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Time Zone (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Time Zone is a multi-disk graphical adventure game
written and directed by Roberta Williams
for the Apple II
. Developed in 1981 and released in 1982
by On-Line Systems (now Sierra Entertainment
), the game was shipped with six double sided floppy disks and contained 1,500 areas (screens) to explore along with 39 scenarios to solve. Produced at a time when most games rarely took up more than one side of a floppy, Time Zone is believed to be one of if not the very first game of this magnitude ever released for home computer systems.
, Cleopatra
and Julius Caesar
.
The screen was a split graphics/text screen. The graphics were done in the Apple's high-resolution format, and the text was four lines at the bottom of the screen. The text described the current scene, including any objects that were in the scene, and allowed the player to type in two-word commands of the form [VERB] [NOUN]; e.g., "GET KEY", similar to that used in text adventure games.
$99, which was considerably higher than usual for games of the time. It was promptly reissued the year of its release as part of the short-lived SierraVentures line.
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,...
written and directed by Roberta Williams
Roberta Williams
Roberta Williams is an American video game designer. She is most famous for her pioneering work in graphical adventure games, particularly the King's Quest series.-Career:...
for the Apple II
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...
. Developed in 1981 and released in 1982
1982 in video gaming
-Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console....
by On-Line Systems (now Sierra Entertainment
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...
), the game was shipped with six double sided floppy disks and contained 1,500 areas (screens) to explore along with 39 scenarios to solve. Produced at a time when most games rarely took up more than one side of a floppy, Time Zone is believed to be one of if not the very first game of this magnitude ever released for home computer systems.
Gameplay
The game allowed players to travel through time and solve puzzles while meeting famous historical figures such as Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII of Egypt
Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period...
and Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
.
The screen was a split graphics/text screen. The graphics were done in the Apple's high-resolution format, and the text was four lines at the bottom of the screen. The text described the current scene, including any objects that were in the scene, and allowed the player to type in two-word commands of the form [VERB] [NOUN]; e.g., "GET KEY", similar to that used in text adventure games.
Reception
Ultimately the game bombed due to the original retail price of USUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$99, which was considerably higher than usual for games of the time. It was promptly reissued the year of its release as part of the short-lived SierraVentures line.