Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
An example of a text-based interface in an adventure game
JustimaginetheenthusiasmofpeoplewhoplayedColossalCaveAdventure.Infront
of them was a gigantic computer with a small screen and green blinking letters, and
inside that machine, a real, magical world with full of adventures and unknown dis-
coverieswashidden.Imaginationisanincrediblypowerfultool.ThewallsofColossal
Cave's labyrinths had more details and seemed to be more realistic than any given
modern game that is based on advanced 3D technologies and expensive artworks.
So it is no wonder that soon William Crowther's creation got new talented followers:
Colossal Adventure, Adventure Quest, Zork, and many others.
With the introduction of graphical interfaces and faster chips, a new era began. Ad-
venture games started to explore the advantages of bitmaps. The paradigm was the
same. A game pictured a scene, and the player entered a command trying to make
the correct decision. One of the pioneers was
Mystery House
, an adventure game
for Apple II, designed by a couple,
Roberta
and
Ken Williams
. The game was both
inspired by Colossal Cave Adventure, which was accidentally founded by
Ken Willi-
ams
inside a catalog of a teletype terminal he was working with, and detective stor-
ies by
Agatha Christie
. Being an indie product by modern-day standards that was
developed by enthusiasts, rather than a professional software company, the game
surprisingly became a strong hit. The market welcomed it, expressing the idea that
people desired this kind of electronic entertainment. They liked to take part in ad-
ventures and resolving mysteries. So the golden era of adventure games rose that
would continue for almost two decades until the 2000s.
Roberta
and
Ken Williams
soon founded a game company, which later became
Si-
erra On-Line
. It would publish many notable adventure games chaired by the
King's
Quest
game series (because of its popularity, sometimes adventure games are re-
ferred to as quests). The world also saw masterpieces from
LucasArts
such as the
Monkey Island
franchise, the
Indiana Jones
game series, the
Sam & Max
game
series, and many others.
