Adventure (2600)

[JacobZu7zu7]

Well, played Adventure again today, this was a game which I hadn't fully learned yet.

Besides finishing it on game 1. One reason I didn't complete it on games 2/3 was the look of the mazes were ugly and I couldn't see the layout on orange maze leading to the castle, or much in front of me...etc. I read the manual now a few times. Lurked around the mazes, killed a few dragons, outran the red one, got the challice and solved it! Then I solved game 3 twice. Wasn't very challenging since I memorized the mazes pretty easy with little practice.(wasn't as tough as I expected them to be) The hardest part was when I encounted some heavy flickering, and odd mistakes/glitches in the game. I was about to solve it a 3rd time and I got stuck in the castle door as it did not open with my key... the bat hit me, and lodged me into the castle door. I couldn't move...lol. Then another time the bat carried me against a dragon it ate me, and the bat carried us off room to room, (while in was in the dragons stomach!) all the while experincing a flickering mess. The sound when you kill a dragon is pretty weak. I know it's 1980 but still. We all know the DUCKS DON'T LOOK SO GOOD EITHER, BECAUSE IT'S NOT A DUCK after all. Anyway... the arrow for a sword

is rather awful too (I forgot the arrow was a weapon) and so is that "Square" as your main charecter.

Unfortunatley there's no score, and no timer..so you can't beat your old score or beat your best time.

Blah.... most my runs through this game had some problem with the games programming. The magnet can help, but I did lose a key

and magnet into a wall.

 

Now for the plus++'s in the game. The randomized element on game 3 makes for a new experience a fresh game each time you play, I really like that. The game on 2/3 setting, has challenging elements that are kinda deceptive and you need to be on your tails and take it seriously or else you will be slammed and eaten by a dragon. The 2 mazes which are only shaded a few feet in front of you, keeps you tense as you don't wanna hit a dragon. You also might have hard time finding objects in those mazes, which the magnet helps you out.. thats cool.

 

All in all, it's a decent game... but the praise that I read about it suggests the game is perfect...

or the best 2600 game. I am not quite there with Adventure.

 

It merits for me about, *Above average*. or the (B) grade. The game to me, just doesn't play "clean enough" to score a perfect mark. Adding a score or timer would have helped too.

 

What you guys think?

Edited February 7, 2010 by JacobZu7zu7

[Ransom]

Just curious -- did you know that you can hit reset while playing Adventure, and it'll keep everything just as you left it, except: 1) you'll find yourself back just outside the gold castle, and 2) any dragons you slayed will be restored to life? But otherwise, everything remains the same -- castles opened, objects moved around, etc. So when you get stuck in a castle gate or something like that, you can hit reset and keep going.

 

You're right, though, it's not a perfect game. That's often the case with firsts. It was the first action adventure game as far as I'm aware. And it uses randomization to very good effect in game 3. Plus the bat adds a nice element of ongoing randomness as you play the game. And the interface is simple and effective.

 

Comparing it to later adventure games -- even AD&D for the Intellivision -- it comes up somewhat lacking. But it remains a good game to this day, and it deserves some measure of respect from an historical perspective.

 

(As far as the graphics, well, back then game companies didn't tend to spend money on graphical designers for the games. They didn't even have separate game design & programming jobs. One person did it all. I'm not making excuses, just explaining how it was. Warren Robinett was a good programmer & game designer, but not so much of a graphic artist as he freely admits.)

[RevEng]

The lack of score in Adventure is a strength, not a missing feature. Lack of judgement by the game itself, with the exception of the chalice goal, means its completely up to you how you want to play and challenge yourself. You can make up your own rules when the basic game isn't challenging you enough - no resets allowed, speed run, no dragon killing, gather all objects in the gold castle, etc.

 

In many respects it's the first sandbox type game, where it's up to you whether you want to play by the rules or go on your own side quests.

[ratfink]

It also gave us the first (that I'm aware of) Easter Egg, at least the first one in an Atari 2600 game. And if it wasn't for that "flickering mess" I never would have discovered the invisible dot which led me to the Easter Egg!

[JacobZu7zu7]

It also gave us the first (that I'm aware of) Easter Egg, at least the first one in an Atari 2600 game. And if it wasn't for that "flickering mess" I never would have discovered the invisible dot which led me to the Easter Egg!

 

Oh I personally "don't mind" the flickering. However, in game reviews online for 2600...

grades can be highered or lowerd baised on this fact alone. Defender comes to mind. Which often will it tends to recieve a far too low, D/F 4/10 etc. While Adventure normally

gets a perfect mark. I don't think Adventure is at all a bad game, I like it alot.

More then I did before now that I gave it a fair chance. The elements the game

has is quite "influential" and cutting edge in the day.

