Author: professor6153

We now find ourselves playing games from 1980 as 1979 is now in our rearview mirror. It took me awhile to compile this list from 1980 but what you’re looking at is a complete list of the computer role-playing games that were published in 1980 as well as all of the text adventures. We are also introduced to what would be called the Graphic Adventure category this year. There are a couple of standout offerings that I’m really looking forward to playing. Rogue is number one in my crosshairs and we also have Infocom’s very first text adventure: Zork I which I am looking forward to. G.F.S. Sorceress is another offering from Gary Bedrosian and sadly I believe it will be his last. I awarded his previous two games the 1978 and 1979 Game of the Year respectively. I am also eager to try Roberta William’s first offering: Mystery House as we embark on this new Graphic Adventure category.

This compilation is all encompassing and ambitious. My goal is to play all of these games. There are 86 total games here so I may find myself spending quite some time in 1980. My passion are the games in the CRPG category and I will be gorging myself on them first. They take top priority and I can guarantee that I will play and review each and every one of them. I worry that I may exhaust myself with all of these text adventure offerings in this year and may want to move on. I am sure that decision will be based on the quality.

I present to you the 1980 Check List of Games.

We played seven different computer role-playing games in 1979 and twenty text adventure offerings. We’ve moved away from PLATO and mainframes and are now ushering in the era of the home computers. Early programmers and game designers, much like early pioneers, are paving the way and setting the stage for later games and what Matt Barton would call The Bronze Age. In 1979 we’re starting to see a glimpse of what computer role-playing games might become as well as the rise of the interactive text adventure. Many of these early text adventures followed a particular recipe or form. There would usually be a maze or two which would have to be traversed and there was almost always a treasure hunt that involved the player finding a number of items. Some games would be scored and others would have a time limit or a move limit imposed to make things a bit harder. There were some early pioneers who would experiment with the medium and create original pieces of work that broke away from these text adventure tropes. Scott Adams, Gary Bedrosian, and Robert LaFore come to mind. If you are a fan of the medium their games are standouts and scream originality and innovation.

Each year I’d like to make it a tradition to pick a category award winner and an overall winner. Last year, in 1978, Beneath Apple Manor won in the CRPG category and Lords of Karma won in the Interactive Fiction category. The Overall Winner for 1978 was awarded to Lords of Karma.

Now for the 1979 Retrogame.com award winners:

1979 CRPG Game of the Year: Dunjonquest: Temple of Apshai

This is a must play from a historical perspective. Epyx worked around the current technology limitations by creating an amazing game manual. The writing and presentation were very good which included a Brian Hammerhand short story and room and treasure descriptions for every room on every level in the game. It worked to help create an immersive experience and later the Gold Box series from SSI adopted this same format. The Temple of Apshai was a tremendous commercial success for its era.

1979 Interactive Fiction Game of the Year: Empire of the Overmind

The story, setting, and plot of this game are extraordinary. The poem that comes packaged with the game foreshadows the cloth maps that would later be packaged with epic computer role-playing games. Deciphering the cryptic clues in the poem is necessary in order to advance in the game. Spending time poring over the lines in the poem helps to create an otherworldly and immersive experience. The writing is so well done that the Overmind feels like an actual adversary that needs to be defeated. The ending was suspenseful and amazing. This is still my favorite overall text adventure through 1979.

1979 Overall Game of the Year: Empire of the Overmind.

The Temple of Apshai may have been the commercial success but it was Empire of the Overmind that I was entranced by. It was engaging like no other game has been engaging in this era and it was stunningly original. The amount of writing and the content was revolutionary. The plot was like reading an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel and for the first time a game throws an adversary at you that seems threatening and real. The engagement between the player and the game is real and the coup de tat is including a poem in the documentation that the player will have to analyze again and again. This creates an additional level of immersion that takes things to an entirely different playing experience. If you love adventure & fantasy or are a fan of interactive fiction and you have not yet played Empire of the Overmind I strongly recommend that you do so. You will feel as if you are playing one of the stronger Infocom games that are still a few years away.

