  • Brain Dead 13 is released for CD-i in Europe.[24][35]

iOS Revival

2010

  • September 30 — Date of iOS version 1.0.[36]
  • October 5 — Digital Leisure uploads a trailer for the game's iOS release.
  • October 8 — Brain Dead 13 is released on the App Store for iOS.[37]
  • December 1 — The iOS version is updated to v1.1, fixing bugs and adding support for iOS versions 3.0 and 4.2.[36]

Development Overview

Development began in April 1994.[1] ReadySoft intially aimed for a release in early 1995[4], but no full version of the game ended up coming out until December of that year, with most of the other iterations releasing in 1996.[24]

An interview with ex-ReadySoft employee David Foster briefly touched upon Brain Dead 13, starting off with some insight that helps explain the game's numerous delays:

"Brain Dead 13 was a beautifully animated cartoon that was plagued with a whole host of problems through its creation to its eventual release. The games being released for PC and console were fully interactive 3D experiences and we were attempting to release a game that didn't fit that mold. It also didn't help that the game's quick time events were so tough and heavily branched that it was challenging as an interactive experience. We (Digital Leisure) eventually brought it back to life for iOS – but the reception was about as good as it was in 1996; so Lance and Dr. Neurosis will likely remain a historical footnote in interactive movie gaming history, although it does have a following!"

(Source: David Foster (ReadySoft/Dragon's Lair) - Interview - Arcade Attack)

Sega CD Version

Numerous promotional materials for the game advertised a release for the Sega CD.[38][29] This version was ultimately cancelled amidst that platform's demise, especially by the time the game started releasing for other platforms.

ReadySoft Website Intro Comic

BD13 ComicIntro.png

This short comic from ReadySoft's website in the 90s summarizes the first part of the game's intro. It's essentially in line with what's displayed in the final game, apart from depicting Lance ringing the castle's doorbell.

(Source: https://web.archive.org/web/19970508144139im_/http://www.readysoft.com/compg1.gif)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 [1]. "Dave Quesnelle, whose work appeared in Don Bluth's Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven, produced and directed ReadySoft's BrainDead 13, a game being released for a myriad of platforms (Mac, PC, Sega, Jaguar CD-ROM) at the new year. Quesnelle and a team of 16 animators and sound designers have been working night and day since April '94 to design and execute the game in record time. "
  2. ↑ 1994 Summer CES -- Game Zero Magazine Reports from the Show. "1994 Summer Consumer Electronics Show, June 23 through 25, 1994, Chicago, Illinois"
  3. ↑ Video Games (Deutsch) 1994-08, pg. 12. "Readysoft aus Ontario/Kanada hat die Belegschaft mehr als verdreifacht, um das Action-Adventure Braindead 13 für alle alten und neuen CD-Systeme zu entwickeln."
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Computer Game Review and CD-ROM Entertainment - November 1994, pg. 96. "Another game you can expect to wait for is the interestingly named BrainDead 13 from ReadySoft, who apparently loves to throw in capital letters in the middle of words. Not a lot of information is forthcoming about this game, but the word is that ReadySoft has recently hired a whole additional crop of animators (or is that AniMators?) to work on the project. Look for this one to be available to the general public around the first of the year, if everything goes as planned."
  5. ↑ Brain Dead 13, Bluth?. "On the Space Ace PC CD-ROM, they have ads for Dragon's Lair and Brain Dead 13."
  6. ↑ Brain Dead 13 promo art, ads, magazines advertisements - MobyGames
  7. ↑ The REAL 3DO Title List 11/20/94 by Mike Delaney. "Brain Dead 13 January"
  8. ↑ Winter CES 1995 « Planet Virtual Boy
  9. ↑ TRONIX AT CES (DAY 2 REPORT). "Two other games I noticed today were KINGDOM: THE FAR REACHES, and BRAIN DEAD 13. Both use cartoon cell animation, with non-linear plots (in case you happen to have FMV-o-phobia)."
  10. ↑ Electronic Entertainment 12 December 1994, pg. 60. "Meanwhile, Readysoft is projecting a February release for BrainDead 13, a comedy/horror/ action/adventure on CD-ROM for the PC, Mac, 3DO, Sega CD, and Atari Jaguar. The game casts you as a computer repairman who discovers that his house call at a dark, secluded mansion is, in fact, facilitating a disembodied brain’s scheme to take over the world’s computer network."
  11. ↑ Contents of BRAIN13.zip
  12. ↑ Re: Upcoming Titles from 3DO forum AOL
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Official - Coming Soon Repost from AOL/E3 press release
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Release Dates! - May 1st 1995. "Brain Dead 13 05/06"
  15. ↑ 3DO E3 report. extracts. "SPACE ACE and BRAIN DEAD 13 should both be available end of July."
  16. ↑ Aug. and Sept. releases. And Bladeforce and Killin Time pushed back!.
  17. ↑ Gamefan Volume 3 Issue 08 August 1995, pg. 52. "AVAILABLE AUG."
  18. ↑ CDi Magazine UK Issue 13, pg. 6. "Canadian software house ReadySoft has licensed its top games title Brain Dead 13 to Philips for the CDi format.
    The game is due for release in time for Christmas."
  19. ↑ [https://archive.org/details/videogame-advisor-june-1995/page/n19/mode/2up?q=%22brain+dead+13%22 Videogame Advisor - June 1995 , pg. 18]. "Available: September (Delayed)"
  20. ↑ Saturn US Release Schedule. "Brain Dead 13 ReadySoft September"
  21. ↑ Re: Jag questions.
  22. ↑ Re: Went to but a Saturn....but didn't
  23. ↑ More 3rd Party Titles for November
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6 24.7 BrainDead 13 - VGMdb
  25. ↑ 3DO TitleWatch -- 17 December 1995. In "Coming Titles" section.
  26. ↑ 3DO TitleWatch -- 24 December 1995. In "Available Now" section.
  27. ↑ Brain Dead 13 Releases - MobyGames
  28. ↑ U.S. PSX GAME RELEASE LIST!!!OVER 100 GAMES!!!. "Braindead 13 01-27-96"
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 GamePro #79, February 1996, pg. 14. "Two new games scheduled for release in the near future include BrainDead 13 and Myst. These two games are all that's on the horizon for the diminishing Sega CD. It's clear to us that Sega has turned its full attention to the Saturn."
  30. ↑ Inside Mac Games, April 1996
  31. ↑ -1996-. "On Friday, March 15, ReadySoft begins shipping BRAINDEAD 13; a CD-ROM for the Atari Jaguar 64-bit video game system."
  32. ↑ ST Magazine #104, pg. 52. "Pour preuve, il y a aujourd'hui 5 nouveaux titres disponibles (Defender 2000, I-War, Nba Jam Tournament Edition, Zoop et Space Ace) et 4 autres sont annoncés pour le mois prochain (Brain Dead 13, Attack of the Mutant Pinguins, Brett Hull Hockey et Robinson Requiem)."
  33. ↑ GDR セガサターン ソフト一覧 1996年 - SEGA SATURN Software List 1996
  34. ↑ GDR プレイステーション ソフト一覧 1996年 - PlayStation Software List 1996
  35. ↑ The New International CD-i Association. "Brain Dead 13 Philips Media ICDI 1997 8100309"
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 About: BrainDead 13 (iOS App Store version) | | Apptopia
  37. ↑ BrainDead 13 hits the App Store this Friday. "The game will be showing up on the iTunes App store October 8th for only a small price of $2.99."
  38. ↑ Brain Dead 13 Magazine Advertisement (Magazine Advertisements): Computer Gaming World (US), Issue 130 (May 1995)
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