SwordThrust
Encyclopedia
SwordThrust is an interactive text adventure game for the Apple II computer
, created by Donald Brown
and published by CE Software in 1981. It consists of seven separate adventures (each sold separately) and is the commercial successor to Brown's Eamon
(1980).
praised the game's departure from the typical Dungeons & Dragons
character class system, instead allowing a character to advance in any skill, closer in style to RuneQuest
.
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, created by Donald Brown
Donald Brown (programmer)
Donald M. Brown is a computer programmer and creator of Eamon, a long-running non-commercial RPG computer game series for the Apple II computer released in 1980, and a system designed to allow authors to create their own adventure games. Brown subsequently developed SwordThrust, an expanded...
and published by CE Software in 1981. It consists of seven separate adventures (each sold separately) and is the commercial successor to Brown's Eamon
Eamon (computer game)
Eamon, sometimes known by the longer title The Wonderful World of Eamon, is a computer adventure game created by Donald Brown and released for the Apple II in 1980. The game is a text adventure similar to other early titles like Adventure or Zork , though with many role-playing elements not...
(1980).
Premise
Players take on the role of a warrior/adventurer in the magical, feudal world of Diurla. Play begins at the Main Hall of the Guild of Free Rogues, where the player creates a character, buys equipment and learns spells before venturing out to gain wealth and experience. Each scenario has a different goal, and typically a time limit. A save option is available, allowing the player to suspend the game and pick it up later.Adventures
Seven separate adventures were released for the SwordThrust system:- The King's Testing Ground by Donald Brown. Intended for "beginning rogues", this adventure is the equivalent of Eamon's Beginners Cave and contains relatively easy opponents.
- The Vampyre Caves by Donald Brown
- The Kidnappers Cove by Donald Brown
- The Case of the Sultan's Pearl by Donald Brown
- The Green Plague by Donald Brown
- The Eternal Curse by Donald Brown
- The Hall of Alchemie by Peter Wityk
Reception
A review in Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
praised the game's departure from the typical Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
character class system, instead allowing a character to advance in any skill, closer in style to RuneQuest
RuneQuest
RuneQuest is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 1978 by Chaosium, created by Steve Perrin and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. RuneQuest was notable for its original gaming system and for its verisimilitude in adhering to an original fantasy world...
.
See also
- EamonEamon (computer game)Eamon, sometimes known by the longer title The Wonderful World of Eamon, is a computer adventure game created by Donald Brown and released for the Apple II in 1980. The game is a text adventure similar to other early titles like Adventure or Zork , though with many role-playing elements not...
, the non-commercial predecessor to SwordThrust.