Press: the Baldies remake

A short summary you can quote, with the case study and checks linked below.

Summary

Jonathan Simone, of Simone Systems Research, made an unofficial remake of Creative Edge Software's god game Baldies (Atari Jaguar CD, December 1995; PC, 1996) without its source code. The Windows desktop build reads all 100 original levels from a copy you own. One prototype was written from public specifications without decompiling the executable; the other decoded the level files and used a disassembler and source-linked Consumption Engine context to read data tables such as house capacities. AI coding agents wrote and tested the code under his direction. The earliest preserved prototype file is dated October 7, 2026, two playable prototypes were reviewed on October 8, and the combined remake was completed at commit c37f1b5 on October 9 (calendar time, not hours worked).

On the Windows desktop build at c37f1b5, 334 automated tests pass, all 100 original levels load in 4 views with 0 errors, saves resume identically in 8 tested situations, and 9,000 random inputs caused 0 exceptions. Seven AI red-team findings from October 9 were fixed and rechecked at commit 01415d3. Full verification record: simoneresearch.com/evidence/baldies-verification/.

A browser procedural edition with generated levels and project-made art runs at simoneresearch.com, where visitors can change the game's rules while it plays. The browser edition and live rules bridge came after the c37f1b5 desktop checks, and the rules are the rebuild's own tuning rather than verified original rules. Baldies is not sold on GOG or Steam today, and it had 341 votes on GOG's Dreamlist as of October 14, 2026. Case study: simoneresearch.com/work/baldies/. Contact: jon@simoneresearch.com.

Press kit

Fact sheet (PDF, 1 page), fact sheet (HTML), build timeline, Browser edition source (tar.gz).

Stills from the browser edition, project-made art, 2560x1440 PNG: Grass world, Ice world, Circus world.

Credit: Simone Systems Research (jon@simoneresearch.com). Simone Systems Research LLC is an independent research and development company in Merced, California, founded by Jonathan Simone; it is not affiliated with the SIMONE Research Group in Prague or university laboratories of a similar name.