Wizard and the Princess

Last updated

Wizard and the Princess
Wizard And The Princess Atari 400 & 800.jpg
Atari 8-bit cover art
Developer(s) On-Line Systems
Publisher(s) On-Line Systems
Designer(s) Roberta Williams
Programmer(s) Ken Williams
Series Hi-Res Adventures
King's Quest
Engine ADL
Platform(s) Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, IBM PC, IBM PCjr, FM-7, PC-88, PC-98
ReleaseAugust 1980: Apple II [1]
1982: Atari, IBM PC
1984: C64, PCjr
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Wizard and the Princess (also The Wizard and the Princess, with a leading article) is a graphic adventure game written for the Apple II and published in 1980 by On-Line Systems. It was the second title released in the Hi-Res Adventures series after Mystery House . [2] While Mystery House used monochrome drawings, Wizard and the Princess added color. Ports for the Atari 8-bit family and Commodore 64 were released in 1982 and 1984 respectively. The 1982 self-booting version for IBM PC compatibles was renamed Adventure in Serenia.

Contents

Plot

The game (according to the back cover [box/folder/manual] of the Atari 8-bit family and Apple II original and rerelease versions) takes place in the land of Serenia where King George's daughter Princess Priscilla has been kidnapped by an evil wizard named Harlin. Harlin has held her inside his castle far in the mountains. The King has offered half of his kingdom to anyone brave enough to travel to the Wizard's castle, defeat him and return his daughter. The player assumes the role of a happy wanderer who answers this challenge.

The ports (Apple II, Atari 8-bit, and C64) contain additional plot added to the manual explaining how the wanderer made it to Serenia in the first place; some time long into the future after Harlin had been defeated by the Wanderer, he challenged the player to again repeat the actions leading to his defeat. He boasted of using his magic to change the world creating obstacles for anyone who would challenge him (he moved the desert around the village of Daventry, the northern sea splitting Serenia in two, and Great Mountains in the North on his half of the continent). He turned back the sands of time leaving the adventurer in the desert just outside the village of Serenia. He mocks the hero telling him that he may have been defeated once, but he couldn't be defeated a second time. The princess gives the hero some words of advice and a computer to help him defeat Harlin, and tells him he has become the wanderer (grandfather paradox & bootstrap paradox). The manual story as reprinted was also included with the Roberta Williams Collection (a compilation of games from Roberta Williams) and the King's Quest Collection Series (one of the compilations of King's Quest games).

The introduction for Adventure of Serenia explains that the adventurer, with the help of a computer, has magically transported to Serenia to save the princess.

Development

Advertisement from the June 1981 issue of The On-Line Letter for some of On-Line Systems' Hi-Res Adventure games, including Wizard and the Princess On-Line Systems - Hi-Res Adventure - June 1981 The On-Line Letter advert.jpg
Advertisement from the June 1981 issue of The On-Line Letter for some of On-Line Systems' Hi-Res Adventure games, including Wizard and the Princess

As with their previous game Mystery House , Wizard and the Princess was distributed by Roberta and Ken Williams's company On-Line Systems in plastic bags with the 5 ¼-inch floppy disk and instruction sheet. The instruction sheet had the title listed as The Wizard and the Princess.

The story was based on the many fairy tales Roberta used to read as a child. [3] The game improved upon Mystery House by adding color graphics. It was the first adventure game to have full-color graphics selling over 60,000 copies. [4] The Apple II could only display six different colors simultaneously, but clever use of dithering made it possible to give the illusion of more colors on the screen.

Ports

Wizard and the Princess was ported to the IBM PC in 1982, Sierra's first game for the PC platform. For unknown reasons, this version was re-titled Adventure in Serenia. Roberta Williams reputedly referred to the colors on the IBM PC as "atrocious" upon seeing the completed game running for the first time. Adventure in Serenia was a launch title for the IBM PCjr, announced in late 1983. [5]

The Commodore 64 version uses more on-screen colors and solid colors and no dithering. The items in the game were more detailed and of higher resolution have alternative artwork. The game was ported to various Japanese computers by Starcraft, which completely redrew the artwork with more colors and higher resolution.

Reception

Mark Marlow reviewed Mission: Asteroid, Mystery House, and The Wizard and the Princess for Computer Gaming World , and stated that "The Wizard and the Princess has the best graphics and has a beautiful fairy tale setting as its theme. Of the three it was the most challenging and should be attempted only after you are familiar with the gaming system". [6]

Debuting in August 1980, the game sold 25,000 copies by June 1982, tied for fourth on Computer Gaming World's list of top sellers. [7] It sold over 60,000 copies in total.[ citation needed ] Creative Computing liked Wizard and the Princess, approving of the Atari version's graphics and comparing its difficulty to "some of Scott Adams' efforts". [8] The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984 gave the game an overall B rating, stating that it "may well set a standard by which future graphic adventure games will be judged". [9]

Ian Chadwick reviewed The Wizard and the Princess in Ares Magazine #11 and commented that "if you're any fan of computer adventures, then this is one of the most amazing, intriguing, fascinating, frustrating and graphically appealing adventures around". [10]

Legacy

Apple and DOS version. On-Line Systems-02-Wizard and the Princess.jpg
Apple and DOS version.

