Microsoft Adventure
{{short description|1979 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Microsoft Adventure
| image = Microsoft adventure.jpg
| alt =
| caption = TRS-80/Apple II cover
| developer = Softwin Associates
| publisher = {{plainlist|
- Microsoft Consumer Products (TRS, Apple)
- IBM (IBM PC)}}
| programmer = Gordon Letwin
| series =
| engine =
| platforms = Apple II, IBM PC, TRS-80
| released = 1979: TRS-80, Apple II
1981: IBM PC
| genre = Interactive fiction
| modes = Single-player
}}
Microsoft Adventure is an interactive fiction game published in 1979 by Microsoft for the TRS-80 and Apple II, then released in 1981 by IBM for the IBM PC. It is based on the PDP-10 mainframe game Colossal Cave Adventure. It was programmed for Microsoft by Gordon Letwin of Softwin Associates.{{cite journal |title=Microsoft Consumer Products Continuing the Microsoft Tradition |journal=Byte |date=December 1979 |volume=4 |issue=12 |page=179 |quote=Only Microsoft offers Adventure complete, as originally written for the DEC PDP-10, now implemented on personal computers. The ultimate fantasy/logic game, Adventure allows you to explore the depths of the "Colossal Cave,' [...] Adventure fills an entire disk with everything you need for your exploration. Written by Gordon Letwin, of SOFTWIN, Associates. Adventure for the TRS-80 requires a single-disk, 32K system. For the Apple II" a single-disk, 32K system with either the standard disk or language card system. For just $29.95.}}
Gameplay
Microsoft Adventure is a text game in which the player explores caves and acquires treasure, using one- or two-word commands to move or manipulate objects, and the game awards points for successfully exploring areas and gathering treasure. The environment consists of 130 rooms containing 15 treasures, 40 useful objects and 12 problems for the players to solve. The progress of two separate games can be saved on a diskette.{{cite web|url=http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/pc25/pc25_fact.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060814072427/http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/pc25/pc25_fact.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 14, 2006 |title=IBM Archives: Product fact sheet |publisher=03.ibm.com |date=1981-08-12 |accessdate=2012-01-29}} The game features most of the content from Colossal Cave Adventure, along with a few locations unique to this version.
Release
Microsoft originally released Microsoft Adventure in 1979 for the TRS-80 and the Apple II under its new division, Microsoft Consumer Products. IBM later included Microsoft Adventure as the only game in the initial software releases for the IBM Personal Computer, making it one of the first two games available for the new computer{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1981-10/1981_10_BYTE_06-10_Local_Networks#page/n27/mode/2up | title=The IBM Personal Computer / First Impressions | work=BYTE | date=October 1981 | accessdate=19 October 2013 | author=Lemmons, Phil | page=36}} along with DONKEY.BAS (which was included in the operating system). It was released on a single-sided 5{{fraction|1|4}} inch disk, required 32K RAM, as a self-booting disk; it could not be opened from DOS.
Reception
Carrington Dixon reviewed Microsoft Adventure in The Space Gamer No. 49.{{cite journal|last= Dixon |first= Carrington |date=March 1982 |title=Capsule Reviews|journal=The Space Gamer|publisher=Steve Jackson Games|issue=49|pages=34}} Dixon commented that "No game that exists on several different computers can fully demonstrate the potential of any one computer. Even so, your [money] buys many hours of cave exploring and treasure snatching. There is only one 'setup' but that one is rich and complex enough to keep anyone busy for many games. I suspect that many people will come back to this one after some flashier games have been permanently set aside." PC Magazine also reviewed the game positively, writing, "This hoary old classic should be included in any player's collection of games for the IBM PC."{{cite journal |title=Adventure (Microsoft) |journal=PC Magazine |date=December 1982 |volume=1 |issue=8 |pages=179–180}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://archive.org/stream/Compute_s_Guide_to_Adventure_Games/Compute_s_Guide_to_Adventure_Games#page/n77/mode/2up Review] in Compute!'s Guide to Adventure Games
Category:1970s interactive fiction