Author: professor6153

Cover Art for Adventure #5: The Count

I initially had a difficult time with this offering. I had mentioned in a previous post that Scott Adams would continue to experiment with the medium and that is exactly what he did with The Count. He introduced a mechanic that was so unconventional at the time that it made me think I was doing something wrong or missing something. I actually exited out of the game and started over three or four times before I allowed myself to give into the story.

Many text adventures up to this point have experimented with the concept of time or having only a limited number of moves. The most common way we’ve experienced this is having our torch or light source go out leaving us in darkness and having to begin again. In every single case the concept of time is monitored by the player and the player’s actions have a direct affect on how time passes in the game.

In The Count, what Scott Adams does is remind the player that time marches on and waits for no one. There are a couple of plot devices which occur in the game that are dependent on the game progressing through time and specifically entire days.

You begin the game by waking up in a large brass bed. The character that you portray KNOWS why he or she wakes up in a strange place but it is up to YOU as the player to deduce why you are there. It will not be long, once you begin to wander around and explore, before you begin to realize you are in Count Dracula’s castle and you are there to destroy the vampire. There is a strange pocket watch that you can find in the castle that will let you know how many moves you have left before sunset. Once darkness descends you are bitten by a vampire bat and you awaken the next morning with marks on your neck and your day begins anew. Each time this happened, I felt that this was such a dire circumstance that I must have done something wrong. I thought there is no way that it is ok to be bitten by this vampire bat and I would then quit and restart the game. I later realized that I hadn’t needed to restart the game; that I could have and even should have continued playing. The other plot device which helped me to realize that I need to allow game time to move along were the daily mail deliveries which occur. It is important to investigate the mail deliveries and to obtain the package contents or you’re not going to be able to win the game.

Mission Impossible played with the concept of time. You had a limited number of moves you could make before the bomb went off. The game title The Count is a bit of an irony because the game completely revolves around the concept of time as a plot device. There is a countdown each day until sunset and you MUST be very economical in your moves. Every move counts! Your inventory management and the way in which you move about the castle counts! You have three days to prepare, search for and then destroy the vampire. If you do not finish in three days, when you awaken on the fourth morning, you will be transformed into a vampire.

There are not many locations in the game but every move counts. There are very specific things that you must do each day in order to survive, destroy the vampire and emerge victorious.

You begin the game with a stake in your inventory. If you do not find a way to hide the stake before you go to bed that first evening the vampire will take it from you. When you awaken the next morning it will be gone. You will not be able to complete the game without the stake. So you must find a way to hide the stake so that the vampire doesn’t find it. Good luck.

This paragraph contains a specific SPOILER so if you do not want to receive any SPOILERS I suggest you skip this paragraph and move on to the next one. If you’re a regular reader you know that I avoid giving you a complete walkthrough because if the game sounds interesting I would like you to experience it for yourself. However I am breaking from my normal pattern because I found this particular puzzle to be so odd that I felt it was borderline unfair. I am not going to tell you why you need it, but one of the things you will need to win the day is a nail-file. You will want to find this nail-file on Day 1. When you’re exploring the kitchen you’ll find an oven in the kitchen. Each time you open the oven it is described as having sunlight streaming out of it. I thought to myself; “how odd – perhaps the vampire chases me into the kitchen and I have to throw him into the oven?” No. Not even close. The reason why sunlight is streaming out of the oven? Why it’s a solar oven of course. You want to wait until the sun goes down (you’re going to have to discover on your own how to stay awake) and then you can climb into the oven. Once you are in the solar oven you’ll find your nail file. Now I’ve never heard of a solar oven. I can’t even begin to wrap my head around the concept of a solar oven. I knew I NEEDED something like the nail-file; but I didn’t know what it was and I couldn’t find anything anywhere. I spent probably two hours minimally stuck at this point in the game. I actually got lucky and found that Scott Adams had published a hint book that NUDGES you in the right direction by substituting words for numbers. So I had to cheat a little bit with this one. In hindsight; I NEVER would have gotten to the possibility of a solar oven and waiting until dark to crawl inside. So I am glad that I ended up taking a hint and becoming a big cheater face. I REALLY hated doing that because I was really enjoying the game.

On Day 2 you’re going to want to find Dracula’s crypt and you’ve got some work to do there to set you up for Day 3. Day 3 is when you have your final showdown with the Count.