According to Sierra's Interaction magazine, this game can be considered a prelude to the King's Quest series. King's Quest V marked a return to the Kingdom of Serenia. [11] The events are mentioned and expanded upon in The King's Quest Companion , 2nd Edition. It mentioned that the wanderer, a barbarian, had turned down the offer of marriage after saving the princess. He journeyed into the desert and died. All that remained of him is his skeleton and a single leather shoe (a reference to KQ5). Princess Priscilla later married an individual named Kenneth the Huge and became the queen of Serenia, after her father's (King George IV) death. [12] It was further referenced as part of the King's Quest series through a trivia question in the King's Questions game that came with certain versions of the King's Quest Collection.

The extended backstory for Wizard and the Princess in the rereleases helps to explain the geographic differences between the game, and later games in the King's Quest series (KQ3 and KQ5). In KQ5, Serenia and Daventry are part of the same continent. In KQ3, the continent consists mostly of Daventry only with most of the northern half of the continent missing as seen in maps and charts in the game. According to the Wizard and the Princess, Harlin had divided the continent of Serenia in two and transformed the geography to create obstacles for any adventurers trying to reach him and free the princess. Thus it explains why the desert surrounds the village in the earlier game, but not during the time of KQ5, or why the Great Mountains are located across the sea on Harlin's continent, but just north of the town in KQ5. By the time of KQ5, Harlin's magic was no longer active, and geography was restored. The King's Quest Companion places the events of Wizard and the Princess as having occurred several years before KQ5.

Related Research Articles

Sierra Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre, including the first such game, Mystery House. It is known for its graphical adventure game series King's Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest, Gabriel Knight, Leisure Suit Larry, and Quest for Glory, and as the original publisher of Valve's Half-Life series.

<i>Kings Quest</i> Video game series

King's Quest is a graphic adventure game series, released between 1980 and 2016 and created by the American software company Sierra Entertainment. It is widely considered a classic series from the golden era of adventure games. Following the success of its first installments, the series was primarily responsible for building the reputation of Sierra. Roberta Williams, co-founder and former co-owner of Sierra, designed all of the King's Quest games until the series' reboot in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberta Williams</span> American video game designer (born 1953)

Roberta Lynn Williams is an American video game designer and writer, who co-founded Sierra On-Line with her husband, game developer Ken Williams. In 1980, her first game, Mystery House, became a modest commercial success; it is credited as the first graphic adventure game. She is also known for creating and maintaining the King's Quest series, as well as designing the full motion video game Phantasmagoria in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM PCjr</span> Home computer

The IBM PCjr was a home computer produced and marketed by IBM from March 1984 to May 1985, intended as a lower-cost variant of the IBM PC with hardware capabilities better suited for video games, in order to compete more directly with other home computers such as the Apple II and Commodore 64.

The Adventure Game Interpreter (AGI) is a game engine developed by Sierra On-Line. The company originally developed the engine for King's Quest (1984), an adventure game that Sierra and IBM wished to market in order to attract consumers to IBM's lower-cost home computer, the IBM PCjr.

<i>Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress</i> 1982 video game

Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress, released on August 24, 1982, for the Apple II, is the second role-playing video game in the Ultima series, and the second installment in Ultima's "Age of Darkness" trilogy.

<i>Mystery House</i> 1980 video game

Mystery House is an adventure game released by On-Line Systems in 1980. It was designed, written and illustrated by Roberta Williams, and programmed by Ken Williams for the Apple II. Mystery House is the first graphical adventure game and the first game produced by On-Line Systems, the company which would evolve into Sierra On-Line. It is one of the earliest horror video games.

<i>Kings Quest I</i> 1984 video game

King's Quest: Quest for the Crown is an adventure game developed by Sierra On-Line and published originally for the IBM PCjr in 1984 and later for several other systems between 1984 and 1989. The game was originally titled King's Quest; the subtitle was added to the games box art in the 1987 re-release, but did not appear in the game.

<i>Kings Quest II</i> 1985 video game

King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne is the second installment in the King's Quest series of graphic adventure games by Sierra On-Line. It was originally released in 1985 for PC DOS/PCjr, and later made available for the Apple II/IIGS, Atari ST, and Amiga. It uses the same AGI game engine as King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown and features King Graham as the player character. The title is a spoof of the 1984 film Romancing the Stone.

