Adventure (Colossal Cave)
 Adventure Title Screen | |
| Release Date: | 1968 |
|---|---|
| Latest Version: | |
| Project Status: | N/A |
| Developer(s): | N/A |
| Publisher: | N/A |
| Designer(s): | William Crowther, Don Woods |
| Source Available: | Yes |
| Category: | Game |
| Type: | Full |
| Genre: | Text Adventure |
| Theme(s): | Exploration, Fantasy, Spelunking |
| Engine: | Unknown or Unnamed |
| CP Scheme: | None |
| ESRB Rating: | Unrated |
| Platform: | MS-DOS |
| Localization: | English |
| Website: | N/A |
A.K.A.
- Adventure
- Colossal Cave
- ADVENT
- The Original Adventure
Description
Colossal Cave Adventure is a text-based adventure game, released in 1976 by Will Crowther for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. It was expanded upon in 1977 by Don Woods. In the game, the player explores a cave system rumored to be filled with treasure and gold. The game is composed of dozens of locations, and the player moves between these locations and interacts with objects in them by typing one- or two-word commands which are interpreted by the game's natural language input system. The program acts as a narrator, describing the player's location and the results of the player's attempted actions. It is the first well-known example of interactive fiction, as well as the first well-known adventure game, for which it was also the namesake.
Synopsis
he player explores a mysterious cave that is rumored to be filled with treasure and gold. The player must explore the cave system and solve puzzles by using items that they find to obtain the treasures and leave the cave. The player types in one- or two-word commands to move their character through the cave system, interact with objects in the cave, pick up items to put into their inventory, and perform other actions. The allowable commands are contextual to the location, or room, the player is in; for example, "get lamp" only has an effect if there is a lamp present. There are dozens of rooms, each of which has a name such as "Debris Room" and a description, and may contain objects or obstacles. The program acts as a narrator, describing to the player their location in the cave and the results of certain actions. If it does not understand the player's commands, it asks for the player to retype their actions.[1] The program's replies are typically in a humorous, conversational tone, much as a Dungeon Master would use in leading players in a tabletop role-playing game.
About
Colossal Cave Adventure was one of the first teletype games and was massively popular in the computer community of the late 1970s, with numerous ports and modified versions being created based on Woods's source code. It directly inspired the creation of numerous games, including Zork (1977), Adventureland (1978), Mystery House (1980), Rogue (1980), and Adventure (1980), which went on to be the foundations of the interactive fiction, adventure, roguelike, and action-adventure genres. It also influenced the creation of the MUD and computer role-playing game genres. It has been noted as one of the most influential video games, and in 2019 was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame by The Strong and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games.
Inspiration for Mystery House
At the end of the 1970s, Ken Williams sought to set up a company for enterprise software for the market-dominating Apple II computer. One day, he took a teletype terminal to his house to work on the development of an accounting program. Looking through a catalog, he found a game called Colossal Cave Adventure. He bought the game and introduced it to his wife, Roberta, and they both played through it. They began to search for something similar but found the market underdeveloped. Roberta decided that she could write her own, and conceived of the plot for Mystery House, taking inspiration from Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None. She was also inspired by the board game Clue, which helped to break her out from a linear structure to the game.
Where to Get It
Internet Archive
New Installer
SHP Adventure DOSBox Installer Setup File [675 KB]
Walkthroughs/Hints
References
Related Links
- Adventure (Colossal Cave) on Wikipedia
- Adventure (Colossal Cave) on MobyGames
- Adventure (Colossal Cave) on IMDb
