After eons of prolonged adventure game play-testing including
vicariously casting and dodging evil spells, teleporting into the
fourth dimension, hitting the high notes in a Wagnerian opera,
practicing "safe" sex, acquiring strange companions, and being
graduated from Harvard, the judges of the second Adventure Game
Toolkit (AGT) Adventure Game Writing Contest have finally picked the
winner(s).
Drum role, please!
......And the First Prize ($100) winner is:
A DUDLEY DILEMMA -- By Lane Barrow. In this game, you play the role
of a Harvard University student living in Dudley House in his/her
quest for knowledge, adventure and a diploma. This award winning game
is a very clever, humorous and challenging adventure in the classic
style of Infocom.
Lane is a graduate student at Harvard University where he is working
on a Ph.D in English Literature. Lane confessed that he wrote DUDLEY
DILEMMA as a break from (i.e., to avoid working on) his Ph.D thesis.
DUDLEY was his first attempt at writing any kind of computer software.
He said that the Adventure Game Toolkit (AGT) made writing the game
both easy and fun. Lane is hard at work on his second AGT adventure
game which will be set in Victorian England and will be based on the
characters and stories of Charles Dickens (the subject of his Ph.D
thesis).
In addition to A DUDLEY DILEMMA, the contest had a number of other
excellent entries. Among them, the judges have singled out the very
best adventures as deserving an "Honorable Mention." These winning
entries include (in alphabetical order):
DES RING DES NIBELUNGEN -- By Michael R. Harris. You play the role of
Siegfried in an adventure based on the operas of Richard Wagner --
complete with a very tender and loving Brunnhilde. A very unusual
approach to an adventure game.
STAR PORTAL -- By Michael Detlefsen. A science fiction adventure
based on a Damon Knight short story, "Ticket to Anywhere", in which
you journey to the stars in search of adventure, encounter alien
creatures, explore the ruins of deserted cities, and acquire a pet
dog. An awesome game!
SUSAN, A LUSTFUL GAME -- By Bill Larkins. You attempt to score points
with your girlfriend, Susan. An R-rated game for adults only.
TAMORET -- By Michael J. Lyons. You are called upon to help return a
creature from the fourth dimension that has escaped into our world.
The largest and most complex game every created with AGT (so far).
TARK, PRIESTESS OF THE FIRST CHURCH, IN HER BATTLE AGAINST THE DEMON
OF DARK DESIRE -- By Philip Kegelmeyer. An extremely well written
game based on a "Dungeons and Dragons" theme (complete with spells and
hit points) where you play a priestess struggling against the forces
of evil.
All of the winning games are available from Softworks, the publisher
of the Adventure Game Toolkit, in a special 2-disk set of files called
"The Best of the Contest". These disks contain over a mega-byte of
AGT source code. These disks are available for $12 from:
Softworks
43064 Via Moraga
Mission San Jose, California 94539
(415) 659-0533 (12:00 Noon to 8:00 PM -- PST)
VISA and MasterCard orders can be made by phone. All orders should
specify which disk format is desired: Macintosh, IBM 5 1/4 or IBM
3 1/2.
As a special "bonus" these disks also contain the AGT source code to
these recent adventure games:
PORK -- By David Malmberg. A parody of the Infocom game of ZORK. If
you were ever frustrated by ZORK, playing this game is your chance to
enjoy the sweet fruits of revenge.
LOVE'S FIERY RAPTURE -- By Natasha Mirage. A torrid tale of what
could turn out to be THE perfect date. A parody (???) of romance
novels like those published by Harlequin. This game demonstrates a
very clever way to translate a "Choose Your Own Adventure" style game
into an AGT game.
Order "The Best of the Contest" disks today, and let yourself in on
some of the best adventure gaming in years!