Last but certainly NOT least; a special Retrogames.com award has to be given to Scott Adams who game us six completely different text adventures in 1979. Scott Adams continues to be a pioneer in this medium as he continued to experiment with each successive adventure that was published. I am awarding him the special moniker of Grandfather of Interactive Fiction. It was his business acumen, courage, energy, and enthusiasm that brought eight different text adventures to home computers in this era. He would be a huge influence on future developers and games. I had a lot of fun playing through the computer role-playing games and text adventures from 1979. A large part of that fun and time allotment was spent playing through the six different Scott Adams adventures. No other personality came close to the quantity and quality of adventures published in 1979. Congratulations Scott and thank you for your artistry and for giving us something that brings joy and happiness to our lives.

In 1978 Scott Adams introduced Adventureland to the world. It would have the distinction of being possibly the very first adventure game created for the home computer and the very first in the Adventure series which would go on to span 14 games. The twelve original text adventures would be re-released with graphics as Scott Adams Graphic Adventures (SAGA) beginning in 1982. The final two games debuted with graphical versions while the first twelve were initially released purely as text adventures. Pirate Adventure was also released in 1978 and remains a fan favorite to this very day.

1979 was a busy year for Scott Adams. He formed Adventure International and over the course of that year released six additional text adventures in the Adventure series: Secret Mission, Voodoo Castle, The Count, Mystery Fun House, Strange Odyssey, and Pyramid of Doom. Scott was a pioneer in computer programming and early game design. The puzzles found in his interactive adventures would lay the groundwork for and influence many in the field. In 1990 Computer Gaming World reported a statement by a “respected designer” that it was impossible to design new and more difficult adventure puzzles, because Adams had already created them all in his early games. He was not content to copy or mimic but would constantly experiment with and push the boundaries of text adventures. You could see the growth and experimentation with each successive game produced in 1979.

Scott’s adventures first appeared on a 16 KB Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I but were subsequently released on most of the major home computers of the day such as Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore PET, VIC-20, and ZX Spectrum. Scott’s work in the field is nowhere near finished as we roll into 1980 but I thought it would be fun to rank the first eight adventures to appear in the Adventure series. I am going to share my personal list but I am really interested to hear about yours. I understand that this is subjective and it will be greatly influenced by your favorite genres and your own nostalgia with these games. I will further stipulate that each of these games are significant in their own right and would find themselves in different rankings based on the criteria or question; but I’m going to rank my list based on pure enjoyment.

I agonized over this list a bit because quite frankly the entire list comprises just about all of the best interactive fiction that 1978 and 1979 had to offer anyway. I am at this point what you might call a Scott Adams “fan boy” for a number of reasons. You could make the argument that he was the first person to create an adventure game for the personal home computer and you have to admire and respect his creation and formation of Adventure International. He was an entrepreneur and pioneer during the growth of personal home computer gaming. In those early years you would have been hard pressed to find a company that did a better job advertising their games and Scott Adams worked hard to port his games to most of the major home computers. When you add in the proliferation of games Scott created in 1979; each one advancing and experimenting with the medium how can you not be a huge fan? So by ranking these games this is not an indictment against any of them but a celebration of their creation and, once again, completely subjective. So, without further ado, here is my own ranking of the Scott Adams games up to 1980.

1. Voodoo Castle

Voodoo Castle cover art

I will forever remember this ending because it was so very different for a text adventure at the time. Maze and treasure hunting tropes had been kicked to the curb to be replaced by a game that played more like a giant puzzle box.

2. The Count

The Count cover art

This was a game that introduced the progression of time and plot where every move had to be choreographed and perfectly orchestrated. There were a small number of locations that were all tightly plotted and well thought out. I believe I had to restart this adventure more than any of them; including Strange Odyssey.

3. Pyramid of Doom

I am sucker for the Egyptian theme. There is something about exploring the dark recesses of an underground pyramid that really resonates with me. This game is more than just a treasure hunt. Like Voodoo Castle, there is a much cooler meta-plot and the heart of a dark Pharoah to destroy.

4. Pirate Adventure

The pirate theme has an irresistible allure for many and if you want to introduce someone to the Scott Adams text adventures you could make a strong argument for this one to be the place to start.

5. Mystery Fun House

This is probably in a higher position on my own list than it may find itself in other’s lists but I liked the puzzles and the quirky humor sprinkled throughout the game. While I am not a big fan of the addition of humor in my adventure games it seemed to work here. The puzzles and locations were just plain quirky, odd and unusual (pick your favorite synonym) but seemed well placed for a Mystery Fun House.

