The Saga of Erik the Viking
| The Saga of Erik the Viking | |
|---|---|
| Studio | Level 9 |
| Publisher | Mosaic Publishing |
| Senior Developer | Pete Austin |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1984 |
| platform | BBC Model B , Commodore 64 , Schneider CPC , Sinclair ZX Spectrum |
| Game engine | A code |
| genre | Text adventure |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | keyboard |
| medium | Cassette , floppy disk |
| language | English |
The Saga of Erik the Viking is a text adventure with graphics that was developed in 1984 by the British company Level 9 . The game was published by Mosaic Publishing for the Amstrad CPC , BBC Model B , Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computers .
action
The player controls the character Erik the Viking, who in his sleep had a vision of the kidnapping of his family by creatures called "Dogfighters" and after waking up to discover that the family has indeed disappeared, and he sets out to find them again . The first part of the game takes place on the mainland. Erik prepares a trip on a sailing ship, finds his weapons and hires a crew for his ship, including Blind Thorkhild, Sven the Strong and Ragnar Forkbeard.
Most of the game takes place at sea. Erik steers his ship, the Golden Dragon , through the North Sea. He visits several islands and collects items there or visits different people in order to save his family and win the game. The people visited include a sorceress who lives in a hidden cave in a forest, the magician Al Kwasarmi on a stone on a quay, and the magician's daughter, Freya.
Game principle and technology
It is a linear adventure game: almost all puzzles have to be solved one after the other and in a certain order. If you overlook an object, the game cannot be solved at a later point in time; besides, you can lose your life.
Production notes
The game is based on the 1983 children's book of the same name by Terry Jones . Some of the characters and objects in the game come from the book, but the story in the game is completely different than in the book. Jones also directed Erik the Viking in 1989 .
reception
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The British magazine Home Computing Weekly described the game as "very impressive", praised the "clever" parser and the "well-made" graphics, stated a high level of difficulty and awarded four out of five stars. The Crash magazine praised the authentic setting and the quality of the graphics, but criticized the sometimes unusual color and unhelpful answers the parser.
At the 1984 Golden Joystick Awards , The Saga of Erik the Viking came second in the “Best Adventure Game of the Year” category.
Web links
- The Saga of Erik the Viking at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Crash # 14, p. 103: The Saga of Erik the Viking. Retrieved February 1, 2017 .
- ↑ Home Computing Weekly # 91: Erik the Viking. Retrieved April 3, 2016 .
- ↑ SpectrumComputing.co.uk: General Info For: The Saga of Erik the Viking. Retrieved June 22, 2018 .