Sorcerer (video game)

Last updated
Sorcerer
Sorcerer game box cover.jpg
Developer(s) Infocom
Publisher(s) Infocom
Designer(s) Steve Meretzky
Engine Z-machine
Platform(s) Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, CP/M, DEC Rainbow, MS-DOS, IBM PC, Kaypro II, Classic Mac OS, NEC APC, Osborne 1, RT-11, TI-99/4A, TRS-80. [1]
ReleaseRelease 4: January 31, 1984

Release 6: May 8, 1984
Release 13: October 21, 1985
Release 15: November 8, 1985

Release 18: September 4, 1986

Contents

Genre(s) Interactive fiction
Mode(s) Single-player

Sorcerer is an interactive fiction game written by Steve Meretzky and released by Infocom in 1984. It is the second game in the magic-themed "Enchanter trilogy", preceded by Enchanter and followed by Spellbreaker . It is Infocom's eleventh game.

Plot

Following the unlikely defeat of Krill in Enchanter, the player's character has progressed from an Apprentice Enchanter to earning a coveted seat in the Circle of Enchanters. Belboz the Necromancer, the leader of the Circle, has become not only a mentor but a close friend as well. Lately, Belboz has seemed different, distracted, even talking to himself at length. Whatever he's dealing with, Belboz doesn't see fit to confide in anyone, then suddenly he disappears.

Gameplay

Potions are used by drinking them and each can only be used once. Sorcerer has 70 ways for the player to die. [2]

Release

The Sorcerer package includes the following physical items:

Reception

St.Game stated that "The world of the Sorcerer is rich in detail and wonderment. The magical experiences resemble the exotic adventures of Carlos Castaneda", with "several diabolical traps and puzzles", and concluded that "The final solution is like a delicate orchid achieving full bloom. Long after the game is over, the heady fragrance stays with you". [3] PC Magazine gave Sorcerer 10.5 points out of 12. It noted the dramatic opening and the game's "predisposition against violence", offering the player spells instead of weapons. [4] Zzap!64 noted the high (£45.30) British price of the game and necessity to own a disk drive, but called it "a tremendous challenge and full of surprises ... lengthy location descriptions, great atmosphere, and highly addictive qualities". [5]

Related Research Articles

Infocom was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced a business application, a relational database called Cornerstone.

<i>Zork</i> 1977 video game

Zork is a text adventure game first released in 1977 by developers Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. The original developers and others, as the company Infocom, expanded and split the game into three titles—Zork I: The Great Underground Empire, Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz, and Zork III: The Dungeon Master—which were released commercially for a range of personal computers beginning in 1980. In Zork, the player explores the abandoned Great Underground Empire in search of treasure. The player moves between the game's hundreds of locations and interacts with objects by typing commands in natural language that the game interprets. The program acts as a narrator, describing the player's location and the results of the player's commands. It has been described as the most famous piece of interactive fiction.

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

Suspended: A Cryogenic Nightmare is an interactive fiction video game written by Michael Berlyn and published by Infocom in 1983. Infocom's sixth game, it was released for Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, Commodore Plus/4, IBM PC compatibles, TRS-80, and TI-99/4A. It was later available for Mac, Amiga, and Atari ST.

<i>Bureaucracy</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Bureaucracy is an interactive fiction video game released by Infocom in 1987, scripted by comic science fiction author Douglas Adams. Infocom's twenty-fourth game, it is part of the Infocom Plus range which requires a machine with a minimum of 128K of memory.

<i>Wishbringer</i> 1985 video game

Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams is an interactive fiction video game written by Brian Moriarty and published by Infocom in 1985. It was intended to be an easier game to solve than the typical Infocom release and provide a good introduction to interactive fiction for inexperienced players, and was well received.

<i>Planetfall</i> 1983 video game

Planetfall is a science fiction themed interactive fiction video game written by Steve Meretzky, and published in 1983 as the eighth game from Infocom. The original release was for Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, TRS-80, and IBM PC compatibles. Atari ST and Commodore 64 versions were released in 1985. A version for CP/M was also released. Planetfall was Meretzky's first published game, and it proved one of his most popular works and a best-seller for Infocom. It was one of five top-selling games to be re-released in Solid Gold versions with in-game hints. Planetfall uses the Z-machine originally developed for Zork and was added as a bonus to the Zork Anthology.

<i>The Lost Treasures of Infocom</i> 1991 video game

The Lost Treasures of Infocom is a 1991 compilation of 20 previously-released interactive fiction games developed by Infocom. It was published by Activision for MS-DOS, Macintosh, Amiga, and Apple IIGS versions. It was later re-released on CD-ROM, and in 2012 on iOS.

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

Enchanter is an interactive fiction game written by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling and published by Infocom in 1983. The first fantasy game published by Infocom after the Zork trilogy, it was originally intended to be Zork IV. The game has a parser that understands over 700 words, making it the most advanced interactive fiction game of its time. It was Infocom's ninth game.