6. Secret Mission

This is not my favorite genre by any stretch however this was Adam’s first foray away from maze and treasure hunt tropes so deserves an elevated spot. There was a tight plot, a limited number of moves, and a small number of locations all densely woven together.

7. Strange Odyssey

This was Scott Adam’s first foray into the science fiction genre. It introduces teleportation and a completely disconnected map. This game was hard. It advertises itself as moderate but I’m going to respectfully disagree and is easily head & shoulders the hardest game of the first eight. Your frustration factor will be high with this one but so are the rewards when you solve the puzzles.

8. Adventureland

I imagine that many will be surprised to see this game last on the list and I am almost positive it will find itself in a different spot in other’s lists. I enjoyed this game but I saw it as a homage to Colossal Cave and the springboard by which Scott Adams would grow and progress as a game designer.

There you have it. My current ranking of the Scott Adams text adventures through 1979. It serves as both a celebration of them and a “shot across the bow”. I’d like you to share your own list and rankings and any fond memories these games may bring back. I am sure some of these games are very nostalgic for some. What is even more exciting is that as we now move into 1980 and move forward there will be even more Scott Adams offerings to experience.

My journey and experience with games from 1979 ends with Pyramid of Doom. This seems fitting as the Scott Adam’s adventures have represented some of the very best offerings from this period. Mr. Adam’s was an extremely busy man in 1979; publishing no less than 6 games that year. Scott Adams’s did not write the story for Pyramid of Doom. The credit goes to Alvin Files; who never did create another. Alvin, as the story goes, had figured out how the Scott Adams Adventure system worked, wrote this game, and then sent it in to Mr. Adams. Scott Adams then worked to fix and tweak some of the coding and then released it as #8 in the Adventure series.

You begin this game in the desert and the initial premise is that you’re on an Egyptian treasure hunt which will lead you into the dark recesses of a recently uncovered Pyramid. Once inside the Pyramid you’ll discover a meta-plot which involves you having to destroy the heart of a Pharoah who has been darkened by evil.

You’ll need to find the Pharoah’s heart and find a way to destroy it or you’ll be killed by the iron statue of the Pharoah in his throne room. A mural in the throne room reads; “Seek ye well the HEART of Iron” and another cryptic clue explains; “Pharoah’s heart is red like yours, yet evil has darkened it.” I have always been a sucker for games with an Egyptian motif but having to find and destroy the dark heart of a Pharoah in order to be victorious checks a lot of boxes for me. In hindsight; the riddle and clues are well thought out and highly entertaining.

You’ll also encounter a mummy underneath the Pyramid as well as a Purple Worm (a hat tip to the Dungeons & Dragons crowd). There are one or two tougher puzzles in the game; however most of the rest of them are moderate with fair solutions as well. The “one axe I have to grind” here is the inclusion of a Giant Oyster in the game. In the ruins of an ancient Pyramid? In the middle of a hallway? And this Giant Oyster eats dried camel jerky? Come on now. I actually solved this one on my own; not because it made sense; but because many other text adventures in 1979 have had Giant Clams or Oysters in their game that you have to either pry open or feed. Don’t ask me why. Greg Hassett’s Voyage to Atlantis contained a Giant Clam that I had to pry open with a crowbar; this particular Oyster enjoys dried camel jerky. It must be an acquired taste. I believe 4 to 5 different interactive adventures in 1979 contained a Giant Clam or Oyster that you had to get open somehow. We could almost include it as another trope; each interactive adventure had to have a maze, a treasure hunt, and a Giant Clam.

I, despite the Giant Clam/Oyster digression, immensely enjoyed this game and it is one of my favorite Scott Adam’s adventures thus far. I liked the setting and the climax of the story is reminiscent of the unique climax to Voodoo Castle. You need to find 13 different treasures and deposit them in the Hieroglyphics Room AND destroy the heart of the dark Pharoah. We have enjoyed eight different text adventures from the mind of Scott Adams thus far and in my next blog post I’m going to attempt to rank these first eight offerings in order of personal preference. I strongly encourage you to sit down and watch The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser and then grab your favorite beverage and begin your own foray into the Pyramid of Doom.

