Scott Adams (game designer)
Encyclopedia
Scott Adams is the co-founder, with ex-wife Alexis, of Adventure International
, an early publisher
of games for home computers.
Born in Miami, Florida
and currently living in Platteville, Wisconsin
, Adams was the first person known to create an adventure-style game
for personal computers, in 1978 on a 16KB
Radio Shack
TRS-80
Model I, written in the BASIC programming language. Colossal Cave
was a year earlier, but on a mainframe, the PDP-10
. These early text adventure games use a minimal parser, recognizing 2-word commands of the form VERB NOUN. The parser only scanned the first three letters of each command, so inputting SCREAM BEAR, SCRATCH BEAR or SCREW BEAR would be treated identically. Scott had access to an advanced 16 bit computer at home, built by Richard Adams
, that gave him a jump on game programming in his leisure time.
The Adventure International
games were subsequently released on most of the major home PC platforms of the day, including TRS-80
, Apple II series
, Atari
8-bit series and Commodore PET
. Versions of the games were also made for later platforms such as Vic-20 and some also had versions produced with rudimentary graphics.
Adventure International
Adventure International was a computer game publishing company that existed from 1978 until 1985, started by Scott and Alexis Adams. Their games were notable for being the first implementation of the adventure genre to run on a microcomputer system...
, an early publisher
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
of games for home computers.
Born in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
and currently living in Platteville, Wisconsin
Platteville, Wisconsin
Platteville is the largest city in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin. The population was 11,224 at the 2010 census, growing 12% since the 2000 Census. Much of this growth is likely due to the enrollment increase of the University of Wisconsin–Platteville...
, Adams was the first person known to create an adventure-style game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
for personal computers, in 1978 on a 16KB
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
Radio Shack
Radio shack
Radio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...
TRS-80
TRS-80
TRS-80 was Tandy Corporation's desktop microcomputer model line, sold through Tandy's Radio Shack stores in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first units, ordered unseen, were delivered in November 1977, and rolled out to the stores the third week of December. The line won popularity with...
Model I, written in the BASIC programming language. Colossal Cave
Colossal Cave Adventure
Colossal Cave Adventure gave its name to the computer adventure game genre . It was originally designed by Will Crowther, a programmer and caving enthusiast who based the layout on part of the Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky...
was a year earlier, but on a mainframe, the PDP-10
PDP-10
The PDP-10 was a mainframe computer family manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation from the late 1960s on; the name stands for "Programmed Data Processor model 10". The first model was delivered in 1966...
. These early text adventure games use a minimal parser, recognizing 2-word commands of the form VERB NOUN. The parser only scanned the first three letters of each command, so inputting SCREAM BEAR, SCRATCH BEAR or SCREW BEAR would be treated identically. Scott had access to an advanced 16 bit computer at home, built by Richard Adams
Richard Adams (inventor)
Richard Adams is an independent inventor and engineer. Since building and demonstrating a video camera as a child, his work has often garnered media interest.-TV camera:...
, that gave him a jump on game programming in his leisure time.
The Adventure International
Adventure International
Adventure International was a computer game publishing company that existed from 1978 until 1985, started by Scott and Alexis Adams. Their games were notable for being the first implementation of the adventure genre to run on a microcomputer system...
games were subsequently released on most of the major home PC platforms of the day, including TRS-80
TRS-80
TRS-80 was Tandy Corporation's desktop microcomputer model line, sold through Tandy's Radio Shack stores in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first units, ordered unseen, were delivered in November 1977, and rolled out to the stores the third week of December. The line won popularity with...
, Apple II series
Apple II series
The Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
, Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
8-bit series and Commodore PET
Commodore PET
The Commodore PET was a home/personal computer produced from 1977 by Commodore International...
. Versions of the games were also made for later platforms such as Vic-20 and some also had versions produced with rudimentary graphics.
Games
- Adventureland (1978)
- Pirate Adventure (1978–1979)
- Secret Mission (1979) (see also: Mission: Impossible)
- Voodoo Castle (In collaboration with Alexis Adams) (1980)
- The Count (1981)
- Strange OdysseyStrange OdysseyStrange Odyssey was a text-based adventure program written by Scott Adams and Neil Broome .- Description :Published by Adventure International, this text-based adventure game was one of many from Scott Adams....
(1981) - Mystery Fun HouseMystery Fun House (game)Mystery Fun House was a text-based adventure program written by Scott Adams, "Adventure 7" in the series released by Adventure International. The game setting was a fun house that the player had to explore in order to locate a set of secret plans, solving puzzles along the way...
(1981) - Pyramid of DoomPyramid of DoomPyramid of Doom is a text-based adventure program written by Scott Adams.- Description :Published by Adventure International, this text-based adventure game was one of many from Scott Adams, co-written by Alvin Files....
(In collaboration with Alvin Files) (1981) - Ghost TownGhost Town (video game)Ghost Town is a computer game developed by Adventure International and released in 1981.-Plot:The player searches a Western ghost town for treasure...
(1981) - Savage Island, Part I (1982)
- Savage Island, Part II (In collaboration with Russ Wetmore) (1982)
- Golden Voyage (In collaboration with William Demas) (1982)
- Sorcerer of Claymorgue Castle (1982)
- Return to Pirate's Isle (Exclusively for TI-99/4A systems) (1983)
- QuestprobeQuestprobeQuestprobe is a trilogy of graphical adventure computer games featuring Marvel Comics characters. The three games are Questprobe featuring The Hulk, Questprobe featuring Spider-Man and Questprobe featuring The Human Torch and The Thing....
series:- Questprobe #1: The Hulk (1984)
- Questprobe #2: Spider-Man (1984)
- Questprobe #3: The Fantastic Four (1984)
- The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (in collaboration with Phillip Case) (1984)
- Return to Pirate's Island 2 (August 2000)
External links
- Scott Adams official website
- Scott Adams Grand Adventures
- Scott Adams interview, Adventure Classic Gaming, 1998
- Academic panel featuring Scott Adams
- 1986 CRASH magazine interview
- Adventure International Memorial games for download, solutions, map files)
- Scott's first home brew computer graphics game