Mac Source Ports

Developer: DMA Designs
Release Date: February 14, 1991

You know what Lemmings is: that game where you have to get a bunch of cute little creatures from point A to point B and let just enough of them explode to be fun but not lose the level. The first game in the series was sort of a fluke that made enough money that the developer was obliged to make sequels and spinoffs. Then eventually they changed their name to Rockstar North and made all of the Grand Theft Auto games. Not kidding.

Anyway I've been wanting a Lemmings game on here for forever now but the issue is always that the fan projects are either doing something I'm not experienced with building, or they're a similar-but-not-Lemmings game like Pingus. And then here comes Erik Veland with a port of... well, all of them. The original game. The semi-sequel games. The three different holiday games. Preview support for the two full sequels. And six thousand fan levels.

Lemmings may be one of the most popular games you can't buy but here's enough of it to last you through the heat death of the universe.

Developer: Infocom
Release Date: 1988

In the annals of classic and retro gaming, Infocom's rise and fall is one of the most documented and well followed, with books and documentaries on the subject. Their downfall was due to a number of factors, including an ill advised attempt to break into the database market, but also because by design the nature of their text-based Interactive Fiction games became dated once computers got better at graphics.

Zork Zero was their attempt to bridge the gap. It's also one of their last games. It's also a prequel to the other games, and until recently Splatterlight didn't support it. Custom support was rolled into the latest version so now it's easy to experience the game so fire it up and imagine an alternate universe where it was successful Infocom went on for decades.

  Buy Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz on GOG.com

Developer: Quetoo Team
Release Date: May 22, 2026

So this is interesting, I just stumbled on this randomly a few weeks back right after it was released, although it was apparently in the works for twenty years.

Quetoo is an open source project that's a combination of id Tech engines and technologies, incorporating every graphics technique the source port communities are known for, and recreating some of the classic maps of the Quake series without actually using any of its data.

The result is a purely community focused freeware arena shooter that can even be edited with modern tools like Trenchboom.
Definitely one to keep an eye on.

Developer: Thalion Software
Release Date: April 11, 1993
Source Code Release Date: May 7, 2023

The Commodore Amiga was one of those computers where it jumped ahead of the competition by several miles, but then stayed there for a long time and got surpassed by the competition. I think this is why there's such a distinctive look to the games the platform and why it was so accessible to smaller game designers, the types we'd call "indie" today.

Ambermoon is an RPG for the Amiga that really looks like an Amiga game. It was the second part of an unfinished trilogy. Although the original game's source has been released, the source port we're pointing to is Ambermoon.net which like it sounds is a recreation of the original game in C#/.NET (the original game was Amiga-specific Assembly language and isn't a great candidate for portability).

In addition to being able to download it below from the developer's GitHub page, the game is also available on itch.io as a "Name your own price" download in case you want to support or tip the developer.

Developer: Infocom
Release Date: 1977

True story: I'm old enough to have experienced the concept of buying Commodore 64 software in toy stores as a kid. I'll never forget, it had to have been at the tail end of the C64's lifecycle and I'm going through this bargain bin and finding nothing interesting, and then I stumbled across Zork I, in what had to be one of the slim case budget re-releases. I had no idea what it was other than I had read the name in Family Computing magazine.

I go home, fire it up, it takes forver to load... and then only when I'm sitting at a text prompt does it hit me that this is a game without graphics. No wonder there were no screenshots. I'm pretty disappointed. I'm also bored and have nothing better to do so I start playing it.

What follows is legit one of the best gaming experiences of my life. There's a reason this game is famous - provided you're willing to give it a shot the premise, writing, puzzles and exploration concepts will lure you in, and the anachronistic hodgepodge of elements makes for an eclectic universe. You descend downwards into the ruins of the Great Underground Empire, now an abandoned world.

The backstory has been told at length elsewhere but the short version is that some computer scientists at MIT made a text adventure game called Dungeon to run on their mainframe and got the idea to make a company to sell versions of it for home computers. It proved to be too big to fit on the computers of the era so they split it up into a trilogy of games called Zork. The company was named Infocom and they are beyond legendary in retro gaming archaeology circles.

The technology the games ran with has been reverse engineered so well that an entire community has spawned programming languages and toolkits to make new games with it and there's hundreds of text advantures as a result, including an annual contest that's been running for decades now.

So unlike most games on this site there are literally dozens of options to play these games, and the current best in breed for the Mac is called Splatterlight.

  Buy Zork I: The Great Underground Empire on GOG.com

Developer: Infocom
Release Date: 1980

So as mentioned, the original gamed Dungeon was split into three games, so the second game picks up pretty much where the first game left off, diving deeper into the intricate underground realm of the Great Underground Empire as you navigate through mystifying chambers and encounter enigmatic characters. Unravel the secrets of the all-powerful Wizard of Frobozz, solving perplexing puzzles and overcoming perilous obstacles along the way.

  Buy Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz on GOG.com

Developer: Infocom
Release Date: 1981

The last in the original trilogy and the last part of the original Dungeon game, this game features the deepest portion of the Great Underground Empire where you must face the wrath of the vengeful Dungeon Master as you journey through a treacherous underworld filled with ancient secrets and unimaginable dangers. Traverse through stunning landscapes, unravel mind-bending puzzles, and confront cunning adversaries in your quest for redemption. Might as well keep going if you've gone this far :)

  Buy Zork III: The Dungeon Master on GOG.com

Developer: Infocom
Release Date: 1987

Beyond Zork is an interesting entry for a few reasons. It's the first Zork game not derived from the original larger Dungeon game, and it was made after Infocom made an ill fated venture into business software. And it tries several new things as the technology evolved - instead of just being a text adventure it incorporates RPG statistics and combat elements, along with a crude on-screen map. It both is and is not more Zork, but it's worth checking out at least.

  Buy Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor on GOG.com

Developer: Infocom
Release Date: 1983

As Infocom branched out, they tried new settings, like outer space. Set in a distant future where space exploration and cosmic mysteries abound, you play as s a lone astronaut marooned on a mysterious planet and tasked with unraveling its enigmatic secrets. Traverse breathtaking landscapes, encounter bizarre lifeforms, and uncover the remnants of a lost civilization. Prepare to embark on an epic journey of self-discovery as you navigate treacherous terrain, solve intricate puzzles, and forge unexpected alliances.

  Buy Planetfall on GOG.com

Developer: Cavedog Entertainment
Release Date: September 27, 1997

Total Annihilation is an RTS game with a cult following. Whereas other games in the genre focused on resource scarcity or micromanagement of units, it focused on resource streaming and large scale battles across bigger maps.

The game's designer, Chris Taylor, would go on to make spiritual sequels in the form of Supreme Commander amd Planetary Annihilation.

  Buy Total Annihilation on GOG.com

  Buy Total Annihilation on the Humble Store