Covert art for Journey

Journey is an interactive text adventure from the mind of Steve Baker. In an early feature article in Softalk Magazine Roberta Williams mentioned a number of text adventures which had influenced her work. She had mentioned Colossal Cave and that she had also played every single Scott Adams adventure she could get her hands on; which is not surprising. What WAS surprising is that she also mentioned Journey from Steve Baker as influential.

Steve Baker worked in the video games industry and continued to produce games until 2006. He worked for Apple and Atari and was responsible for the Atari 5200 port of Defender. He has his own website where you can learn more about his background and game experience.

Journey is a treasure hunt. You have a limited number of moves to find nine items and then place those items in a safe within the mansion. The nine items are as follows:

• lantern
• key
• coin
• knife
• matches
• crowbar
• diamonds
• silver spoon
• rope

The game is also based on a 350 point scoring system. You receive points for accomplishing various tasks in the game as well; such as successfully unlocking the door in the mansion.

There are various ways that you can die within the game (somewhat abruptly I might add) and if you do perish and restart than the items will be randomly scattered throughout the game again. We’ve seen this before with both of Gary Bedrosian’s games: Lords of Karma and Empire of the Over-Mind.

The game locations are a bit varied as well somewhat disjointed. The mansion has two floors to explore while underneath the well there are sewer tunnels. What was surprising is that you can also end up in Downtown Hollywood of all places. This created somewhat of a disconnect for me and the cohesiveness of the game locations didn’t resonate well with me.

This game is very hard to find but if you would like to play this text adventure you can download the game HERE. There really is no plot to speak of here; the game ends when you find all nine items and place them in the safe and then quit. There might be some replay value here if you become enamored with the prospect of trying to score as many points as possible. I have one more game left to review for 1979 and then we’re moving ahead to 1980. I am excited to share the 1980 list I’ve compiled with you.

This is the first science fiction game to spring from the mind of Scott Adams. He continues to explore different genres while at the same time continuing to experiment with the medium. We have witnessed this first hand playing his previous games and now with this one he continues to do something completely different. You’ll find yourself struggling with alien technology and also dealing with a completely disconnected map as you teleport from location to location.

This game was hard and I struggled with this game more so than any of the others to come before it. I probably spent at least two total hours before I finally had an “aha experience” with the alien machinery. I struggled with the phaser, I struggled mightily with the glasses and I struggled on the ice planet. It took me twice as long to complete this game than any of the other previous Scott Adam games.

However I loved it.

It was odd, fascinating, frustrating and exhilarating all rolled into one. You are back to collecting treasures and depositing them at your ship at the end but the disconnected map, alien landscapes and alien machinery more than make up for reintroducing a treasure hunt to us. There is certainly a plot here. You’ve landed on an alien world and your ship is not capable of leaving. You’re stranded and it’s up to you to explore your alien environment to see if there is a way for you to escape.

I’m not going to give you a walk through. I want you to play it and experience it one day as I have. I can’t tell you the number of times I pushed and pulled on that damn rod (umm, I’m referring to the one in the game attached to the alien machine). I was almost ready to pull my hair out rather than the rod out. Once I thought I had it all down and began to cycle and teleport myself to different locations; I struggled once again and realized I didn’t know how to reset the thing or go backwards. This brought on another 30 to 45 minutes of experimentation before I finally figured it out.

There are a number of puzzles that you’ll need to work through and they are just difficult enough that a beginner or intermediate player is going to struggle here. If you have successfully played through all of Adam’s previously published works then you’ll find that player growth is running parallel to Scott Adam’s growth as a designer and artist. If you have no experience with interactive fiction to this point you may not want to choose this game to “cut your teeth” on as I feel that beginning players will struggle.

I have to berate myself publicly where the phaser in the story is concerned. I knew what I had to do and where I needed to go but I nothing I tried seemed to be working. I should have examined my phaser and it would have saved me a good twenty minutes of heartache. A newbie mistake.

The glasses puzzle however was diabolical. I honestly only solved it on my own because I remembered reading or having a conversation with someone about the puzzle years ago (admittedly I’ve been around the block a few times – I like to consider myself experienced rather than old however) and yet I still struggled with the verbage in the game and experimentation with the glasses. I found that dealing with the methane snow storm was a tricky puzzle as well.

