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Various companies

This section lists games that I haven't been able to figure out what company they belong to yet.


Aardvark

Type:
Text only
Notes: Non-commercial game for Unix.


Adventure Twinpack


Runs on:

Notes: I don't know what's in this.


Another Fine Mess



The Assault


Runs on:


Atlantis


Runs on:


A To Snad Ne?!


Runs on:

Notes: Divided into two parts. In Czech.


Aural Quest


Runs on:


Bilbo (v2.0)

Type:
Graphics Written 1989 by Nils Eng.
Runs on:
Notes: Public domain game from Computer Club Sweden's PD library. It is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It is written in Swedish. Available from ftp.gmd.de.

Comments: Not very good but quite different.


Bugsy Malone



C.I.A. Adventure

Type:
Text only Written 1983 by Hugh Lambert and Martin Sprave.
Runs on:

Comments: Recover a ruby from a secret government project.


The Curse



Curses

Type:
Text only Written by Graham Nelson (nelson@vax.ox.ac.uk).
Runs on:
Notes: Available at ftp.gmd.de.


Dare to Dream

Type:
Graphics
Runs on:


The Dark Tower

Type:
Graphics Written 1984 or before.
Runs on:

Comments: Text/crude graphics adventure (cruder than Mystery House) and in black and white. The idea was to enter a castle and work your way upstairs to the tower. There were tons of rooms like The Jester's Room (where a jester asks you what you say to a two headed dragon, and if you didn't type "Hello, hello" in the most parser-perfect syntax, he throws you out the window), the Ivy Room (where ivy tries to strangle you), and a room where you find a monster taking a bath!

It was probably produced by a company that was affiliated with Microsoft (Microzone or Softzone maybe, or even Scholastic).


Darth Vader Adventure

Type:
Text only Written 1978-1979 or earlier in Basic.
Runs on:
Notes: The source code lists no author.

Comments: It had a very primitive two-word parser, stole a small amount of plot from Star Wars, and featured an object called a turboencabulator.


Dr. Avaloe


Notes: Probably for TRS-80.


Dracula's Castle



Dragonsbane



Escape from Prison Planet

Type:
Text only Written by Peter Clark in PAW.
Runs on:


Eye of Zolton



Eryus


Runs on:


Giant World



Goblin Towers

Type:
Text only
Runs on:

Comments: Above-average treasure hunt inspired by Zork and Colossal Adv.


Gordon Saga



The Great Archaeological Race



The Very Big Cave Adventure

Type:
Text only
Runs on:

Comments: This is very similar to the Adventure! now widely available, but with differences: there's a UFO room near the Hall of Mountain King at the start, and I'm pretty sure Gotham City and Alice in Wonderland are involved somewhere.


Greedy Dwarf



Grottan


Notes: In Swedish.

Comments: Humorous but perhaps more a maze than an adventure.


Hired to Kill

Type:
Text only Written 1983 by Tom Powell.
Runs on:


Hounds of Hell

Type:
Text only Written 1991 by Peter Clark in PAW.
Runs on:


Fruity Frank


Runs on:


hastur.rlyeh.net

Written in DNS (Yes, Domain Name Server).
Notes: This must be one of the most bizarre implementations of an adventure games ever created. It is implemented in TXT records in DNS, the system that is normally used to convert computer names to IP addresses. It's really a choose-your-path book but with an extremely weird implementation.

A sample session:

pooh:~ :-) nslookup - hastur.rlyeh.net
> set querytype=txt
> set domain=adventure
> 1
Server: hastur.rlyeh.net
Address: 193.215.252.2

1.adventure text = "You are walking along a country road, you \
spot a pizza lying in the middle of the road. \
You are ravenous with hunger. Do you (2) walk \
past, or (3) attack the poor helpless pizza?"
adventure nameserver = hastur.rlyeh.net
hastur.rlyeh.net internet address = 193.215.252.2
> 3
...


Horror Hotel

Type:
Text only Written 1988 by John Vander Aert.
Runs on:
Notes: Written in Dutch.

Comments: About a hotel with vampires.


Ice and Fire

Written around 1989.
Runs on:


Infinite Inferno

Type:
Graphics Written by S. Hugemark and P. Henningsohn.
Runs on:


Jerusalem 2



Klartz and the Dark Forces

Type:
Text only/Graphics Written 1984.
Runs on:

Comments: Destroy the evil Klartz who travels through time and space corrupting the very fabric of the universe... You must assemble the relics of his victims under the power of light. In theory, this should radiate enough power to destroy Klartz... You must travel through five different time zones: early solar, mid-solar, late solar, far space and outer galaxy.


Last in Amsterdam

Type:
Graphics Written 1992 by John Vanderaart.
Runs on:
Notes: This was for a contest in the Dutch computer magazine "Computer! Totaal". Written in Dutch.

Comments: About a guy searching for his brither and sister in Amsterdam.


