Scott Adams adventure interpreter

I started to play adventure games on my TRS-80 computer back in 1980 and of cause I played a lot of adventures of Adventure International. I even wrote my own adventure game in basic. I read an article written by Scott Adams (the guy who created Adventure International) (www.msadams.com ) about his adventure interpreter. A lot of years later I contacted Scott and we became friends. I ported the adventure interpreter to windows (Visual C) and it was published on a CD with all the old Adventure files. Today I play the adventure games like Myst and Riven because I really like the atmosphere and the puzzles. But every now and then I look at the old adventures and it brings back a lot of good memories.

This Scott Adams adventure game interpreter program was witten in 1997 (last updated 2014) in Visual 'C' by Hein Pragt from the Netherlands. This older version of the program runs fine on windows95/98/NT/2000/XP but I noticed it did not work fine on Vista and Windows 7. The new version works on Windows XP and Windows 7 with a complete new userinterface. The original text Adventure games are still copyrighted by Scott Adams and are not Public Domain, they may be freely downloaded and enjoyed though. This adventure interprete program is freeware, feel free to share.

If you like this interpreter program you can also send me an email to tell me what you think about this program (mail@heinpragt.com). I am working on a new version for Android. This project is just for fun for me.

The android version is also ready and because its now written in HTML5 / CSS / Javascript it is platform independed. I also created an online version of the android app and put it online on the pragt.info site. Because javascript is not so good in loading files from the filesystem, I decided to include all the adventure data files in the package of the program. I asked Scott for permission and he did "not mind at all!". So here are the two links to the android app version and the online version of the new Scott Adams Adventure Interpreter.

this is the online version of the Scott Adams Adventure Interpreter.

Download Scott Adams Adventure Interpreter app from the Google Play store.

Download Scott Adams Adventure Interpreter app from the Windows 8 appstore

Download Windows version of the Scott Adams game interpreter.

AdvInt303.zip The latest version (3.0.3) 2014 of the windows XP / Windows 7 version of the Scott Adams adventure interpreter. In this version I fixed a bug of loading saved games and a bug that sometimes auto actions were not performed. You can use this interpreter to play the good old text adventures of Scott Adams (Adventure International) on your Windows PC, 14 of these adventure games are included in the same zip file. In this version the game has a better user interface, buttons for common command, a seperate inventory window, and dropdown list with all nouns and verbs. This makes it easier to play, because in the old versions the game was more like quess the keywords. This version makes it easier to play the games with a modern and user friendly user interface. I created this program "just for fun" bacause sometimes you need to do something to enjoy programming without any commercial use. I enjoyed programming this interpreter and playing the old games, I hope you will enjoy playing these games as well. If you like this adventure interpreter or have any remarks on bugs or improvements you can mail me. Regards, Hein Pragt

advent201.zip The old version (2.01) 2005 of the windows95/98/NT/2000/XP Scott Adams adventure interpreter. You can use this interpreter to play the good old text adventures of Scott Adams (Adventure International) on your Windows PC. In this version the game is in one window and the size of the text field is expanded so you can see more of the previous text on the screen.

advent105.zip

The old version (1.05) 1997 of the windows95/98/NT/2000/XP Scott Adams adventure interpreter.
You can use this interpreter to play the good old text adventures of Scott Adams (Adventure International) on your Windows PC.
This is the two window version with a seperate look and message window.

advents.zip
This zip file contains all of the adventures of Scott Adams, if you visit the hompage of Scott Adams (www.msadams.com) you can download even more recent adventures.

Games:

• #1 Adventureland (1978)
• #2 Pirate's Adventure
• #3 Mission Impossible (1979)
• #5 The Count (1981)
• #6 Strange Odyssey
• #7 Mystery Fun House
• #8 Pyramid of Doom
• #9 Ghost Town
• #10 Savage Island, part 1
• #11 Savage Island, part 2
• #13 Sorcerer of Claymorgue Castle (1984)
• #14 Return to Pirate's Island

About Scott Adams.