Let me warn you; the game is all about getting a proper sequence of events completed in the correct order and doing so with a limited number of moves. There are a couple of things you can find and use to prevent you from being turned into a vampire or at least slow down the process. Manipulation of your environment also takes centerstage in this game. Do not study the screen capture below as it contains SPOILERS!

I found myself saving and restarting several times until I got the order of things correct on each day and had all of the right items. I found the ending to be extremely gratifying because the The Count, in my humble opinion, is the hardest game in the Adventure Series to this point. It is also quite possibly my favorite or at least in my top 3 (I’ll share these with you in a future blog post). I think it would have been a clear favorite if not for the solar oven encounter. It was ALMOST a deal breaker for me but didn’t stop me from enjoying and appreciating this adventure scenario. The mechanics and concepts introduced in this text adventure are novel and really set it apart from the other adventures in this series. The game is much harder than I make it sound and you’re going to find it challenging to manipulate the surrounding environment to your advantage but the payoff is satisfying. In the end I had a lot of fun seeing to it that this particular vampire went down for The Count. (insert groan here)

This is the fourth text adventure by Scott Adams in his Adventure Series and 1979 would prove to be a very busy year for the young Mr. Adams. This would be the second of six adventures that he would publish: Mission Impossible, Voodoo Castle, The Count, Strange Odyssey, Mystery Fun House, and Pyramid of Doom.

From what I can gather during my research it would seem that Alexis Adams, Scott’s wife at the time, created the broad strokes of the story and then Scott did most of the writing and all of the programming.

In Voodoo Castle; Count Cristo has been placed under a curse and it is up to you to find a way to break the curse and free Count Cristo.

Mission Impossible broke away from the maze and treasure hunt tropes and Voodoo Castle follows its predecessor down this road. The plot and locations are tight and concise and represent the components of a puzzle box just waiting to be solved. You will find that you are indeed picking up different items scattered throughout the castle but not to score points in some kind of treasure hunt. The items that you find may help you solve a puzzle in a different location or may lead to even more questions.

The ring that you find on the Count helps you to get to a new location while the shield that you find in the game protects you in another location. These are two examples of the interlocking nature of the puzzles and items found in Voodoo Castle. The locations and puzzles found in the game are all very unique and interesting and cause you to sit back and do a little head scratching. The game overall is not too terribly difficult but it is not an easy one either. I would rate this game as more difficult than Adventureland, Pirate Adventure and Mission Impossible. When you solve a particular problem or puzzle in Voodoo Castle it essentially allows you to move to a new location or propels the story forward. All of these little successes when they occur causes tremendous satisfaction during game play.

As the plot in Voodoo Castle unfolds you’ll soon discover that you’re ultimately collecting items to complete a ritual which will break Count Cristo’s curse. Solving the many puzzles found in Voodoo Castle will allow you to get your hands on two different ancient pages which outline the items which you’ll need for the ritual and how it should be performed. The climax or endgame to Voodoo Castle is a real treat as you’re going to have to literally complete the steps in the ritual correctly. It is here you’ll encounter probably the toughest puzzle of the game. Despite doing everything correctly I could not get the ritual to work. I was lucky to stumble across the solution and I will say this much. When you’re dropping items and juggling your inventory you’ll notice that with one of the items the game suddenly asks; “WHERE?” This is a decidedly different response and you should dwell on what that might mean. Good “luck”.

I really enjoyed Voodoo Castle. I felt like I was in an old episode of Scooby Doo. The investigation of the castle felt real and having to move back and forth between locations and testing theories really resonated with me. When you eventually solve a puzzle (on your own) the feeling of exhilaration is indescribable. Those feelings will soon dissipate when you find yourself in a new location with yet another new puzzle to solve but the puzzles fit nicely together.

I eventually broke the curse of Count Cristo but that didn’t stop Voodoo Castle from putting a spell over me. This was my favorite adventure of the four so far that have been created by Scott Adams. He continues to perfect his craft and to experiment with the medium. The overall plot and the way in which all of the puzzles interlocked together would be an influence for text adventures which would come later. If you’re going to try one of the earlier text adventure offerings from Adventure International; I recommend you start with this one.

I found the mystery of the different titles and cover art extremely interesting with this one. This is another Scott Adams adventure and it is clearly a reference to Mission Impossible. I do not believe that Scott Adams had the license to use the franchise because of these conflicting titles and covers. Perhaps there was a bit of a hand slap or concern over copyright infringement.