<i>Beyond Zork</i> 1987 video game

Beyond Zork is an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and released by Infocom in 1987. It was one of the last games in the Zork series developed by Infocom. It signified a notable departure from the standard format of Infocom's earlier games which relied purely on text and puzzle-solving: among other features, Beyond Zork incorporated a crude on-screen map, the use of character statistics and levels, and RPG combat elements.

<i>The Lurking Horror</i> 1987 video game

The Lurking Horror is an interactive fiction game released by Infocom in 1987. The game was written by Dave Lebling and inspired by the horror fiction writings of H. P. Lovecraft. The original release was for MS-DOS, Apple II, Atari ST, Atari 8-bit computers, and Commodore 64. It was Infocom's 26th game and the only in the horror genre. Infocom rated it as "Standard" in terms of difficulty. Later, it was ported to the Amiga with the addition of sound effects, making it the first Infocom adventure with that feature.

<i>Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur</i> Interactive fiction video game

Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur is an illustrated interactive fiction video game written by Bob Bates and published by Infocom in 1989. It was released for the Apple II, Amiga, Macintosh, and IBM PC compatibles. Atypically for an Infocom product, it shows illustrations of locations, characters and objects within the game. It is Infocom's thirty-fourth game and is the second of two Infocom games developed by Challenge using Infocom's development tools.

<i>Spellbreaker</i> 1985 video game

Spellbreaker is an interactive fiction video game written by Dave Lebling and published by Infocom in 1985, the third and final game in the "Enchanter Trilogy." It was released for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Classic Mac OS, and MS-DOS. Infocom's nineteenth game, Spellbreaker is rated "Expert" difficulty.

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

Infidel is an interactive fiction video game published by Infocom in 1983. It was written and designed by Michael Berlyn and Patricia Fogleman, and was the first in the "Tales of Adventure" line. It was released for the Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, IBM PC compatibles, TRS-80, and TI-99/4A. Ports were later published for Mac, Atari ST, and Amiga. Infidel is Infocom's tenth game.

<i>Seastalker</i> 1984 video game

Seastalker is an interactive fiction game written by Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence and published by Infocom in 1984. It was released simultaneously for several popular computer platforms of the time, such as the Commodore 64, Apple II, and IBM PC compatibles. The game was marketed as an introduction to interactive fiction for preteen players, having difficulty rating of "Junior." It was the only game to ever use this rating, which was replaced by the "Introductory" label given to games such as Wishbringer. It is Infocom's twelfth game.

<i>Suspect</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Suspect is an interactive fiction video game designed by Dave Lebling and published by Infocom in 1984. It is the third and last murder mystery Infocom released. It was written in highly portable ZIL and released for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Kaypro II, Mac, and MS-DOS. It is Infocom's fifteenth game.

<i>Moonmist</i> 1986 video game

Moonmist is an interactive fiction game written by Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence and published by Infocom in 1986. The game was released simultaneously for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, TRS-80, TI-99/4A, and Mac. It is Infocom's twenty-second game. Moonmist was re-released in Infocom's 1995 compilation The Mystery Collection, as well as the 1996 compilation Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces.

<i>Border Zone</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Border Zone is an interactive fiction video game written by Marc Blank and published by Infocom in 1987. It was released for DOS, Apple II, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, and Macintosh. Unlike most other purely text-based games, Border Zone incorporates real-time aspects of gameplay. It is also Infocom's thirtieth game. Its tagline is "Action and international intrigue behind the Iron Curtain."

<i>Plundered Hearts</i> 1987 video game

Plundered Hearts is an interactive fiction video game created by Amy Briggs and published by Infocom in 1987. Infocom's only game in the romance genre, it was released simultaneously for the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, Amiga, classic Mac OS, and MS-DOS. It is Infocom's twenty-eighth game.

<i>Journey</i> (1989 video game) 1989 video game

Journey: The Quest Begins is an interactive fiction computer game designed by Marc Blank, with illustrations by Donald Langosy, and released by Infocom in 1989. Like the majority of Infocom's works, it was released simultaneously for several popular computer platforms, such as the Commodore 64, Apple II, and PC. Journey is unusual among Infocom games in that it could be played entirely via mouse or joystick, with no typing required. It was the thirty-fifth and last game released by Infocom before parent company Activision closed the Cambridge office, effectively reducing Infocom to a "label" to be applied to later games.

Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces of Infocom is a collection of 33 computer games from interactive fiction pioneer Infocom, and the top 6 winners of the 1995 Interactive Fiction Competition, released in 1996. All 39 games are combined on a single cross-platform CD-ROM, which also includes PDFs of all the Infocom games' instructions, maps, and hint booklets.

References

  1. Sorcerer at Adventureland by Hans Persson and Stefan Meier
  2. "Infocom Scoreboard" (PDF). The New Zork Times. 3 (2): 3. Spring 1984.
  3. Adams, Roe (Mar–Apr 1984). "Do You Believe in Magic?". St.Game. p. 35. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  4. Wiswell, Phil (1984-08-21). "Ultimate Sorcery". PC Magazine. p. 271. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  5. The White Wizard (June 1985). "Sorceror". Zzap!64. p. 64. Retrieved 26 October 2013.