Designer(s) Dallas Snell
Joe Toler Developer Penguin Software Mode Single-player video game | Initial release date 1983 Publisher Penguin Software | |
Platforms Commodore 64, Macintosh operating systems, DOS Genres Interactive fiction, Adventure game Similar Gates of Skeldal: 7 Mages, Avernum 2: Crystal Souls, The Mask of the Sun, Sherwood Forest, The Coveted Mirror | ||
The Quest is a graphic fantasy text adventure computer game released in 1983 by Penguin Software. Originally designed by Dallas Snell for the Apple II and was later ported to several other home computer systems of the era.
Contents
Setting
The game takes place in a medieval fantasy setting in the Kingdom of Balema as a dragon threatens its citizens. The player takes the role of the King's newest Adviser and with the help of the King's champion, Gorn, set out to end the dragon menace.
Gameplay
The player controls the actions of the party by typing basic commands that are to be issued by the player's character and performed by either the group, Gorn or your character. The game is played largely by nonlinear exploration and finding important items to allow the player to complete the objective. The player has access to both a text and graphic description of each scene and is able to toggle between strictly text and text/graphic mode.
Graphics
The game was highly regarded at the time for its large use of high resolution artwork and the artistic style of Co-Designer and graphic artist Joe Toler. Visually, scenes share stylistic similarities to the works of Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo.
Reception
When the game was brought to Penguin Software, some of its content was deemed slightly too mature for publication and was subsequently "toned down" for its release. Despite these changes, the game was given a review in Playboy Magazine and is the only game published by Penguin Software to be reviewed by the magazine. Also this would be Dallas Snell's first game in a career of over 30 games he contributed to and who would go on to co-found Origin Systems.