Proto:Through the Looking Glass
This page details one or more prototype versions of Through the Looking Glass.
Two pre-release copies of this game have surfaced, both under the working title of Alice. For lack of version numbers or reliable date stamps, they're known as the "early" and "later" versions.
The early prototype is a standalone app which has circulated on the internet since at least 1985, while the later one is a bootable disk similar to the final release, complete with bonus programs.
Contents
Title Screen
| Early Prototype | Later Prototype | Final |
|---|---|---|
_-_Title_(Early).png)
|
_-_Title_(Later).png)
|
_-_Title.png)
|
The second proto redraws most of the lettering (including "Steve Capps" and "1982"), the left side of the floor, and some of the shadowed areas on the table and pillars. The final version expands the image vertically, giving the two-line title room to breathe.
Instructions
The later prototype introduces a help screen, with minor changes made in the final.
| Later Prototype | Final |
|---|---|
_-_Intro_(Later).png)
|
_-_Intro_(Final).png)
|
- The first three lines of text are more spaced out.
- In the second paragraph, the word "skills" has become "abilities".
- The copyright credit has changed from "BOOTS" to "APPLE", although stray pixels from the last two letters of BOOTS survive.
Macworld's March 1985 feature on the game says that Marge Boots, Capps' then-wife, drew the Cheshire Cat menu and "the figure of Alice", which may refer to this screen and/or the character's sprites.
Game Board
In the first prototype, the board and score display were noticeably higher on the screen.
| Early Prototype | Later Prototype |
|---|---|
_-_Begin_(Early).png)
|
_-_Begin_(Later).png)
|
Sprites
Alice herself was redesigned from scratch between the second prototype and the final release.
| Prototypes |
|---|
_-_Alices_(Early,_Later).png)
|
| Final |
_-_Alices_(Final).png)
|
The Queen was the next most substantially changed. Her neckline plunged in the second prototype (except on her largest sprite, where it was a V to begin with). In the final, she was given makeup and a smaller jaw.
| Early Prototype |
|---|
_-_Queens_(Early).png)
|
| Later Prototype |
_-_Queens_(Later).png)
|
| Final |
_-_Queens_(Final).png)
|
Edits to the King enhanced his beard and removed the appearance of an open mouth at smaller sizes.
| Early Prototype |
|---|
_-_Kings_(Early).png)
|
| Later Prototype |
_-_Kings_(Later).png)
|
| Final |
_-_Kings_(Final).png)
|
The Bishop received several tweaks to his most distant sprites, including a wider face, smaller chin, and added detail on his miter.
| Early Prototype |
|---|
_-_Bishops_(Early).png)
|
| Later Prototype |
_-_Bishops_(Later).png)
|
| Final |
_-_Bishops_(Final).png)
|
Finally: the second-smallest Pawn frame was different in the early prototype, but because that version lacks a user-accessible spritesheet or a mutation feature that could place a Pawn on the farthest row, there's no way to see whether the smallest one changed too.
| Early Prototype |
|---|
_-_Pawn_(Early).png){kind=small}
|
| Later Prototype and Final |
_-_Pawn_(Later,_Final).png){kind=small}
|
Font
The Cartoon font has larger spaces in its pre-release incarnation, "Carroll".
| Later Prototype |
|---|
_-_Cartoon_(Later).png){kind=small}
|
| Final |
_-_Cartoon_(Final).png){kind=small}
|
Unused Data
Scrapbook Cat
The Scrapbook desk accessory on the later Alice disk contains an alternative version of the Cheshire Cat menu. There's a carved-out area for the speed slider, and a few pixels around it out of place.
| Scrapbook | Later Prototype and Final |
|---|---|
_-_Cat_(Later_Scrapbook).png)
|
_-_Cat_(Later,_Final).png)
|
Cursor
The second proto's spritesheet contains a cut-off mouse pointer, indicating that screengrabs were used in its construction. The pointer was deleted in the shipping version.
_-_Cursor_Fragment_(Later).png)
Owner Resource
The MARG resource in the second prototype contains this hidden credit:
"Alice" (c)1984 Steve Capps and Marge Boots