This Apple version clearly used Mission Impossible as the title. The game begins with a recording of the mission objective which then self-destructs just like in the television show. There is also a reference to Mr. Phelps who was the main character in the series.

Now in the Atari version the title is changed to Secret Mission however if you look closely look at the cover you can see an IMF printed there which stands for Impossible Missions Force. This is also another reference to the television show Mission Impossible. I was very curious about this disparity because as I was creating my list of games which I wanted to play from 1979; different sources had this adventure listed as Secret Mission while others called it Mission Impossible. I had wondered for a moment if they were two different games. I scoured the internet but I could not find an interview or a reason for the title changes.

This the third text adventure from Scott Adams. It is a significant departure from his Adventureland and Pirate Adventure games. You will find no maze in this offering nor will you have to endure another treasure hunt. There is an actual plot here that involves you having to stop a spy from blowing up a nuclear reactor. Secret Mission is historically important here because it is the first time that Adams moves away from the current text adventure tropes. While others had already done this (Gary Bedrosian) there were a lot of eyes on Adams’ products and multiple conversions of his games for different systems. In the subsequent games which would follow Secret Mission; Adams would continue to play with the text adventure as an art form.

The game plays like an espionage thriller as you have to obtain key cards to access different colored doors and then ultimately defuse a bomb. There is a lot of button pushing and color combination puzzles in this game. In one room you’ll find a chair bolted to the floor with four different colored buttons on the chair. I am not going to walk you through every step of this game because I don’t want to spoil it for you but if you sit in the chair and then PRESS RED the bomb detector starts buzzing. When you then PRESS WHITE something will drop to the floor and you’ll need to pick it up and see what that is. I believe you’ll be able to figure out the mysteries of the chair from here.

There is another complicated sequence in the game involving a window in the white visitor’s room. You’re going to end up smashing that window with a heavy object in order to obtain something on the other side. The only way you can stop the alarm from going off is to wave a badge in front of the monitoring camera in that room. It took me some time to puzzle my way through that one.

There are not a lot of locations in this game. You’re dealing with a lot of button and color coded combinations and then you have to diffuse the bomb. You’ll find the items that you need to diffuse the bomb scattered throughout the game. The hardest part of this game is that you are on a time limit. You have a number of moves to diffuse the bomb before it goes off. You will find that you will have to experiment with the different button sequences so my advice would be to save often. Once you’re used to the color coded buttons and using your different badges with the security cameras and doors you’ll be fine.

I am not a big fan of the espionage genre but I certainly appreciated and approved the departure away from mazes and treasure hunts. This is the first time that Scott Adams makes greater use of a plot and story to drive the narrative. The game locations and puzzles were very tight and realistic compared to past solutions that were borderline absurd or humorous.

If you are a historical computer game enthusiast then take note that this was another example of a game that did away with the maze and treasure hunt tropes in favor of plot and story. This game would influence other interactive fiction that would come after it and we’ll find Mr. Adams continue to play with the interactive fiction medium as we move forward. This message that you’re reading will self-destruct in 60 seconds…

Saddle up ‘pardner’ and let’s set out for an adventure in the old west. Saddle up is exactly what you get to do in this western text adventure however your four legged companion is a mule rather than a horse. The Lost Dutchman’s Gold was written by Teri Li (a pseudonym for Terry Kepner). There are a couple of unique firsts introduced with this adventure. It is the first western adventure that we’ve seen (the popular motifs besides fantasy have been pirates and haunted houses) and secondly the game’s narrator uses dialect first made popular by Mark Twain.

The narrative is filled with Ya and Yer and Y’all throughout the story as the narrator, the ghost of back-packer Sam, acts as your guide throughout the adventure. In another interesting and unique plot twist, later in the story you’ll discover a pile of bones and you realize then that the bones are the narrator’s bones or the bones of back-packer Sam.

If you dig through your saddlebags you can find a way to lead the mule around which will help ease the chore of inventory management. I have to admit though that I found leading the mule around to be tiresome and I eventually left the mule behind. The locations and backdrop are unique in this western theme however it is not very difficult and it does involve a treasure hunt.

Be aware that once you find the hidden entrance to the mines and have a light source in hand that there is a room in the small complex which acts as a trap. If you enter that room you’re not getting out. It is not too big of a deal to restart and begin again but be aware that there does exist a room of no escape.

If you’re having trouble finding a light source be sure to leave no stone or bones unturned. You’ll want to be sure to bring the shovel with you into the mines because you’ll have to dig for one of the treasures and you’ll also want to bring the key with you so that you can make your way out of the escape tunnel to your shack.

