Most people think that the series started in 1999, right? Well, canonically, it did. The DX version of Chicken Invaders from that year was the first one to be properly released to the public. But there was something else in the past…
In 1997, InterAction studios software made the first proof-of-concept version of Chicken Invaders, using Borland C++ 3.1 and the Ultra VGA Engine for C++. This was the first appearance of some of the features and gameplay elements that define the series. Some of them did not get carried over, for example in the first version the player controlled a handgun with realistic bullets instead of a spaceship. Like many other games from that era, it didn’t get finished, only having three waves and a “large chicken” boss wave, after which the game stays on the same screen indefinitely.
Also in 1997, there was an attempted port of this version using Java (Java Development Kit 1.1) instead of C++. However, Java was just starting at the time, and it wasn’t powerful enough to handle decent animation. As such, only the first wave is included in that port.
Some of you might have already seen the version of the remake I made back in 2018, but I decided to come back to it and make it look better and be more faithful to the original. This was done with some aid from InterAction studios, which was mainly clarifying what needed to be changed. For example, I didn’t know until recently that the score, lives, intros and intro text were not present in the 1997 original. Also, I hope that the Chickens look better in this version, especially the large one.
The remake includes a playable version of both the original C++ version and the Java port. As iA had lost most of the files from these versions, except for the title screen, I had to redraw most of the assets by hand. Some assets were borrowed from InterAction studios’ other DOS games, Radar Wars Arcade and BattleTank. Also included is an option to enable extra features made for the remake that were not present in original version, such as an intro, score, lives and particle explosions. It was made in Clickteam Fusion 2.5. There is also a version of the remake that runs on DOS itself, made with Ultra VGA Engine 32 and written in Pascal.
I made a separate website for it on itch.io, that even includes a version of this remake that is playable in the browser! That version can be even played on mobile devices, as it has touchscreen controls! You can check it out here: Chicken Invaders DOS Version Fanmade Remake by Emerald
If for some reason you don’t want to play it, I recorded a gameplay video of this game.
As a bonus, I have the starfield used in this version. This time it has a palette based on the title screen image, so it’s the closest thing to the original.
Original post
As the release of Chicken Invaders Universe draws nearer and nearer, I think it’s a good time to revisit the game that started it all. No, not Chicken Invaders (1999), even though it’s the canonical start of the franchise. I’m talking about this:
This is the very first Chicken Invaders game, made for DOS in 1997. Two versions of this game existed - the BC++ version and the Java version (which was more incomplete).
The graphics were pixel art instead of 3D rendered and you didn’t control a spaceship, but a handgun. It was never feature-complete as a game, and as such it’s missing many features. Missiles and powerups did not exist, and food probably wasn’t collectible. It also has only 3-4 waves after which the game stops.
Even though Chicken Invaders (1999) should be considered the canonical start of the series, I think that we shouldn’t forget about the game that started the franchise and many of its concepts.
I have recently tried to recreate this version as closely as possible with all of the info I have received from asking InterAction studios. You can download my attempt at recreating it by clicking here (recently updated to include resolution options).
If you don’t want to play through it for some reason, here is a gameplay video I recorded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6jSrju603g
As a bonus, I also have the starfield used in this version.
