In Search of the Most Amazing Thing

Last updated
In Search of the Most Amazing Thing Coverart.png
Developer(s) Tom Snyder Productions
Publisher(s) Spinnaker Software
Platform(s) Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, MS-DOS
Release1983
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

In Search of the Most Amazing Thing is a video game designed by Tom Snyder Productions. It was published by Spinnaker Software in 1983 for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. Although marketed as a children's game, it drew acclaim from players of all ages for its original concept and imaginative game world.

Contents

Plot

The game begins on a mysterious planet, Porquatz, with the androgynous player, Terry Bailey, exploring his/her subterranean home city by elevator. Terry's mysterious uncle, Smoke Bailey, has recently arrived in a strange craft known as the B-Liner, a hybridized all-terrain vehicle and hot-air balloon. Finding Smoke napping in his room, and waking him from his reverie with repeated shouts, Terry is tasked by Smoke to embark in the B-Liner on a quest for a lost artifact known only as "The Most Amazing Thing".

Navigating the world outside the city, known as the Mire, is a considerable challenge. Driving the B-Liner over the tar-like surface is easy, but leaves you open to being chased and temporarily paralyzed by Mire Crabs. To avoid these, the B-Liner can use its balloon to float above the Mire in unpowered flight, but this requires the player to carefully trim the B-Liner's altitude to take advantage of different wind currents prevailing at different altitudes, as well as monitoring fuel supply and navigating by dead reckoning.

Gameplay

To investigate notable objects in the Mire, the player can perform EVA using a personal jetpack. Encounters range from the benign Popberry trees, which provide food for the player, to the deadly Mire crabs, to the quizzical merchant aliens who provide Terry with vital clues and supplies for the quest. To trade with these aliens, the player must create Musix, a simple line-drawing translated by the game into a melody, which is then evaluated by the aliens according to their aesthetics, which vary according to the tribe they belong to. Due to their intrinsic shyness, the aliens communicate with the player entirely in a form of semaphore code, utilizing the only visible part of their anatomy: twin antennae, protruding coyly over the edge of the aliens' "desks".

Development

The game was Tom Snyder's first title after joining Spinnaker Software to make educational software for home and the classroom. A March 1983 edition of Arcade Express said the game was due to be released that month. [1] A self-professed "software novelist", his approach to the game's development was like a novelist outlining the opening chapters of a book, working on them as written fiction pieces before translating the content to a game. [1]

Reception

Byte magazine called In Search of the Most Amazing Thing "an exciting adventure [and] a valuable educational tool", and added that it "clearly points out the versatility of the IBM PC as an educational tool, a recreational computer, and a business machine. I highly recommend this game". [2] PC Magazine praised the game's logic, humor, and pacing, [3] while Antic thought that it was "complex, challenging, and imaginative". [4] Australian Apple Review praised the game as "probably the best adventure program ever written for computers". [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VisiCalc</span> 1979 computer application

VisiCalc is the first spreadsheet computer program for personal computers, originally released for the Apple II by VisiCorp on October 17, 1979. It is considered the killer application for the Apple II, turning the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool, and then prompting IBM to introduce the IBM PC two years later. More than 700,000 copies were sold in six years, and up to 1 million copies over its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari 8-bit computers</span> 1979-1991 home computer series

The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 6502 CPU and three custom coprocessors which provide support for sprites, smooth multidirectional scrolling, four channels of audio, and other features. The graphics and sound are more advanced than most of its contemporaries, and video games are a key part of the software library. The 1980 first-person space combat simulator Star Raiders is considered the platform's killer app.

<i>Castle Wolfenstein</i> 1981 video game

Castle Wolfenstein is a 1981 action-adventure game developed by Silas Warner for the Apple II and published by Muse Software in 1981. It is one of the earliest games based on stealth mechanics. A port to Atari 8-bit computers was released in 1982, followed by Commodore 64 (1983) and MS-DOS (1984). The player takes the role of an Allied prisoner of war during World War II who held captive in the fictional Castle Wolfenstein. After escaping from a cell, the player's objective is to find the Nazis' secret war plans and escape from the castle. Nazi soldiers can be dealt with via impersonation, sneaking, or killing.

<i>Starcross</i> (video game) 1982 video game

Starcross is an interactive fiction game written by Dave Lebling and published in 1982 by Infocom. The game was released for the IBM PC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, TRS-80, TI-99/4A, and later the Atari ST and Amiga. It was Infocom's fifth game and first in the science fiction genre. Starcross takes place in the year 2186, when the player's character is a lone black hole miner exploring an asteroid belt. It sold 90,315 copies.

<i>Rescue at Rigel</i> 1980 video game

Rescue at Rigel is a 1980 science fiction role-playing video game written and published by Automated Simulations. It is based on a modified version of their Temple of Apshai game engine, which was used for most of their releases in this era. The game was released for the Apple II, IBM PC, TRS-80, PET, VIC-20, and Atari 8-bit computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinnaker Software</span> American software company

Spinnaker Software Corporation was a software company founded in 1982 known primarily for its line of non-curriculum based educational software, which was a major seller during the 1980s. It was founded by chairman Bill Bowman and president C. David Seuss.