The four treasures that you have to find are listed above and you have to leave them in the saloon. The parser was odd where the treasures were concerned. No matter how hard I tried I could not seem to pick up or manipulate the SPANISH COINS. However if I typed *SPANISH COINS* just like you see it there then the game recognized it. I found that to be rather odd and it was the first time I had encountered anything like that.

I found Lost Dutchman’s Gold to be a pleasant enough experience. I believe it was the introduction of a western motif that did it for me. I was not thrilled to participate in another treasure hunt but the game was just long enough and did not overstay its welcome. I spent approximately two hours with Lost Dutchman’s Gold. Now if ya’ll will excuse me I’ve got ter go rustle me up some grits! Where in tarnation did I park that damn mule?

Ancient and unimaginable beings from beyond the stars; monsters made manifest from outside of time; and mortal cultists who worship both, their minds twisted by forbidden knowledge.

Exposure to such horrors can result in madness. While WE might crave both comfort and the truth, only one or the other is possible.

The Call of Cthulhu started as a short story by writer H.P. Lovecraft. It was first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928.

Lovecraft’s creation of the Cthulhu Mythos led to the publication of the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game published in 1981 and currently in its seventh major edition. The game has not reached the financial popularity of Dungeons & Dragons but it has a large and loyal following.

Eye of Kadath is the very first computer game based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The game environment is loosely based on Lovecraft’s novella The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath.

The author of this game, Gary Musgrave, does a very good job evoking feelings of despair and terror with his written descriptions.

After having discovered an ancient tablet at an archaeological dig and spending the last decade trying to translate it with the help of the Necronomicon and other diabolical incunabula, the game’s protagonist has finally succeeded in unlocking its secrets and has descended upon the city of Yaddith, the ancient home of the Elder Ones. In order to prevent their return in fifteen days when the stars are right, the Eye of Kadath has to be found to invoke the powers of the Elder Ones and destroy the gate between worlds in order to save all of mankind from their reign of terror.

When I first started playing Eye of Kadath I did not give it the respect that it deserved. It had appeared to be a Pick Your Path To Adventure type setup and I thought that mapping the game out would not be necessary. However I quickly realized just how wrong that I was. Yes the game does often allow you to choose between branching storylines however it is so much more. You can backtrack through the map and you have to manage items in your inventory. There are puzzles to solve as well and it is definitely more an adventure game than it is a pick your path to adventure.

I had thought the game would be relatively short but I ended up playing for 2.5 hours before I proved victorious. The atmosphere is dreadfully creepy and the author does a great job creating an oppressive atmosphere filled with tension. If you’re a fan of H.P. Lovecraft’s stories or the Call of Cthulhu RPG then you’re going to want to experience this piece of Cthulhu history. This computer game predates the paper and pencil role-playing game by two years. There are some that may feel that the story is a little too dark for their tastes.

Mapping the game is surprisingly tricky and I haven’t seen anything close to this since Lance Mikelson’s Treasure Hunt. I numbered each of the exits clock-wise however each time you back track your perspective of the room changes so passage or exit #2 now becomes passage #1. It was difficult not to become lost or disoriented. Yet another diabolical layer that didn’t reveal itself right away. I’ll say it again; I certainly misjudged the depth and difficulty level of this game based on it’s first impression. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

I enjoyed the writing and the mission to destroy the gate to save mankind is not an easy puzzle solve.

What this game was missing was a maze (the map itself was diabolical enough) and a treasure hunt which was a step in the right direction. There was instead a story or mission to fulfill and this seemed to me more representative of interactive fiction than most. Be prepared to die often and to be filled with a great sense of dread but the length of the game seemed just right to me for an introduction to the Cthulhu Mythos.

Goblins is an odd little text adventure that seems like a cross between a pick your path to adventure scenario and a slot machine.

When the game first begins you are asked if you want to rescue a prince or a princess.

Once you make your decision you are then instructed that in order to reach the princess you must have the following requirements met: a magic sword, a luck score of 75 or more and at least 15 victories.

You then embark on your quest and it plays like a choose your own adventure path scenario.

Above is a sample of the choices presented before you with each screen. Your choice may lead you to another location or it may lead you into combat. Combat is much like pulling the lever on a slot machine. It is very random and you are at the whim of hidden mechanics as you await the random outcome. If you lose in battle it can drastically lower your luck points or you can find yourself deceased and must begin again.