[JacobZu7zu7]

The lack of score in Adventure is a strength, not a missing feature. Lack of judgement by the game itself, with the exception of the chalice goal, means its completely up to you how you want to play and challenge yourself. You can make up your own rules when the basic game isn't challenging you enough - no resets allowed, speed run, no dragon killing, gather all objects in the gold castle, etc.

 

In many respects it's the first sandbox type game, where it's up to you whether you want to play by the rules or go on your own side quests.

 

Yes I agree, it's not a missing feature... though would be cool to have a 4th or 5th game which will offer time counter or a score. Or just the very end reviel what game setting you had and a white flag appears, showing you did solve it. However you can run behind the challice and push it into the yellow castle to win and show that you did, with the challice glowing in the room. Though that doesn't prove what game setting you had it on. (Thinking along the lines of HSC) This game is not possible to outbeat anyone on.

[Nukey Shay]

I don't know of anybody who considers Adventure to be a "perfect" game. The only catagory that it could have stood a chance is that of innovation, being an early graphic role-playing game, but Superman stole it's place at being first there...complete with named characters and being based off an early version of the Adventure game engine. Sometimes credited as the first game that featured an "easter egg" (i.e. intentionally-programmed hidden feature or message), this too is not the case. The first secret messages appeared in games for the Fairchild Channel F system, and the first hidden feature on this console (AFAIK) appears in Backgammon...the computer is specifically instructed to make the illegal move of double-NINES on the dice under certian conditions.

Edited February 7, 2010 by Nukey Shay

[Pioneer4x4]

Yes I agree, it's not a missing feature... though would be cool to have a 4th or 5th game which will offer time counter or a score. Or just the very end reviel what game setting you had and a white flag appears, showing you did solve it. However you can run behind the challice and push it into the yellow castle to win and show that you did, with the challice glowing in the room. Though that doesn't prove what game setting you had it on. (Thinking along the lines of HSC) This game is not possible to outbeat anyone on.

If you play it on atari.com, you can enter your time.

[accousticguitar]

As far as I'm concerned, the gameplay is perfect. Sure, you can end up stuck in a wall or do something stupid that will make the game unwinnable, but that's just the way it is. The only problem I have with Adventure is that it's too easy. 32 rooms is just not enough to make a sufficient challenge after having played it many times. Fortunately, there are many hacks that alleviate the problem. Nukey Shay has a hack called "Advent" which is very good. The only problem with that hack is I can't make it play on a Kroc cart or Harmony cart. I think maybe it uses a different bankswitching scheme that I don't know about. MissAdventure Revised, a hack that Yorgle did (and I finished), has 112 rooms, 5 dragons and 6 castles in it. It's almost too big, but the challenge is sufficient for me, unlike the original Adventure. Yorgle designed the kingdom and he did a great job. For example, he made forests that you can actually get lost in until you figure them out. There are many other Adventure hacks out there that use Adventure's gameplay but make the game challenging enough that it's fun to play again. All in all, I think Adventure is the best Atari game ever. I still play Adventure hacks quite often.

[JacobZu7zu7]

I don't know of anybody who considers Adventure to be a "perfect" game. The only catagory that it could have stood a chance is that of innovation, being an early graphic role-playing game, but Superman stole it's place at being first there...complete with named characters and being based off an early version of the Adventure game engine. Sometimes credited as the first game that featured an "easter egg" (i.e. intentionally-programmed hidden feature or message), this too is not the case. The first secret messages appeared in games for the Fairchild Channel F system, and the first hidden feature on this console (AFAIK) appears in Backgammon...the computer is specifically instructed to make the illegal move of double-NINES on the dice under certian conditions.

Thank u for the info, nukey. I didn't know it wasn't the first easter egg, nor did I know

that it was a Superman RIP OFF "joking", but really did Superman come out before Adventure?

 

 

Here's a few 'highly marked' reviews for adventure.

 

Adventure (Grade A) - Any game where the lead character is a block

and it is still fun, is alright in my book. This is the original fantasy game and as close to a video game version of Dungeon & Dragons as was available back then. I still find this game enjoyable today, even though I completed

it numerous times. Also the first game with an Easter egg!

 

 

----

Overall

I don’t care about the spartan graphics, the lack of sound, or the simple plot. I give this game 100% overall because it is one of the three videogames I can play and play without getting bored or frustrated (the other two are Ballblazer and Solaris.) When I play Adventure I almost feel 7 years old again, playing Atari without a care in the world and letting my imagination run wild.

Game Data Scores

Title Adventure Graphics 50%

Publisher Atari Sound/Music 50%

Genre Adventure Gameplay 75%

System 2600 Control 100%

Overall 100%

-----

Reader Average Score

94%

(38 scores.)

Excellent!

