Avalon (video game)

Last updated
Avalon
Avalon The 3D Adventure Movie Coverart.png
Cover art
Developer(s) Steve Turner
Publisher(s) Hewson Consultants
Designer(s) Steve Turner [1]
Platform(s) ZX Spectrum
Release
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Avalon (with the tagline The 3D Adventure Movie on the box cover) is an action-adventure game written by Steve Turner for the ZX Spectrum and published by Hewson Consultants in 1984. [1] Avalon was followed by a sequel in 1985, Dragontorc . [1]

Contents

Plot

Avalon is set in Britain in the year 408, during the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The player controls Maroc, a "lore-seeker" who has been given a staff and map by a strange old woman and pointed in the direction of a place called Glass Hill on the isle of Avalon, where a quest to defeat the Lord of Chaos begins.

The name "Avalon" is taken from King Arthur's legendary resting place, the isle of Avalon, while a figure named Avallach features in Welsh mythology. Other than this and the time period the game is set in, there is little connection to the Arthurian legend.

Gameplay

Avalon involves controlling Maroc the mage in his quest to destroy Avelach, Lord of Chaos. The player's character cannot be killed. The game world is explored by an astral projection of Maroc; if Maroc's energy is depleted the projection returns to Maroc's "physical" body, from which the game can be continued. [2]

Reception

The game was well received and attained numerous awards from critics.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZX Spectrum</span> 1982 series of home computers

The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. Considered one of the most influential computers ever made, it is also one of the best-selling British computers ever, with over five million units sold. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and around the world in the following years, most notably in Europe, the United States, and Eastern Bloc countries.

<i>Sabre Wulf</i> 1984 video game

Sabre Wulf is an action-adventure game released by British video game developer Ultimate Play the Game for the ZX Spectrum home computer in 1984. The player navigates the pith-helmeted Sabreman through a 2D jungle maze while collecting amulet pieces to bypass the guardian at its exit. The player does not receive explicit guidance on how to play and is left to decipher the game's objectives through trial and error. Sabreman moves between the maze's 256 connected screens by touching the border where one screen ends and another begins. Each screen is filled with colourful flora, enemies that spawn at random, and occasional collectibles.

<i>Jetpac</i> 1983 arcade-style shooter video game

Jetpac is a shooter video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game and released for the ZX Spectrum and VIC-20 in 1983 and the BBC Micro in 1984. It is the first game to be released by Ultimate Play the Game, the company which later became Rare. The game follows Jetman as he must rebuild his rocket in order to explore different planets, while simultaneously defending against hostile aliens. It was written by Ultimate co-founder Chris Stamper with graphics designed by his brother, Tim Stamper. Reviewers praised Jetpac's presentation and gameplay, and it won "Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards in 1983.

<i>Knight Lore</i> 1984 video game

Knight Lore is a 1984 action-adventure game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game, and written by company founders Chris and Tim Stamper. The game is known for its use of isometric graphics, which it further popularized in video games. In Knight Lore, the player character Sabreman has forty days to collect objects throughout a castle and brew a cure to his werewolf curse. Each castle room is depicted in monochrome on its own screen and consists of blocks to climb, obstacles to avoid, and puzzles to solve.

<i>Colossal Adventure</i> 1982 video game

Colossal Adventure is a text based adventure game published by Level 9 Computing in 1982. It was originally released for the Nascom.

<i>Crash</i> (magazine) Computer magazine

Crash, stylized as CRASH, is a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer, primarily focused on games. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress. It was relaunched as a quarterly A5 magazine in December 2020 with the backing of the original founders.

<i>Questprobe featuring Spider-Man</i> 1984 video game

Questprobe: Featuring Spider-Man is the second video game in the Questprobe series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CRL Group</span>

CRL Group plc was a British video game development and publishing company. Originally CRL stood for "Computer Rentals Limited". It was based in King's Yard, London and run by Clem Chambers.

<i>Master of Magic</i> (1985 video game) 1985 video game

Master of Magic is a role-playing video game for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum home computers. It was distributed by Mastertronic in 1985 under its M.A.D. label.