The screen is split into two parts. The top part of the screen keeps track of your statistics. Remember that in order to rescue the princess your luck score has to be higher than 75. Your luck increases when you avoid a random misfortune or receive a benefit or boon. There are a number calamities that can befall you. The elements such as rain, cold, heat, floods, earthquakes, etc. can affect your luck. Your boat can spring a leak and force you to swim ashore as another example. You can discover an item and find yourself cursed which not only affects your statistics or physical form but also lowers your luck score as well.

The combat scenarios which you find yourself in seem tongue and cheek rather than dramatic (you face 1000 orcs and can emerge victorious). It is imperative that you find the magic sword or many of the combats are not going to go your way.

Once you do finally have more than 75 luck points and 15 victories a new branching path will eventually appear. It will take approximately 45 minutes to an hour to reach the necessary requirements.

The rescue is a bit of a let down as once again the pervasive humor in the game rears its ugly head again.

Goblins is a strange little game that takes approximately an hour to play. It is a bit different from anything else that I’ve encountered so far in the 1979 play list but I don’t think I would recommend it unless you’re a gaming historian making your way through a list or set or requirements like myself.

Somewhere out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, far removed from regular shipping lanes, is an island. It is no ordinary island mind you, it is an Enchanted Island! We’ve moved on from Sorcerer’s Castle Adventure to yet another offering from Greg Hassett. This is not a huge improvement over his prior adventure though it is an improvement.

There is still the obligatory maze that we have to traverse, and eleven different treasures to collect and deposit on a beach, but at least there are now a few puzzles which have to solved. The types of puzzles which exist in this game are not diverse but instead all of the same variety. Every treasure is guarded by some kind of creature or obstacle and you have to figure out what each guardian requires or how to remove the obstacle so that you can obtain the treasure.

Most of what you need to remove the guardians or obstacles can be accomplished through trial and error. Some of the solutions are a bit obtuse or just make no sense at all but fortunately the game’s responses help you by giving you blatant clues. Examples are: When you go to THROW anything in the game you receive the response “Sorry Charlie I can only throw the ball”. You will find a glass globe in the game so it is obvious you’ll want to throw it. If it is not in the game’s responses you’ll quite literally find notes which read; HOLY SMOKES A TIGER! BARBS LIKE BAN…(the ink on the rest of the note is too faded to read) but the clues are so blatant I think you’ll have no problem figuring everything out. There is a bit of magic in the game that you can use but be aware that your magic word will not function properly unless you have the RUBY in your possession.

The eleven treasures that you need to find consist of the following:

• jewel encrusted coconut
• enormous emerald
• gold ring
• mammoth ruby
• gold chain
• silver key
• rare spices
• cuban cigars
• golden feather
• priceless giraffe skin
• golden antlers

There really is no plot or story here. It’s a simple treasure hunt with lock & key type puzzles. The island isn’t enchanted but rather a bit flaky and yet I still enjoyed this offering more than I did Hassett’s Sorcerer’s Island Adventure. There was just enough to do here and puzzle through to mildly hold your interest to completion. Remember that young Hassett was only 13 or 14 at the time of writing this so you’ll have to excuse the spelling errors and zany ecosystem but it’s a better offering than his previous one.

I played Enchanted Island on a TRS-80 emulator and spent roughly three hours with the game.

Sorcerer’s Castle Adventure is the fourth Greg Hassett adventure we’ve now been exposed to. If you remember; Greg was only 12 to 13 years of age when he began to churn out these commercial adventures. In 1978 we reviewed Journey to the Center of the Earth, House of Seven Gables and King Tut’s Tomb. This is the first of three additional commercial releases from Greg Hassett in 1979.

In our last game review; Empire of the Overmind showed us just how powerful and immersive an interactive text adventure could be. It broke convention and influenced other text adventures in the coming years.

Sorcerer’s Castle Adventure embraces current text adventure tropes. The definition of trope? A common or overused theme or device. Emphasis on the word overused. The plot here is non-existent. You have as much chance of finding a storyline here as you have of finding a Playstation 5 before Thanksgiving. You begin play in a dark forest which is, wait for it, a maze! You have to traverse the maze of the dark forest to find the Sorcerer’s Castle. Chester the Jester will magically appear to help you with this task.

But why stop at only one maze? There are actually THREE different mazes in this game. Two of the three have the locations merely labeled as Maze. Accompanying this trio of mazes, like white wine is to sushi, is the proverbial treasure hunt.