-----

http://www.videogamecritic.net/2600aa.htm#Adventure

 

Funny how flaws/glitches are overlooked when people LOVE a game,

but if it's an overall average or maybe a hated one, suddenly the minor flaws become

unacceptable and ruin the whole thing. I'd say the best way to review would to be fair to both sides of a good or bad game. If you really don't like it, explain why it's not fun and not the fact the ship dissapears in Defender or the Ghosts flicker in Pac-man. This isn't a "vital" thing to enjoy a game. Adventure has just proven that...

[Rom Hunter]

I think that Adventure is as overrated as E.T. is underrated.

 

I like the game, but I hate that bat.

 

[Nukey Shay]

I didn't know it wasn't the first easter egg, nor did I know

that it was a Superman RIP OFF "joking", but really did Superman come out before Adventure?

 

Yeah...but to be more exact, Superman ripped off Adventure (or at least the proto version of it). If you look at the game code of both games, you can see many examples of how program routines and data structure evolved from the early form used in Superman to the later one in Adventure.

 

 

Sez Robinett...

I started in May 1978 and worked like a madman for a month. My boss, George Simcock, heard what I was working on and didn't think I could do it within the 2600 resources and told me not to do it. However I ignored him and had a prototype with screen to screen movement and dragons chasing you after a month of hacking. But I exhausted myself and went on vacation for a month. When I came back, I was told that Marketing liked the game, but that since Warner, Atari's parent company, owned the first Superman movie which was about to come out, that I was to change "Adventure" into "Superman" so as to ride on the wave of hype. Every time this came up I said I would do it if I had to, but I didn't want to. After a few weeks, my co-worker John Dunn volunteered to take my code and do the "Superman" game, leaving me free to do the "Adventure" game. And that is what happened.

 

I had "Adventure" sort of done in the fall of 1978, but I wasn't satisfied. I sort of put it on the shelf for the next six months while I did the "BASIC Programming" cartridge, and finished them both simultaneously, in June 1979. Then I quit Atari. I guess I was burned out. Or maybe it was that I had $10,000 in my savings account for the first time in my life. I remember I told my friend Julius, "I have enough money to get drunk two-thousand times." Anyway, I went to Europe and traveled around with a backpack. I was 27 when I left Atari.

http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/ROBINETT.HTM

 

Both Superman and BASIC Programming hit the stores before Adventure did.

[maibock]

great story..

 

love Superman and Adventure - both quality Atari games.

[JacobZu7zu7]

I think that Adventure is as overrated as E.T. is underrated.

 

I like the game, but I hate that bat.

 

 

Yeah I like E.T. too. Shame it's gotten such a bad rap on the internet. E.T. actually has less technical flaws that Adventure does, but doesn't make many people enjoy E.T. for what is has to offer. I remember finding the Yar's easter egg by accident and saw it fly away. Was awesome... I only found the "Indy" charecter from surfing for easter eggs on websites. That one was tricker to discover without help.

 

In my opinion, I think Superman/E.T. and Adventure are all decent and great games, but not perfect A's 100% or 10/10 marks. Still, I think the programmer/s did nice work with what the little space avaliable had to make an Atari 2600 game.

 

Don't like when gamers (some not all) only praise the same 10 games, like Kaboom!, Berzerk, Adventure etc,

but say some games like E.T. or Superman are horrible. Anyway you would think people that love Adventure would also like E.T. Superman at least half-way. At least some do.

[JacobZu7zu7]

I think that Adventure is as overrated as E.T. is underrated.

 

I like the game, but I hate that bat.

 

 

Funny you mentioned the 'bat', it was messing with me when I played game 3, 1/2 hour ago so I decided to take the damn thing with me to complete my game lol. Here's a pic.

[accousticguitar]

Anyway you would think people that love Adventure would also like E.T. Superman at least half-way. At least some do.

Adventure got it right, those other 2 didn't. Superman is difficult to find your way around because every screen looks identical. E.T. has problems. Howard Scott Warshaw himself said that the pits need help. I totally agree.

[lhfreak]

I was 10 or 11 when Adventure was released and snatched it up quickly, since I was also just getting into D&D at that time. Adventure was simply awesome. And I agree that having no timer helped to take the pressure off of winning. It was a different world back then, and yes--the graphics didnt wow me but the game play sure did. Its hard for me to imagine how I would rate the game if I just started playing it now (at 41). Maybe not as high....I consider myself blessed to have gotten the chance to have and play it back in the day!

[Mezrabad]

I actually like Superman a lot, I had no idea of its connection to Adventure, so thanks for that quote.

