Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail

Conquests of Camelot
Amiga/DOS cover art
Developer(s)	Sierra On-Line
Publisher(s)	Sierra On-Line
Designer(s)	Christy Marx
Composer(s)	Mark Seibert
Engine	SCI0
Platform(s)	MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST
Release	NA: 1989
Genre(s)	Adventure, Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single-player

Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail is a graphic adventure game released in 1989 by Sierra On-Line. It was the first game in the Conquests series designed by Christy Marx and her husband Peter Ledger. The only other game in the series was 1992's Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood. Marx did the majority of the design work while Ledger created the game and package art.

The gameplay is typical of the Sierra adventure games of that time, however it is enriched with several arcade sequences, puzzles and riddles. Occasionally, some alternative solutions to puzzles were available.

Scoring was based on three kinds of points: Skill (when the player performs deeds that help him in his quest, or defeats enemies), Wisdom (when examining things, talking to others, or gaining hints) and Soul (performing good deeds to help others). The options provided a difficulty setting for the arcade sequences, but with lower points. The game featured a soundtrack of authentic-sounding medieval music composed by Mark Seibert.

The message boxes (narration) are the wizard Merlin speaking and counseling the player. The in-game text displays lesser-known forms of words, for example Gwenhyver, Excaliber, Gawaine, Launcelot, and magick instead of the better-known Guinevere, Excalibur, Gawain, Lancelot, and magic. The parser, however, understood all spellings.

The package included a map of Europe in Arthurian times and an illustrated manual called Liber Ex Doctrina (Latin for either "Book (derived) from Knowledge" or "Book of Doctrine"). This book included information about the evolution of the Arthurian and Grail myths as well as Greek and Roman mythology; some of this information was required in order to answer riddles within the game.

The game begins at the decline of Camelot because of the love triangle between King Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot. This 'curse' brought famine and drought in the kingdom. After having a vision of the Holy Grail covered by a silver cloth, Gawain, Lancelot and Galahad departed on a quest for the Holy Grail. However, they did not return. The player controls Arthur in his search for the missing knights and the Grail.