Once you find the Sorcerer’s castle and make your way inside you’ll begin to find treasures scattered about. Through trial and error I discover that I get points for these items by dropping them outside the front door of said castle.

There are 14 total treasures to find and they are as follows:

• bag of coins
• priceless painting
• giant opal
• golden bar
• persian rug
• priceless sapphire
• set of silverware
• platinum pen
• velvet pillow
• pewter cup
• scepter
• golden pistol
• golden sword
• crown

You actually do find the old sorcerer ensconced in the study of the castle that you’re robbing. I politely ran him through with my golden sword which was dreadfully underwhelming. There really are no puzzles to speak other than working your way through the three different mazes. I recommend dropping items to get your bearings. It works wonders.

For as exhilarating as Empire of the Overmind was; this game felt old and tired with mazes and treasure hunts merely thrown in for ritual or as a habitual act. I have played 15 text adventures thus far in 1979 with 4 more still to play on my list. Sorcerer’s Castle Adventure will likely find itself at the bottom of that list.

Gary Bedrosian continues to impress me as an artist. He is the author of Lords of Karma which was my favorite video game from 1978. Empire of the Overmind is his follow up and it may just be the best text adventure of the era. It is certainly head and shoulders above its peers in 1979.

Gary Bedrosian has crafted a story and setting which is completely unique when compared with its contemporaries. He has done away with the obligatory maze or treasure hunt which have both been text adventure staples. What you have instead is travel between worlds, romance, and an infernal villain to overcome. It all results in a rich experience and one to be savored.

There is so much in this game that is unique and different I don’t quite know where to start. All of the interactive adventures up to this point (the exception being Lords of Karma) have used north, south, east and west as compass directions. The author, instead of using compass points, once again throws convention out the window. In an attempt to create an even more immersive experience, you state where you want to go. For example one of the descriptions in the game reads like this:

You are on a high plateau above a cliff. You see a large red planet in the sky, a path, a mountain trail, a cave entrance, a steep cliff, and a peak towering overhead.

I may respond by typing: Go trail; or I may choose to Go cave; or instead I may try to Climb cliff as examples. This was hard for me to get used to at first because it breaks away from interactive adventure convention. However as the game progresses you find yourself carefully taking in your surroundings in order to plan your response.

The game does not always play the same way as well. Some of the objects you find on your quest are fixed objects but many others are randomly dispersed in different locations each time you play the game. When you perish, items in your inventory are randomly scattered throughout the game’s locations. If you do not want to start completely over than you’re going to have to find the items all over again. Veterans of Lords of Karma will recognize this particular game mechanic.

An epic poem on special card stock ships with each physical game. The poem is written rather well and plays an integral role in your success or failure in the game. You must study the poem carefully for clues to help you beat the game. There was something very gratifying about sitting up late at night and carefully perusing each line of the poem in order to glean some sort of clue. It added atmosphere and context for me and added to the immersive experience. In a different way however than the room descriptions and large book that came with the Temple of Apshai; published in that same year. It evoked a sense of high fantasy and added panache to the game and experience.

It evoked memories of the cloth maps which were shipped with the top tier CRPGs in later years.

The author’s choices he made both in game design and game mechanics were intentional and really resonated with me. I will do my best to try and explain my impression. When you can’t resort to compass directions to move about in the game; it forces you to really study your surroundings. A little more time, energy, and planning then also have to go into making a map. There were times where I would have to go back to the poem again and again and comb it for clues. When you find something within a passage that helps you to further your progress in the game or help solve a difficult dilemma it is exhilarating. All of these game choices help to transport you to “somewhere else”; become “someone else”. I am much older now but I can remember that sense of wonder and excitement when introduced to certain games as a teenager. I had that same feeling of wonder and excitement again; that feeling of immersion when playing this game. I have enjoyed the other text adventures from 1979 but they felt more like a mental exercise or a puzzle to be solved. Empire of the Overmind truly felt like an interactive adventure. There is a plot, a villain that feels real and threatening and the writing in the game is top notch.

1000 years ago there existed a pair of planets, blue and red, whose countenance could be seen in the evening skies of each planet.

The blue planet was ruled peacefully by the king Alcazar Rex with the help of four ministers: Gerald the Green, Rubin the Red, Byron the Blue, and Griffin the Gold.