Scott Adams wrote the first commercial text adventure game for the personal computer. He wrote Adventureland for the TRS-80 in BASIC. Adams based it on Colossal Caves, which was written by Will Crowther and Don Woods on a DEC PDP-10.

Adams formed a company called Adventure International in 1978. Between '78 and '84 Adams wrote 14 text adventure games for the Atari, Apple II, C64, Sorcerer, TI, and CP/M. The games all featured a two word parser (e.g., GO EAST).

Scott started selling his Adventureland game by placing a small ad in a computer magazine and sending copies on tape. His first big sale was 50 copies to a Radio Shack in Chicago. In December 1980, Byte magazine wrote an article about Adams' adventure game. At its peak, Adventure International grossed $3 million. It signed a deal with Marvel Comics to release games based on its super heros under the Questprobe label.

When the bottom fell out of the video game market in the mid '80s, Adams' Adventure International went out of business. Today Adams lives in Wisconsin, and works as a senior programmer for Avista, Inc.

Brian Howarth games

brian.zip
This zip file contains all of the adventures of Brian Howarth. He wrote many interactive fiction computer games in the early 1980s in a series called Mysterious Adventures. In 1982 Howarth finished developing his own interpreter, based on Scott Adams' Adventureland source code published in Byte magazine. This used a database format which would speed up development of new adventures. These dat files can be played with this Scott Adams Interpreter. All datafiles are conversions from Spectrum/C-64 versions of the games (but minus the graphics, as this interpreter does not support graphics.

Games:

#1: The Golden Baton

Your mission is to recover the Golden Baton, a priceless artefact that holds within it a kind of life force that maintains the equilibrium between good and evil. Stolen from the Palace of King Ferrenuil, the kingdom is already beginning to feel the effects of drought and pestilence.

#2: The Time Machine

Trapped in a thick fog on the moors whilst searching for the house of Dr Potter, you begin to wonder just what sort of a story will unfold for your newspaper about the strange goings on that have been witnessed at this home... that's if you ever find it.

#3: Arrow of Death Part 1

Although restored to its rightful place in the throne room over 5 years ago the Golden Baton which usually shines brighter than normal gold has suddenly become tarnished, at the same time gloom and despair settles over the whole kingdom. Find the source of this evil influence before it is too late.

Having successfully completed Arrow of Death Part 1, you now have the components to make a magical arrow with which you will be able to destroy Zerdon, the evil accomplice of the Wizard Akyrz, the real mastermind behind the evil that has befallen the Golden Baton.

#5: Escape from Pulsar 7

As last surviving crew member of this ill-fated space freighter you must somehow manage to make your escape in the frail shuttle craft without being eaten by the mutant monster now roaming free.

#6: Circus

What appears to be a circus in full swing from the distance suddenly becomes as silent as the grave as you open the gate into the field. Never the less you must find some petrol for your car, so here goes...

#7: Feasibility Experiment

A human guinea-pig for a race of super intelligent beings that have no bodily form. Plucked from your bed in order to satisfy their craving for life force that will sustain them. A warrior that can live up to the image of Alexander the Great.

#8: The Wizard of Akyrz

Twice defeated by a mere mortal it has taken the evil wizard some time to recover his powers. Now he forms a new plan to trap and utterly destroy the earthly being that dares to thwart him.

#9: Perseus and Andromeda

Take on the role of Perseus, son of Zeus and Danae. Bring back the head of Medusa the gorgon, whose very glance can turn a man to stone. Otherwise King Polydectes will have his wicked way.

#10: Ten Little Indians

A train journey begins your quest for the golden idol left by Major Johnston-Smythe when he died. Other treasure hunters have tried before you, most of them have never been seen again...

#11: Waxworks

A nightmare comes true, you must find your way out of the wax works factory in which all the exhibits mysteriously come alive.