If you’re a game historian or you are interested in how games have progressed over time this game offers a first in that the map that you have to create is completely disconnected. The only way to access key locations is to teleport to them AND there is a pattern and specific means to reach each necessary area. All of this will have to be mapped and puzzled out and this was a first in interactive fiction history. The design, idea, execution of design and implementation are all original and a first. It took some getting used to and was difficult to master which is why I said a beginning player might struggle.

Adding to the difficulty of the puzzles and game design was the restriction that you are on limited oxygen with your space suit. Once you obtain everything that you need, treasures included, you have to make your way back to your ship, leave the planet and reconnect with your mother ship. Once you do that you’ll find yourself victorious. I encourage you to try this game out; it is engaging but be warned it may cause you to take up drinking. If you find yourself struggling at some point in the game and would like a gentle nudge (not an outright answer) all you need do is ask.

In Two Heads of the Coin you play the role of a detective who is very reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes. Your sidekick is a Dr. Grimsby rather than Dr. Watson.

We have spent a lot of time in past reviews looking at the historical progression of interactive fiction and identifying the common tropes during that period. This game is historically significant in that it tries and accomplishes something which, up to this point, has never been done before.

Robert LaFore has his entire story take place in the detective’s sitting room. The entire plot and game progresses through conversation between the characters. The game begins with a visitor knocking upon your door at a late hour looking for help. The visitor is a Mr. James Conway. In character, you show Mr. Conway into the sitting room and have him sit down; at which point you then ask him how you can be of assistance. Mr. Conway explains that he wants you to investigate the disappearance of his wife.

The game progresses and you obtain clues and information by talking to Mr. Conway and asking him questions. This is where the game becomes really unique and it really shines. You are not “choosing” questions from a menu or playing a “pick your path to adventure” game. You have to quite literally play the role of detective and ask the right kinds of questions that will elicit “clues” which allow you to piece together the solution. We are also not talking about a two word parser here. Your questions can use proper grammar and be rather lengthy; as if you’re having an actual conversation! I am sure the program is just working off of key words in your sentences but it comes off as rather sophisticated for 1979.

If you find yourself struggling during the interview you can ask Dr. Grimsby for help who will usually do a good job of asking the questions that you did not think to ask. He will not hesitate to make you aware of that either.

This is not a long game and will probably be solved in about a 45 minute session. The idea of obtaining clues through an actual dialogue in 1979 was quite novel. I was able to work the puzzle out though I found the solution a bit difficult to swallow. If you’re interested in trying something completely different that won’t take up too much of your time I strongly recommend you sit down with Lafore’s Two Heads of a Coin. In hindsight; I wonder if Lafore’s work influenced Infocom’s Deadline or Witness which would come much later.

Spider Mountain Adventure and Lost Dutchman’s Gold were written almost back to back. The game is written by Teri Li once again with the help of Bob Liddil.

This game sports an interesting and original title and I was looking forward to it. I was hoping for something similar to the author’s previous work, Lost Dutchman’s Gold, or at least an improvement upon it.

It would seem that what the author did instead was merely edit the locations of Lost Dutchman’s Gold turning it into a fantasy setting. The source code and everything seems exactly the same except for the locations. Instead of starting with a mule you start with something called a “burdenbeast”. Instead of the saloon you now have a tavern in the same location. Instead of dealing with Indians you’re dealing with orcs.

The dungeon is located beneath the tavern this time rather than located out in the hills. There are no puzzles at all in the game; it is merely a snatch and grab. You do have to do some digging in the dungeon much like you had to do in Lost Dutchman’s Gold but the game easily telegraphs where you have to dig.

There are four treasures that you need to find and you’ll want to drop them in the tavern to earn your points for them. If you find all four treasures and deposit them in the tavern then you’ll score 100% and win the game. This game only took me a little over an hour to complete. I owe the rapid run through to just having recently completed Lost Dutchman’s Gold. Once you begin Spider Mountain Adventure after playing the former you’ll recognize that it is the same game but with all of the locations edited. I was very disappointed with Teri Li’s follow up offering especially after enticing me with such a cool game title.

Greg Hassett published three games in 1979: Sorcerer’s Castle Adventure, Enchanted Island, and lastly Voyage to Atlantis.

