It wasn’t that long ago when you and I (assuming you read the last time that we did this, which, frankly, you should have) took a journey back in time, nearly 20 years ago, to look at the different e-mail responses that Running With Scissors received from the fans & folk who had tried the beta version of POSTAL. Well, as it turns out, that wasn’t the end of it – while purging our inbox, we noticed a couple more scraps of old e-mails that got stuck in the very back. It’s been a long time, and we don’t even know if half of these people are still alive by this point, but we figure it’s about time for us to acknowledge and appreciate as many of these old e-mails as possible, as they are, in a sense, some of the first fan mail that we ever received!
With any luck, we will all learn something by the end of this. With our modern sensibilities and this fast-moving world we live in, it’s nice to take a step back and look at how things were in simpler times. So, consider this as not just a look at 20-year-old fan mail, but also a sneak peek into the cultural landscape of 1997!
E-mails from 1997
| FROM: john l____ SENT: Monday, August 04, 1997 SUBJECT: postal is cool I recently downloaded your mac version of postal its absouloutely EXCELLENT ,its everything a game needs and more ,except one thing, CHEATS ,please send me cheats if there are any please send em to tom at _____@___.net.au |
| FROM: Mike SENT: Sunday, August 03, 1997 SUBJECT: Comments concerning Postal. I am having no problems with running ‘Postal’ , even with my Pentium 75. No lock ups or jittery graphics . One of the hostiles seemed to get stuck up by the pipes in the upperright corner , but hey thats in my favor . I played the Demo quite a few times and not just because I hadn’t beat the level , but because it was entertaining .You know like ‘CATS’ you want to see it again , and again. Well I guess thats all I wanted to say , thanks for your time. — =========================================================== ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gamer till Frag ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TRIWOLF GAMER RESOURCE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http:/www.telechoiceonline.com/~triwolf =========================================================== |
| FROM: joe SENT: Thursday, July 31, 1997 SUBJECT: Great piece of software! GAWD! And I thought I was hooked on Quake and Hexen. I wqant to be first on your list to recieve your product. PUT ME ON YOUR EMAIL LIST!!! Postaly yours, joe |
| FROM: Andy SENT: Thursday, August 07, 1997 SUBJECT: rules the game rules! but man are there going to be any updates or multiplayer beta tests ? it seems as though this beta is going nowhere fast..i mean i beat the demo like 50 times on the hardest level..whats next ? |
| FROM: MudMan ~SoC~ SENT: Wednesday, August 06, 1997 SUBJECT: Hello Mr.Desi, haven’t heard from ya in awhile. Hi Mr.Desi, I downloaded postal at download.com it’s cool, I’m only 14, but I got parental permission to play it, I just can’t submit any bugs. I got a brand new computer, AMD-K6 233mhz MMX, 32 RAM, 16x MAX CD-ROM, 512 cache, 3d accelerator, 15″ Sony Trinitron monitor, it really screams. So any idea when Postal is going to hit the shelves? See Ya, Chris ____ MudMan ~SoC~ UIN#:_______ mudman____@_______.com |
| FROM: neil SENT: Tuesday, August 05, 1997 SUBJECT: The game Postal I just want to say one thing. YOUR GAME ROCKS!!!! IT IS THE BEST GAME I HAVE EVERY PLAYED IN MY LIFE!!! THE CONTROL IS GOOD, THE GAME PLAY IS GOOD, THE REPLAY VALUE IS THE BEST I HAVE EVER SEEN!!! IM GOING TO BUY IT FOR SURE!!! IM GOING TO GET ALL MY FRIENDS TO GET IT TOO SO WE CAN PAY OVER THE NET!! GOOD JOB, KEEP IT UP. |
| FROM: Freedom SENT: Monday, August 04, 1997 SUBJECT: it rules yeah it does rules, but there are all those people that say that it crash’s for somestupid reason but not once for me never. The only problme I found is that when you get hit with a something big you go flying back. that’s stupid cause before you get up you get hit again. also I had some problems getting it to start it said that I needed 640×480 and 250 colors, but I had 640×480 and 32 true color when I changed it to 800×600 and 250 colors it was fine. one more before I go if you going into a house I get lost I can’t find out where I am maybe you could take off the roof so you could see, until you get out then you could put it back on. well that’s it for me I will keep looking for bugs so I can stand a chance of getting that pc hehe -Randy |
| FROM: brandon _____ SENT: Monday, August 04, 1997 SUBJECT: …no subject… Good job. Game kicks some royal ass. Love the game. cool graphics. Easy to setup and play. Great with a CH flightstick pro joystick. Later Brandon |
| FROM: Rene _____ SENT: Saturday, August 02, 1997 SUBJECT: fan mail GIMPY!!! I downloaded your beta version of postal and you’re my new hero, that’s the most twisted, and cruel game I’ve EVER played! The messed up people of this generation have been needing a game like this for some time, and I love how you made the people scream and fall down in agony and then crawl around in their own blood, IT’S GREAT! Your Biggest Fan, Andrew _____ PS. No mailing lists please. |
| FROM: ROCES SENT: Thursday, July 31, 1997 SUBJECT: contest i try your game and it’s very great, also please phut me in your maling list my e-mail are _____@_____.ca and my name is Antoine |
| FROM: Calvin SENT: Wednesday, July 30, 1997 SUBJECT: comments i have downloaded your demo of postal and think it’s a great premise and game. i have found a couple things to comment on for you. first: after you play awhile (on win95) a goodies crate appears in the upper left corner of the playing field (in the black area). when you run across it, the program hits a fatal error or some kind of error that terminates the game. second: i think that when the player is nearby the trees that you should have the fogged view you get in the construction houses. i look forward to the release of the editor and networkability of the game. i will be playing people on macs, will this be possible? i sure hope so! good job on a great game and i can’t wait to see the real thing! see ya, john |
| FROM: Scott _____ SENT: Saturday, July 12, 1997 SUBJECT: Comments You people are sick, but its funny as hell. I love your page on ‘Postal Incidents’ Gives new meaning to the word disfunctional. I wish you luck with your new game ‘Postal’ and I will be there waiting for it to hit the shelves. Also, if you can maybe spare a t-shirt, I’d be willing to take it off your hands. Scott _____ _____@_____.com |
See you all next week!