<i>Below the Root</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Below the Root is a 1984 video game developed for Commodore 64, IBM PC, and Apple II home computer lines. The game is a continuation of the author Zilpha Keatley Snyder's Green Sky Trilogy, making it the fourth story in the series. The game is set in a fantasy world of Green-Sky covered with enormous trees and wildlife. The player is tasked to choose one of the five characters to explore the world and discover the meaning of the words that appeared in the dreams of the character D'ol Falla. The player explores the world through platforming, solving puzzles and exploration.

<i>Apple Panic</i> 1981 video game

Apple Panic is a game for the Apple II programmed by Ben Serki and published by Broderbund Software in 1981. Apple Panic is an unauthorized version of the 1980 arcade game Space Panic, the first game with ladders and platforms. While the arcade original remained obscure, Apple Panic became a top seller for home computers. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, VIC-20, IBM PC, and TRS-80.

<i>Repton</i> (1983 video game) 1983 video game

Repton is a Defender-inspired scrolling shooter written by Dan Thompson and Andy Kaluzniacki for the Apple II and published by Sirius Software in 1983. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, and Commodore 64.

Bank Street Writer is a word processor for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, MSX, Mac, IBM PC, and IBM PCjr computers. It was designed in 1981 by a team of educators at the Bank Street College of Education in New York City, software developer Franklin E. Smith, and programmers at Intentional Educations in Watertown, Massachusetts. The software was sold in two versions: one for elementary school students published by Scholastic and a general version from Broderbund.

<i>Crossfire</i> (1981 video game) 1981 video game

Crossfire is a multidirectional shooter created by Jay Sullivan for the Apple II and published by On-Line Systems in 1981. Using keyboard-based twin-stick shooter controls, the player maneuvers a ship in a grid-like maze. Versions with joystick-control use the stick for movement and switch to firing mode when the button is held down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atari 8-bit computer software</span>

Many games, utilities, and educational programs were available for Atari 8-bit computers. Atari, Inc. was primarily the publisher following the launch of the Atari 400/800 in 1979, then increasingly by third parties. Atari also distributed "user written" software through the Atari Program Exchange from 1981 to 1984. After APX folded, many titles were picked up by Antic Software.

<i>Legionnaire</i> (video game) 1982 video game

Legionnaire is a computer wargame for Atari 8-bit computers created by Chris Crawford released through Avalon Hill in 1982. Recreating Julius Caesar's campaigns in a semi-historical setting, the player takes command of the Roman legions in real-time battles against the barbarians.

<i>The Hunt for Red October</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

The Hunt for Red October is a video game based on the 1984 book The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy. It was released in 1987 and was available for the Atari ST, Amiga, Apple II, Macintosh, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Commodore 64, and IBM PC. A port for the Apple IIGS was released in 1989. The game is a combination of submarine simulator and strategy game. The player navigates the Red October towards U.S. waters while avoiding the Soviet Navy.

Windham Classics Corporation was a subsidiary of Spinnaker Software. The corporation was founded in 1984 and went defunct circa 1985/86 or later. The headquarters were in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

<i>Snooper Troops</i> 1982 video games

Snooper Troops is a series of two 1982 adventure/educational video games developed by Spinnaker Software and published by Computer Learning Connection. They were released for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. The first case was entitled Snooper Troops: Case #1: The Granite Point Ghost and the second case entitled Snooper Troops: Case #2 - The Case of the Disappearing Dolphin was released later that year.

<i>The Eliminator</i> (video game) 1981 video game

The Eliminator is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Terry Gilman and Wayne Westmoreland for the TRS-80 and published by Adventure International in 1981. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit computers and Apple II. The Eliminator is a clone of the Defender arcade game.

<i>Trump Castle</i> (series) Video game series

Trump Castle is a series of gambling video games published by Capstone Software between 1989 and 1993. The games are named after Trump's Castle hotel-casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and were released for Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, and MS-DOS.

<i>Run for the Money</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Run for the Money is a two-player business simulation video game developed by Tom Snyder Productions and published by Scarborough Systems in 1984 for Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, IBM PC, and Macintosh. The players have crash-landed their spaceships on an alien planet and compete to buy resources and convert them to goods to sell to locals in order to raise funds to repair their ships.

References

  1. 1 2 arcade express v1n17.
  2. ↑ Holden, Elaine (December 1983). "In Search of the Most Amazing Thing". BYTE. p. 372. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  3. ↑ PC Mag 1984-07-10. 1984-07-10.
  4. ↑ Antic Magazine Volume 2 Number 10 (Printer Survey). January 1984.
  5. ↑ Australian Apple Review, The - Vol 1 No 7 (1984-08)(Gareth Powell)(AU). August 1984.
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.