Ready for Your Next Apple ][ Adventure?  

A brand-new Apple II game is almost here — and it's built for the hardware you already love.  From the creators at 8-Bit Shack comes an all-new 8-bit adventure game developed from the ground up for the Apple ][ family of computers. This isn't an emulator experiment or a tech demo — it's real software, built by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts, running on real Apple II hardware exactly the way it was meant to.

Inspired by a Retro Computing Legend

Every retro computer collector has heard some version of the story: a forgotten garage, shelves stacked to the rafters with beige treasures. For years, legendary collector Sean  has turned that dream into reality — once a year he opens his garage and gives away pieces of his personal collection. Beside him stands his oldest friend, James, guided by one simple rule: Use them. Love them. Never sell them.  Now that legendary event is a game you can play any time.

Sean’s Garage Giveaway drops you into the middle of that legendary event. As the garage door rolls open and the crowd surges forward, your mission is simple: collect as many retro computers and hidden treasures as you can before the table is picked clean. But keep your eyes open. Somewhere on those shelves sits a small red box. Nobody knows what’s inside. We’re not saying it’s worth extra points. We’re not saying it isn’t. And don’t be surprised if a legendary figure wanders through the garage with sharpie in hand. A signed machine might become one of your most valuable finds… if you can catch him. Just don’t let him keep you chatting too long, or another collector may walk away with the prize you were about to grab.

The Story of “Sean’s Garage Giveaway”

The story provided by Sean!

Years (many) ago, I had a garage full of mostly Apple II stuff that I’d acquired over the years, and my wife wanted me to downsize. So, I invited ALL KFest attendees to come go through it.

If I had received an item for free, I gave it away for free. All I asked was that people take what they needed first, take what they wanted second, keep what they took within the community, because re-homing retro gear is a virtue, and finally, don’t flip what they took.

Eventually, too many people were showing up, and it became very crowded. That’s when my friend James Littlejohn suggested we take the GG to KFest. James would load up his legendary big green bus and transport everything to KansasFest. Once we took the GG there, it became even bigger and more famous. Without James, the GG would have ended a long time ago. That’s why I asked that he be added to the artwork.

James and I would also travel around the USA, picking up donations from people who were downsizing and, sadly, from people who had passed away, as well as donations made for other reasons. That’s how the GG kept getting bigger.

I was a very active scrounger back then. I’d also get referrals from the local KC Apple II Users Group. Many people in our community donated as well, and they continue to do so.

It’s now its own thing!

Please see our AI transparency
statement below.

Game Play Video

Try it for yourself:

Demo on Apple2TS Emulator

The above link will take you to Chris' Torrence’s Apple2TS web based Apple ][ emulator and will automatically load and start the Sean’s Garage Giveaway game demo.

Try it on your own
hardware or emulator:

DOWNLOAD:‍ ‍demo_sgg.po

FAQ

  • The Apple //e, Apple //c (and //c+), and Apple //gs.

    128k of RAM minimum.

    5.25" floppy drive.

  • No. Instead of relying on copy protection, we’re relying on something far more valuable: the honesty and generosity of the Apple II community. Just like the classic Beagle Bros. titles that inspired us, Sean’s Garage Giveaway will not be copy protected.

    Developing new software for a 40+ year old computer isn’t about getting rich. It’s about preserving a platform we all love. If you enjoy Sean’s Garage Giveaway, we hope you’ll support our efforts by purchasing your own copy rather than sharing it. Your support helps us continue creating new games and keeps the Apple II community thriving for years to come.

  • Congratulations! Contact us at eight_bitshack (at) gmail.com with a picture of your holding your red box and we will reach back out to you to collect your address so we can ship the Mach III joystick to you free of charge.

  • We’ve randomly hidden just two(2) Red Boxes among all boxed editions. Every boxed reward tier has the same chance of receiving one.

  • For our collectible boxed editions, we typically produce only a small overrun to cover lost or damaged shipments and other unforeseen issues. If any physical copies remain after all Kickstarter rewards have been fulfilled, they may be offered for sale at a later date. However, we make no guarantees that any boxed editions will be available, and some editions may never be produced again.

    If you know you want one of the collectible box sets, Kickstarter is the best way to reserve your copy.

    Digital downloads will become available after the Kickstarter campaign ends via the 8bitshack.net website.

Developer Notes

Upon entering the game and then choosing CTRL+Q to quit; you will be shown the PLASMA prompt.


At this prompt you can type the following to skip the splash screen, start at a different level, or enable randomized start positions.

+SEAN
Start the game without the splash screen.

+SEAN -S
Start the game

+SEAN -Lnum
Replace (num) with a number of the level you wish to start at. The number must be between 1 and 20.

+SEAN -R
Start the game and enable randomized player start positions.

The options ( -S, -L, -R ) can be combined.

  • Open Apple + Control + Defeat

  • I'm not stuck, I'm buffering

  • Born to game, forced to load

  • Lag is just a state of mind

  • Snooze and lose your RAM

  • Finders keepers, losers weepers

  • Every part for itself

  • Hands off my floppy!

  • You snooze, I seize

  • RAM and grab it

  • Steal fast, regret faster

  • I overclocked my reflexes

List of one-liner puns:

  • You hesitate, I appropriate

  • Cache me if you can

  • Loot the loot before they reboot

  • Greed is good, bytes are better

  • Eject before they expect

  • Format the competition

  • Plug it and chug it.

  • Stack the deck, fill the slots

  • Card grabbed, slot filled

  • Snag the card, win the hand

  • Hot-swap the competition

  • Always playing the right card

AI Transparency

At 8-Bit Shack, we believe in being transparent about how our games are created. Some promotional artwork for Sean’s Garage Giveaway, including portions of the Kickstarter page, manual cover concepts, and floppy disk label artwork, began as AI-assisted images. Those images were then extensively edited by hand in Adobe Photoshop to correct inaccuracies, remove unwanted artifacts, and produce the final artwork used for the project.

Everything that makes Sean’s Garage Giveaway a game was created by people.

Game Development

Game Code

Every line of game code was written by hand in the PLASMA programming language for the Apple ][ by David Schmenk.

PLASMA (Programming Language for the Apple ][): https://github.com/dschmenk/PLASMA

In-Game Artwork

All graphics displayed during gameplay were hand-drawn by Daniel Henderson, artist for Skull Island, UnDead, and numerous other 8-Bit Shack releases.

Gameplay

Every screenshot and gameplay sequence shown in our promotional materials is authentic gameplay captured directly from the game. Nothing has been scripted, simulated, or enhanced to make the game appear different from what players will experience on an Apple ][.

The competing nerds are controlled entirely by handcrafted game logic using deterministic algorithms, rule-based decision making, path selection heuristics, and state-driven behaviors. Their actions are based on the current game state, allowing them to evaluate objectives, prioritize red boxes over computers on tables, and determine whether an item should be delivered to Sean or returned to their stash box.

Video Production

The promotional trailer was created using the following tools:

Our Philosophy

We’re proud that what you see in our screenshots and videos is exactly what you’ll experience when playing Sean’s Garage Giveaway. From the game code and artwork to the gameplay mechanics and trailer, this project reflects the craftsmanship and techniques that have defined Apple ][ game development for more than four decades, while embracing modern tools where they genuinely improve the development and publishing process.

ADDENDUM

The spoof Beagle Bros advertisement was created by Javier Rivera using Adobe Illustrator, with Adobe Photoshop used to apply a wood-engraving effect. The image of the woman is the work of Mexican engraver and illustrator José Guadalupe Posada and was sourced from a book in Rivera’s personal collection.