Griffin was minister of the tax, and while the kingdom prospered, he worked constantly. One night, in a dream, he was spoken to by a dark angel. The angel spoke of a “tireless servant” in a “bright crystal city” in the form of a “smooth sphere of shining gold”.

Griffin found the city in his dream and located a golden sphere. Upon touching it, the golden sphere awoke:

I am Servant-Mind, to thee tireless slave.
The work of dull tasks forever I save.
Provide me the records kept in thy care;
Then I shall compute for each the fair share
Of taxes owed. Yet I can do much more:
Alcazar’s nation wastes goods by the score.
By my plans this will end. Thus shall it be,
If all confidence is given to me.

An evil awoke that night. The Servant-Mind gradually was given more and more information, and started to take over all the tasks of the kingdom.

Servant-Mind corrupted the ministers with false promises of power; as soon as the time was right, it declared itself Over-Mind and became a tyrant.

The Over-Mind summoned demons to protect itself and Alcazar Rex was unable to defeat them. The old king fled (via magical device) with his daughter to the red planet, where he built a tower and was able to live in safety.

With magical foresight, Alcazar cast a magic spell so his daughter would sleep, and the same for Griffin the Gold, now filled with regret. Griffin he put in a cave in order to be discovered by a stranger who would rescue the kingdom in 1000 years.

You of course are the stranger and the Over-Mind is a sentient object of abject evil. There is a little bit of John Carter of Mars here as you will find that you have to travel between the red and blue planets. Many of the locations on both planets are a little alike but at the same time alien from one another. It is a terrific feeling to read the descriptions and differences between both planets.

The game itself is very large and I spent much more time with this game than I did with any of the other interactive adventures from 1978 or 1979. Average playing time with the other titles was roughly three hours and I spent a good 14 or 15 hours with this one. I did not have to resort to any hints though I did not want to either. There are many locations to explore and a good 3 to 4 ACTS in the story. There is even a romantic twist to the story.

There is more than one ending or more than one way to defeat the Over-Mind. I found the ending to be very dramatic and tense yet highly pleasing. I’ve gotten more liberal with spoilers of late but I cannot bring myself to provide you with a complete walk through. I felt that this was much more than a “puzzle box” or an obligatory maze or treasure hunt to complete. If I were to give you a step by step solution I feel that it cheapens a product that deserves your attention. I will provide a screenshot of the end to prove that I was victorious here but I urge you to skip the picture below if you plan on playing this because it does contain a spoiler.

I still have a handful of games to complete from my 1979 list but this one was a pure standout. A gold medal winner. In a year which featured Akalabeth and the birth of the Ultima series, Temple of Apshai, the world of Eamon, Gary Bedrosian may have earned the top spot in 1979 as my Favorite Game of the Year for the second year in a row. If you are a fan of interactive fiction, or a game historian interested in playing games that might influence future games; you must place Empire of the OverMind on your list to play.

If anyone wants to talk about the game or add to my comments I’d love to hear from you. If you do decide to play the game and you need a gentle nudge in the right direction then I am here for you. I thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that you and your family are safe during these Covid-times.

Super Dungeon had been on my list of games to play from 1979 and I began to worry that I might not get the chance to experience the game at all. Why? Super Dungeon was SUPER scarce. I could not find a physical or digital copy of the game anywhere. I want to thank Chester Bolingbroke of CRPG Addict fame for coming to my rescue. He graciously provided me with a working copy allowing me to sit down and spend some quality time with the game.

There is no author credited in the game however Chester did some “super” sleuthing and found a 1980 Programma catalog which lists Rodney Nelsen as the author.

When you combine the title screen of the game with the low resolution dungeon graphics my first impression is that there is not a lot to see here. The game however does check a lot of CRPG boxes:

• there are different character classes to choose from
• an initial store to buy weapons, armor, a horse, and rations
• a leveling system based on experience points
• combat with increasingly powerful foes

Once you are past the title screen and the plot hook you are asked if you would like to read the instructions. The instructions are extensive and it IS necessary to read them.

The character attributes are Strength and Constitution. When you’re in combat you want your Constitution to be higher than your opponent’s strength. When you successfully attack a creature damage is subtracted from the creature’s Strength. When you are hit during combat damage is subtracted from your Constitution. You’ll want to monitor these match ups closely in the early dungeon levels.

Amor Class is a rating from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best. Your armor type, helmet, and shield will affect your Armor Class rating. If you have a magic weapon your chances of scoring a hit are increased and some creatures in the dungeon can only be hit with a magical weapon.

