Perry Mason: The Case of the Mandarin Murder
| Perry Mason: The Case of the Mandarin Murder | |
|---|---|
| Studio | Telarium |
| Publisher | Telarium |
| Senior Developer | Seth Godin |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1985 |
| platform | Apple II , Atari ST , C 64 , DOS , MSX2 |
| Game engine | Spinnaker Adventure Language (SAL) |
| genre | Text adventure |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | keyboard |
| language | English Spanish |
Perry Mason: The Case of the Mandarin Murder is a computer game by the US company Telarium (formerly: Trillium) from 1985. It belongs to the genre of text adventures with graphics ( Interactive Fiction with Graphics ) and is based on the literary figure of the fictional Defense attorney Perry Mason who was created by the writer Erle Stanley Gardner .
action
The plot in the style of a crime story with elements of a justice thriller takes place in the USA. Victor Kapp , a prominent restaurant owner, was murdered and his wife Laura is suspected of murder. The player takes on the defense as defense attorney Perry Mason and has to convince the twelve-member jury of their innocence in court . Supporting characters in the adventure are Mason's secretary Della Street , private detective Paul Drake and policeman Arthur Tregg .
Game principle and technology
Perry Mason is a text adventure, which means that surroundings and events are displayed as screen text and the visualization is largely up to the player's imagination. In contrast to classic text adventures, which have no graphic decoration whatsoever, Perry Mason comes up with a picture of the respective environment or the respective interlocutor. This takes up about 40% of the screen, the remaining 60% are used for text input and input. While comparable games such as those of the companies Level 9 or Magnetic Scrolls offered a uniform presentation and positioned the images in the upper and the text in the lower part of the screen, in Perry Mason images of people were displayed on edge on the edge of the page.
The player can use the keyboard to enter commands consisting of several words that are processed by a parser . The parser enables a complex sentence structure. The instructions for the game contain a detailed list of words for the parser.
Production notes
The game has two-dimensional graphics, a theme melody and sound effects. It was implemented for the platforms C 64 , DOS , Atari ST , MSX2 and Apple II . The port for MSX2 systems is a translation into Spanish ("El Caso del Asesinato en el Mandarin") and has new illustrations.
The fictional lawyer character Perry Mason and the supporting characters Della Street, Paul Drake and Arthur Tregg are creations of the writer Erle Stanley Gardner. A Boston law firm was involved in the production of the adventure.
reception
Player reviews in the 1980s emphasized the realistic court scenes, which enabled a wide variety of witness interviews, influencing the jury members and other interactions of the player. In a test report by a German computer magazine, Perry Mason was rated 87 out of 100 points. An American reviewer spoke of a major breakthrough for the genre ("It is also a major breakthrough in interactive fiction.").
In a 2006 study of computer game history and theory, Perry Mason's gaming experience was recognized as unique in the field of Interactive Fiction (IF) and as one of the most interesting possible avenues for further exploration of the genre ("The whole thing adds up to a game experience that is completely unique in IF, and indeed one of the most interesting potential pathways for further exploration in the genre. "). On the one hand, the idea of the realistic simulation of a court hearing was more impressive than the practical implementation, which was due to general structural problems of text-based interactive fiction and the hardware restrictions in the 1980s. On the other hand, it is challenging and rewarding for the player to find the right way to a fair judgment of the jury. A special feature are the different game ends of the adventure: The game can be successfully completed with an acquittal of the client Laura Kapp and - what is more difficult - with an acquittal and the conviction of the actual murderer.
Web links
- Perry Mason: The Case of the Mandarin Murder at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Overview of those involved in development and production under Perry Mason: The Case of the Mandarin Murder at MobyGames (English)
- ↑ See Boris Schneider-Johne : Perry Mason . In: Happy Computer , special games issue 11 (1986); Heinrich Lenhardt : Tatort Computer . In: Happy Computer 4/1986, pp. 150f.
- ↑ Brad Kershaw: Perry Mason . In: Antic Amiga Magazine, Vol. 5 No. 1, 05/1985, p. 81.
- ↑ See Jimmy Maher: Let's Tell a Story Together. A History of Interactive Fiction . Senior Honor's Thesis, University of Texas, Dallas 2006 (Chapter 6 The Rest of commercial IF - Tirllium / Telarium ) .
- ↑ See Jimmy Maher: Let's Tell a Story Together. A History of Interactive Fiction . Senior Honor's Thesis, University of Texas, Dallas 2006 (Chapter 6 The Rest of commercial IF - Tirllium / Telarium ) .