Simon the Sorcerer series
Encyclopedia
Simon the Sorcerer is a series of point-and-click
adventure game
s created by Adventure Soft
. The series follows the adventures of an unwilling hero of the same name and has a strong fantasy
setting similar to Sierra
's King's Quest
and Westwood
's Kyrandia series. The game varies in style, however, as it is more poised to be a parody of the fantasy genre than a member of the genre itself, with many renowned folklore characters appearing differently from what they are generally presumed to be.
The first two games are often compared with the Monkey Island series
in terms of style and humour, and the Terry Pratchett
Discworld
novels and derivative games.
Unlike many older adventure games, the entire series is still available for purchase new. The first and second games in the series are also playable using ScummVM
.
; his cloak and hat are purple in the first game, but change to red for the rest of the series (excluding possibility to magically change colour in the third game). He must use his logic and magical skills to solve puzzles as he progresses through the games.
Simon is rude and insulting to many of the characters he meets. This tends to interfere with the success of his quests, forcing him to go to ridiculous lengths in order to complete puzzles. Simon breaks the fourth wall
with his comments about adventure games.
and Amiga
formats. The story begins with the protagonist, Simon, as an ordinary teenager. His dog, "Chippy", discovers a chest in the loft of his house containing a spellbook titled "Ye Olde Spellbooke". Simon throws the book onto the floor in contempt, but a portal opens above it. Chippy goes through the portal and Simon follows.
After entering the portal, Simon finds himself in another world. After escaping from some goblins who intended to eat him, he discovers that he has been brought on a quest to rescue the wizard Calypso from the evil sorcerer Sordid.
The game includes parodies of various popular books and fairy tale
s, including Rapunzel
, The Lord of the Rings
, The Chronicles of Narnia
, Jack and the Beanstalk
and the Three Billy Goats Gruff
.
Simon is voiced in this game by Chris Barrie
, known for his roles in Red Dwarf
and The Brittas Empire
. This game marks the first appearance of two evil, if somewhat inept, demons, who have since made an appearance in all the games.
in 1995. The title is a parody of the Chronicles of Narnia
book: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
. The wizard, Simon, the Wardrobe, and the lion all feature in the game. Brian Bowles plays the voice of Simon, making him sound older, presumably in his late-teens.
In the game, the father of a peasant boy, Runt, burns his book of magic and throws it into the centre of a pentagram
on the floor, inadvertently bringing Sordid back to life as a spirit. He transfers his spirit to a robotic body, and sends a magical wardrobe
to retrieve Simon from his own dimension. The wardrobe mistakenly brings Simon to the door-step of Calypso's Magic Shop. Upon returning to consciousness Simon learns that, in order to return home, he must find the wardrobe's power source, called mucusade (a pun on Lucozade
).
A pinball
video game released in 1998 by Adventure Soft
for Microsoft Windows
.
The game also features a desktop virtual pet
known as "Demon in My Pocket" as well as three Simon the Sorcerer desktop themes.
The game follows on directly after Simon the Sorcerer IIs open ending, a cut-scene at the beginning tells the player of the connecting story, of how Simon's body was rejoined to his soul by the new character Melissa.
The German version of this game was released 23 February 2007, and was developed by Silver Style Entertainment
.
The English version of this game was released on 17 October 2008, and was published by Playlogic.
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
adventure 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,...
s created by Adventure Soft
Adventure Soft
Adventure Soft is a UK-based video game developer established by Mike Woodroffe, first as an importer and reseller of Adventure International games. The firm operates out of Sutton Coldfield, and is best known for the Simon the Sorcerer series of games....
. The series follows the adventures of an unwilling hero of the same name and has a strong fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
setting similar to Sierra
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
's King's Quest
King's Quest
King's Quest is an adventure game series 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 installment, the series was primarily responsible for building the reputation...
and Westwood
Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in as Westwood Associates, and renamed to Westwood Studios when it merged with Virgin Interactive in...
's Kyrandia series. The game varies in style, however, as it is more poised to be a parody of the fantasy genre than a member of the genre itself, with many renowned folklore characters appearing differently from what they are generally presumed to be.
The first two games are often compared with the Monkey Island series
Monkey Island series
Monkey Island is the collective name given to a series of five graphical adventure games produced and published by LucasArts, originally known as LucasFilm Games through the development of the first game in the series; the games have produced a significiant cult following. The fifth installment of...
in terms of style and humour, and the Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
novels and derivative games.
Unlike many older adventure games, the entire series is still available for purchase new. The first and second games in the series are also playable using ScummVM
ScummVM
ScummVM is a collection of game engine recreations. Originally designed to play LucasArts adventure games that use the SCUMM system , it now also supports a variety of non-SCUMM games by companies like Revolution Software and Adventure Soft. It was originally written by Ludvig Strigeus...
.
About Simon
Simon the Sorcerer is a teenager transported into a fantasy world as a sorcerer dressed in a cloak and pointy hatPointy hat
Pointed hats have been a distinctive item of headgear of a wide range of cultures throughout history. Though often suggesting an ancient Indo-European tradition, they were also traditionally worn by women of Lapland, the Japanese, the Mi'kmaq people of Atlantic Canada, and the Huastecs of Veracruz...
; his cloak and hat are purple in the first game, but change to red for the rest of the series (excluding possibility to magically change colour in the third game). He must use his logic and magical skills to solve puzzles as he progresses through the games.
Simon is rude and insulting to many of the characters he meets. This tends to interfere with the success of his quests, forcing him to go to ridiculous lengths in order to complete puzzles. Simon breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
with his comments about adventure games.
