Windham Classics

Corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

was a subsidiary of Spinnaker Software. The corporation was founded in 1984 and went defunct circa 1985/86 or later. The headquarters were in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Adventure games

Windham Classics published five

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

s. The games belonged to the genres of

interactive fiction '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...

with graphics and point-and-click adventure game. They were based upon books for children. The game development was a part of Spinnakers marketing strategy in the adventure game market in the 1980s: Target groups of Windham Classic adventures were children players and target groups of

Telarium Telarium Corporation (formerly Trillium) was a brand owned by Spinnaker Software. The brand was launched in 1984 and Spinnaker was sold in 1994. The headquarters were located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The President of Telarium was C. Da ...

, another Spinnaker subsidiary corporation, were grown-up players. * '' Below the Root'', 1984 (developed in corporation with

Zilpha Keatley Snyder Zilpha Keatley Snyder (May 11, 1927 – October 7, 2014) was an American author of books for children and young adults. Three of Snyder's works were named Newbery Honor books: ''The Egypt Game'', ''The Headless Cupid'' and ''The Witches of Worm ...

, based upon her novel '' Below the Root'') * ''

Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwrec ...

'', 1984 (based upon the novel ''

The Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwrec ...

'' by

Johann David Wyss Johann David Wyss (; 28 May 1743 – 11 January 1818) was a Swiss author, best remembered for his book '' The Swiss Family Robinson'' (''Der schweizerische Robinson'') (1812). He was born and died in Bern. It is said that he was inspired by ...

) * ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' or ''The Wizard of Oz'' most commonly refers to: *'' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', a 1900 American novel by L. Frank Baum often reprinted as ''The Wizard of Oz'' ** Wizard of Oz (character), from the Baum novel serie ...

'', 1985 (based upon the novels ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz aft ...

'' and ''

The Marvelous Land of Oz ''The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman'', commonly shortened to ''The Land of Oz'', published in July 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and t ...

'' by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not inclu ...

) * ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

'', 1985 (based upon the novels ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' and ''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

'' by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

) * ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure n ...

'', 1985 (based upon the novel ''

'' by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', '' Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

). The adventure game ''Robin Hood'' was announced, but not published.

Reception

The Windham Classics adventures were praised for their text quality and their detailed graphics. The special feature of Windham Classics adventures was the appropriate gameplay for children. The gameplay was easier than the gameplay in other adventures. The combination of text, graphics, a nonviolent storyline and appropriate interactive opportunities assisted the children's involvement and participation in the plot.e.g. Laurene Krasny Brown: ''Taking advantage of media. A manual for parents and teachers.'' Routledge & K. Paul 1986, p. 124; David F. Lancy, Bernard L. Hayes: ''Interactive Fiction and the Reluctant Reader'', English Journal, Nov. 1988, p.42-45

Notes

External links

*
Windham Classics
at ''Museum of Computer Adventure Game History'' by Howard Feldman

at ''Adventureland'' by Hans Persson and Stefan Meier Software companies of the United States Defunct software companies of the United States {{US-software-company-stub