''Microsoft Adventure'' is an

interactive fiction Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...

game published in 1979 by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

for the

TRS-80 The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer developed by American company Tandy Corporation and sold through their Radio Shack stores. Launched in 1977, it is ...

and

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

, then released in 1981 by IBM for the IBM PC. It is based on the PDP-10 mainframe game ''Colossal Cave Adventure''. It was programmed for Microsoft by Gordon Letwin of Softwin Associates.

Gameplay

''Microsoft Adventure'' is a text game in which the player explores caves and acquires treasure, using one- or two-word commands to move or manipulate objects, and the game awards

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

for successfully exploring areas and gathering treasure. The environment consists of 130 rooms containing 15 treasures, 40 useful objects and 12 problems for the players to solve. The progress of two separate games can be saved on a diskette. The game features most of the content from ''Colossal Cave Adventure'', along with a few locations unique to this version.

Release

Microsoft originally released ''Microsoft Adventure'' in 1979 for the TRS-80 and the Apple II under its new division, Microsoft Consumer Products. IBM later included ''Microsoft Adventure'' as the only game in the initial software releases for the

IBM Personal Computer The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a ...

, making it one of the first two games available for the new computer along with '' DONKEY.BAS'' (which was included in the operating system). It was released on a single-sided 5 inch disk, required 32K RAM, as a

self-booting disk A self-booting disk is a floppy disk for home computers or personal computers that loads directly into a standalone application when the system is turned on, bypassing the operating system. This was common, standard, on some computers in the lat ...

; it could not be opened from DOS.

Reception

Carrington Dixon reviewed ''Microsoft Adventure'' in ''

The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...

'' No. 49. Dixon commented that "No game that exists on several different computers can fully demonstrate the potential of any one computer. Even so, your oneybuys many hours of cave exploring and treasure snatching. There is only one 'setup' but that one is rich and complex enough to keep anyone busy for many games. I suspect that many people will come back to this one after some flashier games have been permanently set aside." ''

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...

'' also reviewed the game positively, writing, "This hoary old classic should be included in any player's collection of games for the IBM PC."

References

{{reflist

External links

Review
in Compute!'s Guide to Adventure Games 1979 video games 1970s interactive fiction Adventure games Apple II games IBM software Microsoft games Single-player video games TRS-80 games Video game remakes Video games developed in the United States