Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Path: gmd.de!xlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!decwrl!doc.ic.ac.uk!uknet!pipex!sunic!liuida!x92hanpe
From: x92hanpe@ida.liu.se (Hans Persson)
Subject: Adventure Game History (please help!)
Message-ID: <1993Jul23.084901.17638@ida.liu.se>
Sender: news@ida.liu.se
Organization: CIS Dept, Univ of Linkoping, Sweden
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1993 08:49:01 GMT
Lines: 253

Information about interactive fiction games.
-------------------------------------------

This file is a compilation of various posts to rec.arts.int-fiction and 
rec.games.int-fiction and some things added by myself. I would like to 
see it grow into a history of the entire genre of interactive fiction. If 
you have more information on any of the games in the file (what machines 
they ran on, when they were published, etc), find errors or omissions, 
please let me know.

I have excluded the entire Infocom line since there are already at least 
two excellent information files about them on ftp.gmd.de, directory 
if-archive/infocom.

Thanks to the following people for help and/or helpful postings.
Brendon Wyber (b.wyber@csc.canterbury.ac.nz)
Ville Lavonius (lavonius@cc.helsinki.fi)
Jon Thackray (jont@harlqn.co.uk)

Hans Persson
unicorn@lysator.liu.se

Last update: 23 Jul 1993


Level 9:
*******

An English company that produced over a dozen adventure games. These
were mainly for the 8 bit micro market (Spectrum, Commodore 64, BBC,
Amstrad) and consisted of basic verb-noun parsers (until the very last
batch of games).

Early Games
===========
Verb-noun, 200+ locations:

The Middle-Earth Trilogy (later renamed The Jewels of Darkness)
------------------------

Colossal Adventure
This was an expanded version of the original ADVENTURE. At the start 
there was no mention of it being the first part of a trilogy as far as I 
can remember. For Commodore 64.

Adventure Quest
For Commodore 64.

Dungeon Adventure
For Commodore 64.


The Silicon Dreams Trilogy
--------------------------

Snowball
I don't think this was meant to be part one of a trilogy from the start 
either. For Commodore 64.

Return to Eden
For Commodore 64.

(The?) Worm in Paradise
For Commodore 64.


Miscellaneous
-------------

Lords of Time
For Commodore 64.

Red Moon
This one had graphics on the top two-thirds or so of the screen, but I 
don't think there was anything on them that you *had* to notice. For 
Commodore 64. 

Price of Magik
For Commodore 64.

Emerald Isle
For Commodore 64.


Later Games
===========
Which deteriorated as they tried a new game engine, which although more 
powerful reduced the size of the games.

Knight Orc
This game had, as far as I can remember, quite a lot of graphics. For 
Commodore 64. 

Gnome Ranger

Gnome Ranger II: Ingrid's Back

Lancelot

ScrapeGhost



Magnetic Scrolls:
****************

English company that wrote adventure games with a very powerful (but 
sometimes unusually picky) parser, and very nice 16 colour hi-res pictures. 
Magnetic Scrolls are still existant.

The Pawn
For Commodore 64, Amiga.

Guild of Thieves
For Commodore 64, Amiga.

The Corruption

Fish

Wonderland

Jinxter

Myth
This is a short game that hasn't been released to the general public, but 
was given as a welcome present in some british adventure club/mailorder 
firm. 

The Legacy
This is a Horror RPG from MicroProse that they have had a hand in 
developing.



Acornsoft:
*********

At some point in time, Acornsoft decided not to publish adventure games 
so the authors took their games with them to Topologica.

The Doom trilogy (Science Fiction adventure)
----------------

Countdown

Return

Last Days of Doom


Miscellaneous
-------------

Acheton
Large adventure in the Colossal Cave style

Hamil
Small adventure with some Mathematical bias

Philosophers' Quest
Medium sized game.

Sphinx

Castle of Riddles



Topologica Ltd:
**************

A number of the games here were originally written by Acornsoft but 
their authors took the games to Topologica when Acornsoft decided not to 
publish adventure games and converted them for other computers.
This company is still present in Peterborough, Britain, contactable on +44 
733 244682 They publish for BBC, Electron, Master, Archimedes, PC, Amstrad 
CPC, Amstrad PCW, Spectrum +3 and soon Atari ST. 
Small here means up to around 150 locations, large means over 400,
medium means in between.

The Doom trilogy (Science Fiction adventure)
----------------

Countdown
Originally written by Acornsoft.

Return
Originally written by Acornsoft.

Last Days of Doom
Originally written by Acornsoft.


Miscellaneous
-------------

Acheton
Large adventure in the Colossal Cave style. Originally written by Acornsoft.

Hamil
Small adventure with some Mathematical bias. Originally written by Acornsoft.

Philosophers' Quest
Medium sized game. Originally written by Acornsoft.

Monsters of Murdac
Small adventure

Avon
Small Shakespearian adventure

Hezarin
Large adventure in Colossal Cave style

SpySnatcher
Whodunnit adventure in MI7

Giant Killer
Mathematical adventure for secondary education

Sphinx
Originally written by Acornsoft.

Castle of Riddles
Originally written by Acornsoft.



Various companies:
*****************

Castle of Terror
Graphical adventure in two parts (the second one loaded automatically 
when you entered the castle; there was no turning back then). Had 
graphics for all rooms, but I don't think they were necessary in more 
than a few places.
For Commodore 64.

The Colour of Magic
Based on the book of the same title by Terry Pratchett (and possible some 
more of his books). Had graphics in at least a few places, I can't 
remember. I think this was written with the adventure game generator the 
Quill.
For Commodore 64.

Info on Scott Adams adventures, anyone?
I know of Adventureland but nothing more.
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
! Hans Persson / The Pink Unicorn                                            !
! unicorn@lysator.liu.se, d88hanpe@und.ida.liu.se                            !
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