<i>Kings Quest III</i> 1986 video game

King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human is the third installment in the King's Quest series of graphic adventure games developed and released by Sierra On-Line in 1986. The game was originally released for the Apple II and PC DOS, and later ported to several other computer systems. It was the first title game in the series not to feature King Graham as the player character.

<i>Kings Quest IV</i> 1988 video game

King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella is a graphic adventure game developed and released by Sierra On-Line for the MS-DOS, Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, and Atari ST computers in 1988. The player takes on the role of Princess Rosella, daughter of King Graham of Daventry and the twin sister of Gwydion/Alexander, who must save her father and a good fairy and destroy an evil witch. Critically acclaimed, it was one of the first PC games to support a sound card.

<i>Kings Quest V</i> 1990 video game

King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder! is a 1990 graphic adventure game by Sierra On-Line. Originally released in November 1990, it featured a significant improvement in graphics. It was also the first King's Quest installment to replace the typing user interface with a point-and-click user interface. The title is a spoof on the proverb "Absence makes the heart grow fonder".

<i>Kings Quest VI</i> 1992 video game

King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow is a point-and-click adventure game, first released in 1992 as the sixth installment in the King's Quest series produced by Sierra On-Line. Written by Roberta Williams and Jane Jensen, King's Quest VI is widely recognized as the high point in the series for its landmark 3D graphic introduction movie and professional voice acting. King's Quest VI was programmed in Sierra's Creative Interpreter and was the last King's Quest game to be released on floppy disk. A CD-ROM version of the game was released in 1993, including more character voices, a slightly different opening movie and more detailed artwork and animation.

<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.

<i>Oils Well</i> 1983 video game

Oil's Well is a video game published by Sierra On-Line in 1983. The game was written for the Atari 8-bit family by Thomas J. Mitchell. Oil's Well is similar to the 1982 arcade game Anteater, re-themed to be about drilling for oil instead of a hungry insectivore. Ports were released in 1983 for the Apple II and Commodore 64, in 1984 for ColecoVision and the IBM PC, then in 1985 for MSX and the Sharp X1. A version with improved visuals and without Mitchell's involvement was released for MS-DOS in 1990.

<i>Prisoner 2</i> 1982 video game

The Prisoner 2 is a 1982 computer game by Edu-Ware is a remake of the 1980 game The Prisoner.

<i>Mission Asteroid</i> 1980 video game

Mission Asteroid is a graphic adventure game for the Apple II written by Ken and Roberta Williams and released in 1980 by On-Line Systems.

<i>Kings Quest: Mask of Eternity</i> 1998 video game

King's Quest: Mask of Eternity is a hybrid point-and-click adventure and action-adventure video game developed and published by Sierra Studios in 1998. It was the eighth official game in the King's Quest series, the first and only game in the main series where the main character is neither King Graham nor a member of his family, as well as the first in the series to use a full 3D engine as opposed to the 2D cartoon or pixel style of the earlier games and the first to omit the sequel numbering system on box artwork and title screen.

There have been several King's Quest fangames both original and retellings/remakes of the original games that have been released by various developers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tandy Graphics Adapter</span> Computer display standard for the Tandy 1000 series

Tandy Graphics Adapter is a computer display standard for the Tandy 1000 series of IBM PC compatibles, which has compatibility with the video subsystem of the IBM PCjr but became a standard in its own right.

References

  1. ↑ "Wizard and the Princess (Game)".
  2. ↑ Katz, Arnie (March 1, 1995). Inside Electronic Game Design. Prima Pub. p. 23. ISBN   978-1-55958-669-6.
  3. ↑ "Roberta Williams - Sierra On-Line - Interview - Adventure Classic Gaming - ACG - Adventure Games, Interactive Fiction Games - Reviews, Interviews, Features, Previews, Cheats, Galleries, Forums". www.adventureclassicgaming.com.
  4. ↑ Hackers Heroes of the Computer Revolution p 301
  5. ↑ Wiswell, Phil (January 24, 1984). "Coming Soon: Games For The PCjr". PC. pp. 142–145. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  6. ↑ Marlow, Mark (January–February 1982). "Micro - Reviews". Computer Gaming World. Vol. 1, no. 2. pp. 31–32.
  7. ↑ "Inside the Industry" (PDF). Computer Gaming World . September–October 1982. p. 2. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  8. ↑ Small, David and Sandy (August 1982). "The Wizard, the Princess, and the Atari". Creative Computing. p. 64. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  9. ↑ Stanton, Jeffrey; Wells, Robert P.; Rochowansky, Sandra; Mellid, Michael, eds. (1984). The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software. Addison-Wesley. p. 33. ISBN   0-201-16454-X.
  10. ↑ Chadwick, Ian (November 1981). "Games". Ares Magazine (11). Simulations Publications, Inc.: 27.
  11. ↑ Interaction Magazine, Fall 1994
  12. ↑ King's Quest Companion, 2nd Edition, pg 506–507
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.