<i>Atic Atac</i> 1983 video game

Atic Atac is an arcade-adventure video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game, released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983 and the BBC Micro in 1985. The game takes place within a castle in which the player must seek out the "Golden Key of ACG" by unlocking doors and avoiding enemies. It was Ultimate's second game to require 48K of RAM; most of their previous games for the Spectrum ran on unexpanded 16K models.

<i>Ant Attack</i> 1983 video game

Ant Attack is an action game written for the ZX Spectrum by Sandy White and published by Quicksilva in 1983. A Commodore 64 version was released in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bug-Byte</span> Video game company active from 1980 to 1985

Bug-Byte Software Ltd. was a video game company founded in 1980 in Liverpool, initially producing software for the Acorn Atom and ZX80. Bug-Byte's first hit was Don Priestley's Mazogs which was one of the most successful titles for the ZX81. In 1983, it published Manic Miner, considered to be one of the most influential platform games of all time. The company went into liquidation in 1985 but their name and logo were purchased by Argus Press PLC for use as a budget software label.

<i>Dun Darach</i> 1985 arcade adventure game

Dun Darach is an arcade adventure developed and published in 1985 by Gargoyle Games for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC computers. It is a prequel to the 1984 game Tir Na Nog. The plot has Celtic hero Cuchulainn on a search to find his companion Lóeg in the mysterious city of Dun Darach. Inspiration for the game came from the works of Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock.

<i>Daley Thompsons Decathlon</i> 1984 video game

Daley Thompson's Decathlon is an Olympic-themed sports video game developed and released by Ocean Software in 1984. It was released in the wake of Daley Thompson's popularity following his gold medals in the decathlon at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games. The game shares significant design similarities to Konami's 1983 arcade game Track & Field.

<i>Dragontorc</i> 1985 video game

Dragontorc is an action-adventure game developed by Steve Turner's Graftgold and released for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum by Hewson Consultants in 1985. It is a sequel to 1984's Avalon The 3D Adventure Movie. The hero of Avalon, Maroc the Mage, returns to defeat an evil witch and save Britain. The game was well received by critics.

<i>Emerald Isle</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Emerald Isle is an interactive fiction game by Level 9 Computing released in 1984. A plane has crashed after being struck by a storm over the Bermuda Triangle. The sole occupant has escaped by parachute and finds himself on an unknown island inhabited by strange peoples and creatures.

<i>The Warlock of Firetop Mountain</i> (video game) 1984 video game

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is an action game published by Crystal Computing in 1984 for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It is loosely based on the adventure gamebook of the same name written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and published by Puffin Books in 1982.

<i>The Wrath of Magra</i> 1984 video game

The Wrath of Magra is a role-playing video game published by Carnell Software for the ZX Spectrum in 1984. It is a sequel to 1983's Volcanic Dungeon.

<i>Joe Blade</i> 1987 video game

Joe Blade is a video game published by Interceptor Micros on their Players budget label for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC in 1987. It reached the top of the UK game charts, replacing Renegade. In Germany, the game peaked at number 7. It was ported to the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Atari 8-bit computers, MSX, Amiga, and Atari ST. A sequel, Joe Blade 2, was published in 1988. Another sequel, Joe Blade 3, was released in 1989.

<i>Quest Adventure</i> 1983 video game

Quest Adventure is an adventure video game written by Kim Topley for the ZX Spectrum and published by Hewson Consultants in 1983.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. 1 2 "CRASH 10 – Avalon". www.crashonline.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  3. ↑ Game review, Crash magazine, issue 10, November 1984, page 50
  4. ↑ Game review, C+VG magazine, issue 37, November 1984, page 83
  5. ↑ "Home Computing Weekly Magazine Issue 088" . Retrieved 9 April 2023– via Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ "Sinclair User Magazine Issue 032". 9 November 1984. Retrieved 9 April 2023– via Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ "Computer & Video Games - Issue 037 (1984-11)(EMAP Publishing)(GB)". 9 November 1984. Retrieved 9 April 2023– via Internet Archive.
  8. ↑ "Avalon". Eurogamer.net. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "Personal Computer Games issue 83, page 12". archive.org. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "MicroHobby Magazine Issue 005" (PDF). Retrieved 9 April 2023– via Internet Archive.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.