A long held-belief about Crowther’s Adventure was that it was designed as a “cave simulation” and it was Woods who came along added magic and treasures and turned it from interactive simulation into interactive fiction. We know, from the hard work of Dennis Jerz locating the original source (before Don Woods started modifying it) that…
The next time I introduce interactive storytelling, I might use this very accessible overview. But all of these efforts were eclipsed by the bedtime story Edward Packard told his two daughters in 1969.While telling his daughters their story, Packard, then a lawyer who was “never comfortable with the law,” asked them what happened next. They…
This week, I’ll be facilitating a week-long collaborative annotation project, as part of the Critical Code Studies Working Group online conference, on the source code to Crowther’s original Colossal Cave Adventure (a classic text-only computer game from the 1970s). According to Donald Knuth, designer of the “literate programming paradigm,” Colossal Cave Adventure is the “ur-game…
Interesting examination of role-playing, illusion, identity, and power in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave, one small branch of which was the inspiration for the 1976/7 computer game Colossal Cave Adventure. In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave was a popular tourist destination for travelers from around the United States and beyond. The cave…
Fascinating student project from Zach Whalen’s “A Videogame Canon” course. Adventure. Rules, Representation, and Meaning in Colossal Cave Adventure Analysis of Colossal Cave Adventure Social Impact Colossal Cave Adventure as an interactive narrative and similarites [sic] to fictional novels Other projects include coverage of PONG, Half-Life, and Super Mario Kart.
Okay, I admit it, being known as the academic expert on a singe indie computer game from the 1970s is something like saying “I’m the handsomest one-eyed pirate on this particular ship, today,” which might well be true, but doesn’t exactly mean very much. Still, I’m thrilled that I could be part of Jason Scott’s…
Here’s an excerpt from an article that appeared in the Winter 2008 issue of the Seton Hill University alumni magazine, Forward. Page 1 | Page 2
I was digging through my archives and came across this e-mail from caver and author Roger Brucker, responding to my request for anything he might remember about the well house — described so vaguely in Will Crowther’s 1976 game “Colossal Cave Adventure,” but such a real-seeming place. The wellhouse was one of a series of…
Gaah! Is there anyone out there who’s experienced with Wikipedia templates, who can help me resolve this mess? I uploaded a screenshot of Will Crowther’s original Colossal Cave Adventure (freeware, c. 1976), but the Wikipedia copyright-protection policies are written for current programs (where the visuals are much more important). Licensing This is a screenshot of…
Mike Musgrove, Post I.T. (Washington Post) One computer historian joked that the game’s release “set the entire computer industry back two weeks” when it appeared on Arpanet, the U.S. government-designed Internet precursor, about 30 years ago. That link, by the way, connects to the page of associate English professor Dennis G. Jerz, of Seton Hill…
Couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d do some more work on the Wikipedia entry for Colossal Cave Adventure.
Because so little primary historical work has been done on the classic text computer game “Colossal Cave Adventure”, academic and popular references to it frequently perpetuate inaccuracies. “Adventure” was the first in a series of text-based games (“interactive fiction”) that emphasize exploring, puzzles, and story, typically in a fantasy setting; these games had a significant…
I designed this site to enable those of us who are having difficulty in solving Adventure / Colossal Cave to work together to solve the game. This is not a hints site, and there is no spoiler space. Information is presented as fully as I can, though the information in the walk through tends to…
The potential caves were spotted near a massive Martian volcano, Arisa Mons. Their openings range from about 330 to 820 feet (100 to 250 meters) wide, and one of them, Dena, is thought to extend nearly 430 feet (130 meters) beneath the planet’s surface. The researchers hope the discovery will lead to more focused spelunking…
Friday the entire Field Camp crew went to the Bedquilt Entrance to remove the debris from that project. This consisted of the old gate, a steel monster that took four people to haul up the hill, the broken concrete from the former gate base and the tools used on the project. We formed a chain…
“When I remained 366 days underground, I had the impression of only spending 219 days,” he said. —Man to live three years in cave (BBC)
According to the study, north European women evolved blonde hair and blue eyes at the end of the Ice Age to make them stand out from their rivals at a time of fierce competition for scarce males. —Roger Dobson and Abul Taher —Cavegirls were first blondes to have fun (Times Online) The authors conclude by stating,…
The horrible conclusion which had been gradually intruding itself upon my confused and reluctant mind was now an awful certainty. I was lost, completely, hopelessly lost in the vast and labyrinthine recess of the Mammoth Cave. Turn as I might, in no direction could my straining vision seize on any object capable of serving as…
A man who went missing five weeks ago in south-western France has been found alive in an underground cave system where he had got lost. —Hugh Schofield —Man found after weeks in cave (BBC) What’s French for XYZZY?