Mindshadow (video game)
{{Short description|1984 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| collapsible =
| state =
| title = Mindshadow
| image = Mindshadow game.jpg
| caption =
| developer = Interplay Productions
| publisher = Activision
| series =
| engine =
| platforms = Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Mac, IBM PC, ZX Spectrum
| released = 1984
| genre = Graphic adventure
| modes =
}}
Mindshadow is a 1984 graphic adventure game released for the Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, Mac, IBM PC compatibles (as a self-booting disk), ZX Spectrum, and later the Atari ST and Amiga The game was developed by Interplay Productions and published by Activision.
Production and release
Interplay entered into an $100,000 contract with Activision to produce three illustrated text adventure titles, of which this was one.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33609987/the-los-angeles-times/|title=He's 40 and Still in the Business of Video Games|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=November 9, 2003|accessdate=August 30, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} One of the game's programmers, Allen Adham, hired by Brian Fargo, CEO of Interplay Productions, would later be one of the founders of Blizzard.{{Cite web|url=https://syltefar.com/game/?id=1440|title=syltefar.com: Mindshadow|website=syltefar.com|access-date=2019-09-01}}{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/brianfargo/status/294473955992023041|title=Another bit of trivia: I hired the eventual founder of Blizzard, Ayman Adham to program for me on Mindshadow.|last=Fargo|first=Brian|date=2013-01-24|website=@brianfargo|access-date=2019-09-01}} Rebecca Heineman who worked on the game would later found Logicware.{{Cite web|url=http://www.atariwomen.org/stories/rebecca-heineman/|title=Rebecca Heineman|date=2019-03-08|website=atariwomen|access-date=2019-09-01}} The game had the same gaming engine as The Tracer Sanction,{{Cite web|url=http://retro.lonningdal.net/home.php?page=Reviews&title=The%20Tracer%20Sanction|title=Commodore Retro Heaven|website=retro.lonningdal.net|access-date=2019-09-01}} and the art was drawn by QuickDraw.{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/interviews/interview_rebecca_heineman.html|title=DP Interviews...|website=www.digitpress.com|access-date=2019-09-01}} It was based loosely on the Robert Ludlum novel The Bourne Identity.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lysator.liu.se/adventure/Interplay_Productions.html|title=Interplay Productions|website=www.lysator.liu.se|access-date=2019-09-01}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQTSAQAAQBAJ&q=Interplay+mindshadow&pg=PT441|title=Stay Awhile and Listen: Book I: How Two Blizzards Unleashed Diablo and Forged a Video-Game Empire|last=Craddock|first=David L.|date=2013-10-31|publisher=Digital Monument Press|isbn=9780988409903}} Fargo would later say that the amnesiac storyline was unique for the time and set the game apart from its contemporaries.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidCraddock/20131030/203681/quotStay_Awhile_and_Listen__Book_Iquot_Bonus_Chapter_An_Interview_with_Brian_Fargo.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107072233/http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidCraddock/20131030/203681/quotStay_Awhile_and_Listen__Book_Iquot_Bonus_Chapter_An_Interview_with_Brian_Fargo.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 7, 2013|title="Stay Awhile and Listen - Book I" Bonus Chapter: An Interview with Brian Fargo|website=www.gamasutra.com|date=30 October 2013 |access-date=2019-09-01}} Mindshadow was a "middling success" and "solid seller".{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV7OBQAAQBAJ&q=Interplay+mindshadow&pg=PA63|title=Honoring the Code: Conversations with Great Game Designers|last=Barton|first=Matt|date=2016-04-19|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9781466567542}} The game was included in the Interplay's 10 Year Anthology.{{Cite web|url=https://wasteland.gamepedia.com/Interplay%27s_10_Year_Anthology:_Classic_Collection|title=Interplay's 10 Year Anthology: Classic Collection|website=Wasteland Wiki|access-date=2019-09-01}}
Plot
The player starts on a beach with no memory of his identity. The island is a self-contained area with beaches, rocky cliffs, a hut and a quicksand area, which serves as a maze for the player to reach another location of the game. The character's main objective is to gather objects necessary to assemble a bonfire as a signal for any passing ships.