While the medium saw Gary Bedrosian and Scott Adams begin to experiment and move away from text adventure tropes; Greg Hassett embraces them. We are once again subjected to not one but two different mazes in this game and we are also on another treasure hunt.

The game is quite simple. We’re to assume that we’ve docked our submarine in the lost city of Atlantis and we’re going to don our oxygen tank and swim around collecting as many different treasures as we can. There are no room descriptions and no real plot other than to collect the treasures and deposit them back at the submarine for points.

While you’re swimming around the ruins of Atlantis you will find many of the treasures are guarded by underwater denizens. Your goal will be, much like it was in Enchanted Island (also by Hassett) to find a way to eliminate the guardian so that you can obtain it’s treasure. This usually involves finding something that satisfies the guardian so that it will go away. There are other times where you will use a spear gun to eliminate the guardian.

One of the puzzles is extremely silly and involves feeding a peanut butter cup to a school of piranhas. I find myself crying “foul” to silly, no-nonsense puzzle solutions like this. The labyrinth of the minotaur seems terribly out of place in Atlantean ruins or an underwater environment as well.

The following 11 treasures need to be found and deposited back at the submarine: jade medallion, many coins, valuable piranha teeth, gold scissors, a platinum pick, gold statuette, golden apple, silver key, platinum spear, glistening pearl and golden fleece.

It only took me around two hours to play through the entire adventure. The room descriptions were very simple and the plot was non-existent. The puzzles were all of a lock and key variety and posed no real challenge.

I find the Atlantis theme to be terribly exciting but much like the city itself my high hopes for the game ended up being sunk.

This is another quality text adventure from the mind of Scott Adams. It is #7 in his popular Adventure Series and in 1979 Scott Adams was like Stephen King with writer’s block; writing and programming six adventures in that year.

The quality and originality of his work turned yet another corner with the creation of Mission Impossible, Voodoo Castle, The Count and now Mystery Fun House. He abandoned text adventure tropes of the period and replaced them with plot and some ingenious puzzles.

In this adventure scenario you play the role of a spy who has to enter a mysterious fun house and obtain some hidden blueprints. There are quite a few locations and a number of puzzles to solve in order to successfully complete your mission. Some of the successful ingredients that made Secret Mission and The Count great games are also found here in this one. There is a greater degree of “humor” or quirkiness in this than in the previous two games and this may resonate more with some than with others.

Most of the puzzles were not too terribly difficult but a couple do require you to backtrack and revisit locations until you have that “aha experience”. I do want to report that I did experience some frustration with the parser and some verb recognition in this game. This had not been an issue for me in the previous installments but these experiences for each user are subjective. I seemed to have a lot of problems with the gum and the stick for example and then finally landed on the correct verb. There was a huge issue with the grate late in the game too. I spent a lot of time trying to blow it up which was a purposeful red herring I am sure but I also spent an inordinate amount of time playing “guess the verb” where that grate was concerned. I again played “guess the verb” in the Rolling Barrel room as well so there were a few times where I felt like I was battling the parser a little bit. There is one puzzle right at the end that was both funny and diabolical all rolled into one. I will admit that I had to go to Scott Adam’s Hint Book and get a nudge on this one. I like his hint book because it will not give you an outright solution in most cases but point you in the right direction. It did point me to a location and I then had the “aha moment” that I hinted at earlier and I was then able to solve that last puzzle and obtain the plans.

Mystery Fun House has a diverse number of puzzles and unique locations due to the game’s setting. Who doesn’t expect weird and quirky when exploring a mysterious fun house? This game, much like Voodoo Castle, plays like a large puzzle box that needs to be solved. When you play a text adventure like Secret Mission, Voodoo Castle, The Count or Mystery Fun House you’re bound to become “stuck” with a particular puzzle or part of the game. I find that when I am not at the computer or playing the game; I am mentally turning the problem over in my mind and trying to look at it from different perspectives. I try to create a mental plan or road map of what I am going to try to do to move the game forward when next I play. There is an immense feeling of satisfaction when you do finally get it right without any kind of help. The very fact that a computer game has you thinking about it during a typical work day should bring immense satisfaction to Mr. Adams or to any game creator for that matter. It’s the hallmark of a job well done.