SwordThrust

SwordThrust is an interactive text adventure game for the Apple II, created by Donald Brown and published by CE Software in 1981. It consists of seven separate adventures (each sold separately) and is the commercial successor to Brown's Eamon (1980).

"The Eternal Curse" redirects here. For film, see The Eternal Curse (film).
SwordThrust
Developer(s)Donald Brown
Publisher(s)CE Software
Designer(s)Donald Brown
Platform(s)Apple II
ReleaseMay 1981[1]
Genre(s)Adventure / RPG
Mode(s)Single-player

Premise

Players take on the role of a warrior/adventurer in the magical, feudal world of Diurla. Play begins at the Main Hall of the Guild of Free Rogues, where the player creates a character, buys equipment and learns spells before venturing out to gain wealth and experience. Each scenario has a different goal, and typically a time limit. A save option is available, allowing the player to suspend the game and pick it up later.[2]

Adventures

Seven separate adventures were released for the SwordThrust system:[2]

Screenshot from "The King's Testing Ground"
  1. The King's Testing Ground by Donald Brown. Intended for "beginning rogues", this adventure is the equivalent of Eamon's Beginners Cave and contains relatively easy opponents.
  2. The Vampyre Caves by Donald Brown
  3. The Kidnappers Cove by Donald Brown
  4. The Case of the Sultan's Pearl by Donald Brown
  5. The Green Plague by Donald Brown
  6. The Eternal Curse by Donald Brown
  7. The Hall of Alchemie by Peter Wityk

Reception

Forrest Johnson reviewed SwordThrust in The Space Gamer No. 43.[3] Johnson commented that "SwordThrust is not the best game of its type; it's the only. It has flaws, but so does every milestone."[3]

Debuting in May 1981, Swordthrust #1 sold 1,000 copies by June 1982, appearing on Computer Gaming World's list of top sellers.[1] A 1982 review in the magazine praised the game's departure from the typical Dungeons & Dragons character class system, instead allowing a character to advance in any skill, closer in style to RuneQuest.[4] Computer Gaming World stated in 1991 and 1993 "It's a pity that Swordthrust did not survive into the graphic era, as it had great potential".[5][6]

Dale Archibald reviewed Sword Thrust #1: The King's Testing Ground in Ares Magazine #14 and commented that "if gothic, nurse, mystery and western writers can publish four books at a time about a character, why can't a software publisher? It's an attractive idea, if you've got a good character and good plots. Brown has the best character going: you. And his plots are interesting."[7]

Norman Banduch reviewed The Eternal Curse in The Space Gamer No. 58.[8] Banduch commented that "The Eternal Curse is an excellent adventure program, ideal for building up characters for other SwordThrust adventures. It is also good fun on its own."[8]

Reviews

See also
  • Splash screen
  • Eamon, the non-commercial predecessor to SwordThrust.

References
  1. "Inside the Industry" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. September–October 1982. p. 2. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  2. "SwordThrust Manual" (PDF). CE Software. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  3. Johnson, Forrest (September 1981). "Featured Review: SwordThrust". The Space Gamer. Steve Jackson Games (43): 10–11.
  4. Maloy, Deirdre (January–February 1982), "The SwordThrust series: A survey", Computer Gaming World (Jan–Feb 1982), p. 2
  5. Scorpia (October 1991). "C*R*P*G*S / Computer Role-Playing Game Survey". Computer Gaming World. p. 16. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  6. Scorpia (October 1993). "Scorpia's Magic Scroll Of Games". Computer Gaming World. pp. 34–50. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. Archibald, Dale (Spring 1983). "Software". Ares Magazine. TSR, Inc. (14): 47.
  8. Banduch, Norman (December 1982). "Capsule Reviews". The Space Gamer. Steve Jackson Games (58): 46.
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