Erik the Viking (video game)
| The Saga of Erik the Viking | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Level 9 Computing |
| Publisher(s) | Mosaic Publishing |
| Designer(s) | Austin Brothers |
| Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum Commodore 64 ZX Spectrum Amstrad CPC BBC Model B (text only) |
| Release | 1984 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
The Saga of Erik the Viking (popularly known as Erik the Viking) is a text-based adventure game by the Austin brothers of Level 9 Computing, published by Mosaic Publishing in 1984. The game runs on Amstrad CPC, BBC model B, Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum. The game is a typical text-based adventure of the mid-1980s and versions are still available on Spectrum Emulators today.
The game is loosely based on the 1983 award-winning children's novel of the same name by Terry Jones. A number of characters and items in the computer game are drawn from the novel, although the plot is completely different. Jones also directed a 1989 movie Erik the Viking, which was also completely different from the novel, featuring a third plot that was different from that of the videogame.
The player controls Erik the Viking, and it's Erik's task to find his family, who have been kidnapped by the evil Dogfighters. In the first part of the game, Erik is on the mainland. He makes preparations for sailing, finds his weapons and gathers together a crew, who include Blind Thorkhild, Sven the Strong and Ragnar Forkbeard.
Most of the game is set on the sea, with Erik steering his ship, the Golden Dragon, through the northern seas. He visits a number of different islands to collect the necessary items and meet the necessary characters to rescue his family and win the game. These include an enchantress in a cave hidden in a forest, the wizard Al Kwasarmi on a stone quay, and the enchanter's daughter Freya. The enchanter's study contains a list of the items that Erik needs to complete the game, and Al Kwasarmi makes them into the ribbon that Erik needs to rescue his family. A dragon may also interrupt Erik's quest!
The computer game is a text-based adventure, in which the player inputs simple commands which Erik follows. As in similar adventure games, the world is divided into a number of screens or "rooms", all of which have pictures. While obviously very primitive by today's standards, in the mid-1980s these large and colourful graphics added greatly to the gaming experience, creating an ambiance and backdrop that resembled Viking Scandinavia. The game's graphics were reminiscent of Beam Software's The Hobbit (1982) in that they are seen to be drawn on the screen as Erik enters a new room. The parser, though, was not as advanced at that used in The Hobbit and was unable to handle sentences beyond set phrases. Additionally, the non-player characters did not exhibit the same independence as they did in The Hobbit, nor is it possible to command them to act. However, the dictionary on the parser was respectable for its time and the playability of the game was fairly good.
...
Wikipedia