If you owned a C64 back in the day, then you might be familiar with Summer Camp (1990) and Winter Camp (1992), two titles published by Thalamus and coded by the late John D. Ferrari.
Ferrari sadly passed away in 1996, but Thalamus – which remains in business to this very day – has always worked closely with his family to ensure that royalties pass to the right people (it's worth noting that both Summer Camp and Winter Camp are included on the recent Evercade Thalamus Collection). "I've been in regular contact with John Ferrari's family for the last 10-odd years, and I'd been keen to do something new with Maximus Mouse, the star of Summer Camp and Winter Camp," says Thalamus Digital's Andy Roberts.
In a particularly heartwarming turn of events, Ferrari's Maximus Mouse is about to make a return. Pug Fugly Games – a developer that has worked with Thalamus on more than one occasion – released a free game on itch.io called Marty Mouse's Missing Millions earlier this year, and it caught Roberts' attention.
"While discussing Pug Fugly's next project with programmer Chris Roper, the thought occurred to me that the Marty Mouse game could be expanded to include party modes for multiple players. It was at this point that the idea of using Maximus Mouse first cropped up."
Given that both games feature mice, it wasn't a massive conceptual leap for Roberts to make – and he soon pitched the idea to Roper. "A couple of weeks later, I formally proposed the idea of rebranding the Marty Mouse party game as a Maximus Mouse game; not only would this allow us to bring back a much-loved C64 character, but it would also allow us to potentially involve John Ferrari's family by letting his grandkids test the game – in the same way that John's kids used to test his games back in the day."
Roper was on board with the idea, as was Vicky. "With the plan in motion, Chris and I began collaborating on ideas for the various party games and modes within the game," continues Roberts. "Since May 2024, Chris has been busy working on the game, fleshing out the playing modes and party games, nailing down the graphic style, and generally doing most of the hard work while I shout at him from the peanut gallery. We also hit on the idea of using various characters from the Maximus Mouse games as cameos in the new game – the large, swooping eagles are an example of this."
The game will be available on Steam, and, as Roberts says, the wider Ferrari family will be deeply involved with playtesting it before it launches next year – a wonderful setup which ensures that John Ferrari's legacy continues for a good while yet.