Once this is accomplished, the character finds himself on board a pirate ship pursued by the Royal Navy without a means to leave the ship or reach any destination. The player has to find a means to stop the ship and thus be rescued and dropped somewhere in London. Clues about the character's past are introduced at this point, as the character receives mysterious instructions and even evades attempts against his life. After buying a forged ticket, the character flies to Luxembourg where he receives more clues and finally confront his nemesis.
If the player has uncovered enough clues (i.e. by reading a newspaper, or finding notes and messages on dead bodies) at the very end, the character will be able to regain his memory. It is revealed that he is wealthy industrialist William Arcman, whose evil twin brother, Jared, having faked his own death, attempted to make William disappear and then steal his identity to take advantage of his wealth. The story started right after Jared hit William on the head and dropped him on a desert island.
Gameplay
File:Mindshadow_(video_game)_Atari_8-bit_PAL_screenshot.png
The detective mystery is portrayed in an interactive fiction adventure game style. A window displays static graphics with the environment the character sees.{{cite web|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=29381&tab=review|title=Mindshadow|author=Rovi Corporation|publisher=|access-date=2014-12-03|archive-date=2014-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114140105/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=29381&tab=review|url-status=dead}}
An important command of the game is REMEMBER which is used with clues. (e.g. REMEMBER WILLIAM ARCMAN) which is obligatory for the player to regain his memory at the end.
The game accepts also the phrase HELP CONDOR; a condor appears giving the player cryptic hints (when available). This can be employed only three times in each playthrough.Game documentation
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| award1Pub = Crash
| award1 = Smash!Game review, Crash issue 25, February 1986, page 79
}}
Sinclair User awarded 2 stars out of 5, describing the game as "not very original" and "rather small."{{cite web|url=http://live.worldofspectrum.org/infoseek/magazines/sinclair-user/48#74|title=Sinclair User March 1986, page 74|publisher=EMAP|access-date=2017-11-17|archive-date=2018-09-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912050829/http://live.worldofspectrum.org/infoseek/magazines/sinclair-user/48#74|url-status=dead}} Crash praised its distinct style.{{Cite web |url=http://www.crashonline.org.uk/25/mindshadow.htm |title=CRASH 25 - Mindshadow |website=www.crashonline.org.uk |access-date=2019-09-01}}
Aktueller Software Markt gave it 8.5 out of 10.{{cite web|url=http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=8214|title=Kultboy.com - DIE Kult-Seite ber die alten Spiele-Magazine und Retro-Games!|publisher=}} Zzap!64 rated it 75 out of 100.{{cite web|url=http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=009&page=107&thumbstart=97&magazine=zzap&check=1|title=Impossible to Display Scan|publisher=}} Your Sinclair rated it 7 out of 10 and Tilt gave it 4 Stars.{{Cite web|url=https://www.abandonware-magazines.org/erreur404.php|title=Le site des anciennes revues informatiques - www.abandonware-magazines.org|website=www.abandonware-magazines.org|access-date=2019-09-01}} Info said it was a nice graphic adventure game.{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/Info_Issue_10_1986-05_Info_Publications_US|title=Info - Issue 10 (1986-05)(Info Publications)(US)|date=May 1986}} Amstrad Action felt the game was surprising.{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/amstrad-action-003|title=Amstrad Action Issue 003}} Lemon64 felt the title was merely adequate.{{lemon64 game|id=1684|name=Mindshadow}}
Sales
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{moby game|id=/mindshadow}}
- [https://www.mocagh.org/loadpage.php?getgame=mindshadow-alt Mindshadow] at the Museum of Computer Adventure Game History (MOCAGH)
- {{IFDB|id=m2wl06w0irs8vgdc|title=Mindshadow}}
Category:1980s interactive fiction
Category:Atari 8-bit computer games
Category:Video games about amnesia