Lord of the Rings

Type:
Text only Written 1981.
Runs on:


Lord of the Rings

Type:
Text only Written 1984?.
Runs on:
Notes: The publishers of this game did not have any rights from the Tolkien estate.


Mindbender

Written by Paul Styles.
Runs on:


Mormonoids from the Deep

Written by Robert Carr in World Builder.
Runs on:

Comments: You're in Mormonville, on the ninth day of a bender, sobering up, with one sixpack left and a car that's out of gas. Your weapons are a suitcase-sized nuclear device, a Colt 45, two fists, and two feet. Arrayed against you are the 'townsfolk.' There's the Angel Moroni, the Holy Ghost, and little Molly Mormon, plus others whose zenophobia makes them truly a force to be reckoned with. Kinky Marie, for instance, is Marie Osmond's psychotic twin sister, who has been locked in a closet for the last seventeen years and in naturally eager to get out. Meanwhile, Beowulf Hernandez, an El Salvadorian death squad leader and CIA hitman, wants to speak to you about that beer truck you wrecked ten miles out of town on your desperate search for booze. In order to survive, you have to battle these bozos while searching for gas so that after you arm the suitcase nuke, you can drive your car out of town to escape the blast, as Mormonville is reduced to rubble.


Oh Shxx!

Written by Dominic Morris in GAC.
Runs on:

Comments: Imagine...you're sleeping off a heavy night and suddenly you sense a movement from deep in your bowels, you dash to the outside loo, sit down feel thoroughly relieved, and go to stand up ... you're stuck! Your posterior is firmly superglued to the porcelain god....


The Paradox Effect


Notes: A straightforward text adventure with a very simple parser.

Comments: Based on time travel, although I didn't see any time-based puzzles.


The Pen and the Dark

Type:
Text only Written by Keith Campbell.
Runs on:


Phantom of the Opera


Runs on:


Pharaoh's Tomb



Presumed Guilty

Type:
Graphics/Music Written 1991?.

Comments: It is similar to Infocom's A Mind Forever Voyaging (but not nearly as good). You play an AI computer who's framed for murder and must solve the crime. It's almost all menus.


Quantum Gate

Written 1994.
Runs on:


Quest of Garnath

Type:
Text only Written in Basic.
Runs on:

Comments: A sorcerer must travel through a world filled with magic to find the treasure of late Lord Garnath.


Robots



Runefall


Runs on:


Sagan om ringen (The Lord of the Rings)

Type:
Text only Written 1984.
Runs on:
Notes: Third prize winner in "Swedish Adventure Game Championship", held by a Swedish computer magazine. The game was completely finished but never released.


Shifting Sands

Type:
Text only Written by David R. Moffatt in AdventureWriter.
Runs on:
Notes: Might be PD.

Comments: You have magically been transported to Egypt and must explore a pyramid.


Skyland

Type:
Text only

Star Saga

They were these really, REALLY well written text-based space adventures. They were a bit strange in that the computer was only used for making choices and movements, and the actual text was in a series of books that came with the game. The plot behind the game was perhaps the most incredible, thoughtful, and dramatic treatment of a space game that I have ever seen.


Success, Inc.

Written about 1989.
Notes: This is supposed to have been released by Virgin, Melbourne House, or Mastertronic.


The Tebbit

Type:
Text only Written by the author of Dennis through the Drinking Glass.
Notes: Not released.

Comments: A parody on The Hobbit. It was supposed to have a 'political' spoof slant. Just before it was due to be released, there was a bombing of the conservative party conference in Brighton (early eighties), and the game was not released because it was thought to be in 'bad taste'.


Theseus and the Minotaur

Type:
Text only Written by Anthony Collins in Graphic Adventure Creator.
Runs on:

Comments: According to the Greek legend, you must seek out and kill the Minotaur in this two-parter. Along the way, you must also prove your heritage to your father, the king of Athens.


Thief's Adventure



Tomb of Xeiops

Type:
Text only
Runs on:


Top Secret


Runs on:


Tripods



Troops


Runs on:


Uppsjö

Type:
Text only Written around 1985 in Basic.
Runs on:

Comments: It was a rather simple treasure hunt game with a verb-noun parser that only understood a handful of words.


Virus


Runs on:

Notes: In Swedish


Wild West


Runs on:


Witch Hunt

Type:
Text only Written 1987 by Jack Lockerby in The Quill.
Runs on:

Comments: An evil witch abducts you from your cosy cottage to a mysterious world. How can you return?


World

Type:
Text only Written by Doug McDonald.
Notes: Public domain.


Zakil Wood


Runs on:


Zauberland

Written 1985 by Phillip Koehn.
Notes: Public domain game. In German. Available from ftp.gmd.de.


Zenos


Runs on:

Comments: About being in a ghost town that was taken over by aliens.


Adventureland was created by Hans Persson and is now maintained by Stefan Meier.

If you find any errors or have information that is missing, please let me know