 

An adventure in the sense of the word in real life, is constantly having to evaluate where you are and what you need to do to either survive at that moment or to reach another goal. Adventure can constantly supply new scenarios. Sure, it's all about getting the Chalice, but to get the chalice you may need to get a black key, to get the black key you may need to get into the white castle with a bridge. To get the bridge you need a key to the yellow castle (because it might be in there) which could be in the blue maze, but to get there you need to get past the green dragon who's guarding the magnet in the blue maze. You haven't seen the bat yet, but you know the little turd is flying around somewhere with something and will inevitably screw you over by taking something from you when you need it most.

 

It's a good example of emergence in a videogame. Robinette didn't script the bat to come in and leave you with a key just as you're trying to not get eaten by a dragon, but it happens and it's funny as hell when it does. He didn't script any of it, he just setup some elements with a few simple rules of how things move and how they interact with each other and let them lose in a persistent little universe.

 

Perfect? On the 2600, I don't think there's a game that gets it as right as Adventure does. There are games that are prettier and more challenging, but very few of them can surprise me like Adventure still can.

[JacobZu7zu7]

Anyway you would think people that love Adventure would also like E.T. Superman at least half-way. At least some do.

Adventure got it right, those other 2 didn't. Superman is difficult to find your way around because every screen looks identical. E.T. has problems. Howard Scott Warshaw himself said that the pits need help. I totally agree.

 

I disagree, and I'll explain why... Superman, the screens which look similar but I'd hardly call them identical. Add to the challenge of flying around, you zip around fast enough that it doesn't matter much that they can be confusing, you also could map it out, as Advetures screens didn't really make sense either just was easier. One thing Superman has that Adventure doesn't is an actuall lead charecter rather then a "square" and he can either walk or fly, really amazing for 1980. I find both games fun, Adventure and Superman, maybe Adventure a bit more because of the theme and items are more interesting. But Superman in my opinion isn't in the 'wrong'.

 

As for E.T., the journey is partly made up of going under ground (in wells) to find the phone pieces, and the flower. E.T. like Adventure is randomized each time you play, so the game will play different everytime... E.T. may be a bit more frustrating with the WELLS... around, but it's also more challenging with the time clock, finding pieces and the landing pads etc, whereas with Adventure once you get the hang of it, you basically can solve it without a problem. I have fun trying to beat my high scores on E.T.. If E.T. is too frustrating with the Wells, just select game 3, with noone chasing you. People found game 3 on Adventure ... I would think they'd try E.T. that same way (just for different reason) to make the game easier.

 

Howard Scott Warshaw, I'd like to give him a tip of the hat for creating

YARS' E.T. and Raiders. 3 unique games which add to the 2600 library as just not another Activision shooter... or by the book Atari maze/pac-man knock offs. I mean we seen plenty of those kinds before and they'd been pretty much perfected.

 

 

E.T. has problems. Howard Scott Warshaw himself said that the pits need help. I totally agree.

 

Well, he also or "really" said that he had no regret on E.T. but maybe it would have been better if he placed the (Wells) a little differently so they'd be easier to navigate around.

 

To E.T.'s defense, I can think of many games that can be better if "objects,levels or collision can be worked on to be *better* sometimes it doesn't have to be better.

[JacobZu7zu7]

Adventure was simply awesome. And I agree that having no timer helped to take the pressure off of winning.

 

Well yes, but what I mean was not a timer to "run out"... but one to count how long it took for you to win the game. That way you could try to beat your best time. Though it's not a big deal or gonna ruin the game without one.

[+swlovinist]

Ironically, back in the day Adventure was not my cup of tea. I rather played more twitch games such as Berzerk and Space Invaders. I now find myself being more drawn to the game for what it did differently than other games. Far from perfect yes, but it is a very memorable game that offered a unique gameplay experience.

[pinball22]

Adventure is the game that made me into a gamer... I had really liked the games I'd played before that, but playing Adventure at some friends' house is what made me start saving up for my own 2600. I was really into D&D and getting just a little of that feeling in a game was awesome, and the open feeling of it on game 3 was very different from other games at the time. Finding the dot and discovering the strange things you can do with the bridge just made it seem even more unlimited. I don't know how I'd feel about it if I played it for the first time now, but at the time, it was an overwhelmingly cool experience.

[Pioneer4x4]

Who would have liked it as much if it was called "Find the Chalice" or something other than "Adventure". The name is PERFECT, it makes you think you are on an adventure, not just gaming.

[Ransom]

FIND THE CHALICE

Atari 2600 Game Program

3 Games

 

In the exciting FIND THE CHALICE game, you play the role of a square. You move the square around screens filled with walls. Sometimes there's a colored chicken wire fence in your way. You'll need the appropriately colored key to get past those. But watch out for the inflatable ducks! They're floating around, and can only be stopped by jabbing them with an arrow. Sometimes, a bat will fly by and trade your arrow for a key. Or even an entire bridge! Mighty is the bat...but mightier still is the square!

[accousticguitar]

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.