Simon the Sorcerer
Simon the Sorcerer was released by Adventure Soft on 2 January 1993 for DOSDOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
formats. The story begins with the protagonist, Simon, as an ordinary teenager. His dog, "Chippy", discovers a chest in the loft of his house containing a spellbook titled "Ye Olde Spellbooke". Simon throws the book onto the floor in contempt, but a portal opens above it. Chippy goes through the portal and Simon follows.
After entering the portal, Simon finds himself in another world. After escaping from some goblins who intended to eat him, he discovers that he has been brought on a quest to rescue the wizard Calypso from the evil sorcerer Sordid.
The game includes parodies of various popular books and fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s, including Rapunzel
Rapunzel
"Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698...
, The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
, Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is a folktale said by English historian Francis Palgrave to be an oral legend that arrived in England with the Vikings. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer. It is known under a number of versions...
and the Three Billy Goats Gruff
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Three Billy Goats Gruff is a Norwegian fairy tale. The fairy tale was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr, first published between 1841 and 1844...
.
Simon is voiced in this game by Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie is a British actor. He first achieved success as a vocal impressionist, notably in the ITV sketch show Spitting Image...
, known for his roles in Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
and The Brittas Empire
The Brittas Empire
The Brittas Empire is a British sitcom created and originally written by Richard Fegen and Andrew Norriss. Chris Barrie plays Gordon Brittas, the well-meaning but incompetent manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre....
. This game marks the first appearance of two evil, if somewhat inept, demons, who have since made an appearance in all the games.
Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe
Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe, commonly known as Simon the Sorcerer II, was released by Adventure SoftAdventure Soft
Adventure Soft is a UK-based video game developer established by Mike Woodroffe, first as an importer and reseller of Adventure International games. The firm operates out of Sutton Coldfield, and is best known for the Simon the Sorcerer series of games....
in 1995. The title is a parody of the Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
book: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
. The wizard, Simon, the Wardrobe, and the lion all feature in the game. Brian Bowles plays the voice of Simon, making him sound older, presumably in his late-teens.
In the game, the father of a peasant boy, Runt, burns his book of magic and throws it into the centre of a pentagram
Pentagram
A pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
on the floor, inadvertently bringing Sordid back to life as a spirit. He transfers his spirit to a robotic body, and sends a magical wardrobe
Wardrobe
A Wardrobe is a cabinet used for storing clothes.Wardrobe may also refer to:* Wardrobe , a full set of multiple clothing items* Wardrobe , part of royal administration in medieval England...
to retrieve Simon from his own dimension. The wardrobe mistakenly brings Simon to the door-step of Calypso's Magic Shop. Upon returning to consciousness Simon learns that, in order to return home, he must find the wardrobe's power source, called mucusade (a pun on Lucozade
Lucozade
Lucozade is an umbrella name for a 6 series of energy and sports drinks, produced by GlaxoSmithKline in Gloucestershire. The former company became part of Beecham and, after the mergers of SmithKline and Beecham in 2000, GlaxoSmithKline....
).
Simon the Sorcerer's Pinball
A pinball
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
video game released in 1998 by Adventure Soft
Adventure Soft
Adventure Soft is a UK-based video game developer established by Mike Woodroffe, first as an importer and reseller of Adventure International games. The firm operates out of Sutton Coldfield, and is best known for the Simon the Sorcerer series of games....
for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
Simon the Sorcerer's Puzzle Pack
A puzzle game released in 1998 by Adventure Soft for Microsoft Windows. It contains three games:- Swampy Adventures – Where the player must help the Swampling through 50 levels of puzzles as he attempts to rescue his children from the evil Sordid.
- NoPatience – This is a game containing four solitaire patience card games, featuring a unique Simon the Sorcerer themed deck.
- Jumble – This is a twist of the sliding rearranging puzzle, as the puzzle is a constantly changing animation.
The game also features a desktop virtual pet
Digital pet
A digital pet is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet....
known as "Demon in My Pocket" as well as three Simon the Sorcerer desktop themes.
Simon the Sorcerer 3D
The third adventure game in the series, it was originally intended to be a high quality 2D adventure game (with the game going as far as being fully designed in 2D), however due to Publisher hesitation in picking up a 2D title, the developers decided to switch it from a 2D game to a 3D adventure game.The game follows on directly after Simon the Sorcerer IIs open ending, a cut-scene at the beginning tells the player of the connecting story, of how Simon's body was rejoined to his soul by the new character Melissa.
Simon the Sorcerer 4: Chaos Happens
The fourth adventure game marks a return to the heralded point-and-click interface and features high quality pre-rendered backgrounds. The characters are in 3D.The German version of this game was released 23 February 2007, and was developed by Silver Style Entertainment
Silver Style Entertainment
Silver Style Entertainment is a video game developer based in Berlin, Germany, founded in 1993. In 2006, the company was taken over by The Games Company, and became an in-house development studio...
.
The English version of this game was released on 17 October 2008, and was published by Playlogic.
Simon the Sorcerer 5: Who'd Even Want Contact?!
In the fifth adventure game, aliens threatens the fantasy world. The German version was released for PC on 26 March 2009. It was released for digital download in English on the 17th February 2010.See also
- ScummVMScummVMScummVM is a collection of game engine recreations. Originally designed to play LucasArts adventure games that use the SCUMM system , it now also supports a variety of non-SCUMM games by companies like Revolution Software and Adventure Soft. It was originally written by Ludvig Strigeus...
– Software that allows you to play Simon the Sorcerer I and II on many computer platforms
External links
- Adventure Soft Publishing
- ScummVM Music Enhancement Project Enhanced music for Simon the Sorcerer by James Woodcock