Developer(s) Magnetic Scrolls Designer(s) David Bishop Genre(s) Interactive fiction | Publisher(s) Virgin Games Release 1990 | |
Platform(s) MS-DOS, Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari ST | ||
Wonderland is a computer text-driven adventure game developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published in 1990 by Virgin Games.
Contents
Plot
Wonderland is based on Lewis Carroll's classic children's book Alice in Wonderland, with the player taking on the role of Alice. It does not involve anything from that book's sequel, Through the Looking-Glass.
Gameplay
With this game, Magnetic Scrolls introduced a bespoke windowing system dubbed "Magnetic Windows". The player's inventory, the location's graphic, the map and so on are all in separate windows that can be moved and resized independently. (A similar system is used in unrelated adventure games like Deja Vu.) The developers stated they believed it would make the game more accessible, giving it a much wider appeal.
Development
Development began in December 1987, when David Bishop pitched the concept to Scrolls' Anita Sinclair. Bishop would become project manager.
Reception
Computer Gaming World favorably reviewed the game's graphics and interface, describing it as "a satisfying romp through Wonderland ... fun stuff to play". ACE gave the IBM PC version a score of 910 out of 1000, praising the puzzles, interface (if used with a mouse) and the graphics, with the lack of sound being a negative point.