90s were a wild time. In my country we also had a company (that I shall not name
Click here to view the secret text
×LK AVALON
) which also did so-called "
shareware distribution"
*cough cough*legal bootlegging*cough cough*
I did mention somewhere that I remember an early beta version of webfoot drod floating somewhere on the market. But instead I'll tell you the story about the infamous Dos version of Mario
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxwRQKmin-E
This game was made for fun by some guy, and somehow the beta version of this game was being distributed by the aforementioned shareware companies like it was a legitimate product. Years later the guy who created the game, explained the whole matter and released the finished version of his mario game he did for fun, but for years the original unfinished version of the game was not only floating on the internet, it was being legitimately sold to people. I even remember seeing it being sold with a complete package, which probably costed more than the actual game.
But then again, back then you could buy Mortal Kombat X with over 100 characters playable (most of them either recolors, characters from different games, or alt costumes). So yeah, a wild ride indeed. I of course miss these times, but I wish I had the wisdom and knowledge back then, because it was a goldmine of rarities, and many of the stuff that is nowadays considered lost media.
What I try to say is that it was certainly similar with DROD. I do remember that the game had a cult fanbase as far as 1998 (I hated the game back then and couldn't understand the hype, it seemed like people who were programmers themselves liked the game more than casual players), so it's possible that it was being spread around here and there.
And now, the best part, because I wouldn't be surprised if someone did a mod version of the demo of the webfoot drod (demo version with different color scheme). I'm not saying there is one, buuuut don't be surprised if some day it surfaces
[Last edited by Illusionist at 04-03-2021 05:08 PM]