Speed is an interesting concept in the game. You begin the game with a Speed rating of 1 and the only way to raise it is to buy a horse. You’ll want to save money in the beginning of the game to buy a light horse as it will raise your Speed rating (even though it makes no sense that you’re on horseback for 20 dungeon levels). A monster’s Speed will also tell you how many attacks it makes per turn. If you encounter a creature with a Speed rating of 3 it will get to make 3 attacks against you each round.

When you begin play you are randomly assigned your attribute scores and then given a choice to play one of the following character types:

• Warrior
• Wizard
• Elf
• Dwarf
• Hobbit

There is a bit of a strategy in choosing your character type. A warrior gets 25 extra life points to begin the game and is a tank. A veritable fighting machine.

Wizards can read maps and instantly identify magic potions and rings. A wizard receives a +3 to strength at the beginning of the game. Since a wizard relies on spells he or she can automatically hit creatures that are only affected by magic.

An Elf is both a Warrior and Wizard and can always enter a secret door (the blue doors) without losing life points.

Dwarves can wear all armor and use all weapons and can go through bolted or locked doors (the white doors) without losing any life points.

A hobbit can also enter all bolted or locked doors without loss of life points and also receives a +3 to Strength at the beginning of the game.

Once you have decided upon your character type, you purchase equipment, armor, weapons, a horse, and rations. It is then time to enter the dungeon.

Each dungeon level is randomly generated. The goal is to work your way lower and lower into the dungeon. You accomplish this by working your way from one side of the dungeon maze to the other. In the dungeon depicted above the brown square on the right side of the dungeon represents your starting character. You can see an open exit on the left side of the dungeon level. You need to work your way across and reach that exit to get to level 2. It is not as simple as it appears to be.

Notice that each door in the maze is one of three colors: magenta, white, or blue. The magenta doors are unlocked and any of the character classes can make their way through. Each time you cross ANY doorway there is an encounter and combat takes place. The white doorways are bolted or locked. If your character class cannot enter a locked door you can choose to break the door down. The odds of breaking the door down are 50% and if you fail then you lose up to 10 life points. This can be disastrous in the first few levels and based on how the maze is randomly generated you may not have a choice. You do not always have a clear and unobstructed path to the exit. A blue door is a secret door. You can attempt to pass through a secret door but like the white doors there is only a 50% chance of success. Failure means you lose up to 10 life points.

There are six obstacles or things that can occur to hinder your chances of success:

tremors – when a tremor occurs it changes the current state of the maze and you may find yourself suddenly blocked from the entrance or the exit

teleportation – you may step on a teleportation disc which teleports you to a different spot on the current dungeon level. This “event” happens often and it serves to weaken your character. Every step you take in the dungeon reduces your life points by 1. Constantly getting teleported around means more steps for you and thus weakens you.

witch’s spell – if you encounter the witch and she casts a spell on you it usually reduces 1/9 or 1/10 of your constitution points

thieves – if you encounter these miscreants they steal some of your gold

pits – if you fall into a pit it usually costs you 1/9 or 1/1oth of your constitution points to crawl out

wandering monsters – you can encounter roaming monsters a number of times equal to the level you are on but no more than that

There are 20 total levels that comprise the Super Dungeon. I spent some time with the game and made my way all the way down to the 20th level.

The mysterious black square on the left side of the 20th level teleports you out of the dungeon with all of your gold. I was able to fight my way to the portal and VICTORY!

When I mentally compare this game to the six other CRPG offerings that I have played in 1979 I can see the allure here and the addictive nature of the game play. The random generation of dungeon levels and the choice of different classes to play enhances the replay value The magical boons are interesting and the coffins and chests you find in the rooms are a nice touch. It proved difficult to get to the 10th level of the Super Dungeon and there was some strategy involved. Each step costs you a life point and when you reach the stairway to go to the next level you exchange your experience points for more constitution and life points. So you have to balance encounters with travel as you descend into the dungeon. Once you begin to move past level 12 however I thought that the leveling system went off of the rails a little bit. A few of the encounters were difficult but you were awarded quite a bit of experience for your effort. This translated into a very large constitution score which removed a lot of anxiety for me in the late levels.

I have played seven different CRPGs in 1979 and I would probably place Super Dungeon in the middle of that pack. I am grateful for getting the chance to experience this game and it has been very interesting playing these first home computer CRPG ambassadors that followed the Plato games.