| Spellbreaker | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Developer(s) | Infocom |
| Publisher(s) | Infocom |
| Designer(s) | Dave Lebling |
| Engine | ZIL |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS |
| Release date | Release 63: September 16, 1985
Release 87: September 4, 1986 |
| Genre(s) | Text adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media | 3½" or 5¼" disk |
| System requirements | No special requirements |
| Input methods | Keyboard |
Zork games
Other games
Wishbringer • Return to Zork
Zork: Nemesis • Zork Grand Inquisitor
Zork: The Undiscovered Underground
Companies
Miscellaneous
Spellbreaker is an interactive fiction computer game written by Dave Lebling and released by Infocom in 1985, the third and final game in the "Enchanter Trilogy". A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video Infocom was a Software company, based in Cambridge Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of Interactive fiction. A "game designer" is a person who designs Video games or one who designs traditional games such as Board games Video Games Designer A video game designer P David Lebling (born 1949 was an Interactive fiction Game designer, or Implementor, at Infocom. A game engine is a software system designed for the creation and development of computer and video games The Z-machine is a Virtual machine that was developed by Joel Berez and Marc Blank in 1979 and used by Infocom for its text adventure games In Computing, a platform describes some sort of Hardware architecture or Software framework (including Application frameworks, that allows The Amiga is a family of Personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit Home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992 The Atari ST is a home / Personal computer that was commercially available from 1985 to the early 1990s MS-DOS (short for M icro' s' oft D isk O perating S ystem is an Operating system commercialized by Microsoft. Events 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) See also [[Game classification]] Video games are categorized into Genres based on their Gameplay interaction In video gaming, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session Digital media (as opposed to analog media) usually refers to Electronic media that work on digital Codes. A floppy disk is an increasingly Obsolete data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin flexible ("floppy" Magnetic storage medium encased A floppy disk is an increasingly Obsolete data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin flexible ("floppy" Magnetic storage medium encased In Computing, a keyboard is an Input device partially modelled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys Zork was one of the first Interactive fiction Computer games and an early descendant of Colossal Cave Adventure. Zork I The Great Underground Empire is an Interactive fiction Computer game written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels Zork II The Wizard of Frobozz is an Interactive fiction Computer game published by Infocom in 1981. Zork III The Dungeon Master is an Interactive fiction Computer game written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels Beyond Zork (full title Beyond Zork The Coconut of Quendor) was an Interactive fiction Computer game written by Brian Moriarty and Zork Zero The Revenge of Megaboz is an Interactive fiction Computer game, written by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in Wishbringer The Magick Stone of Dreams is an Interactive fiction Computer game written by Brian Moriarty and published by Infocom Return to Zork is a 1993 Adventure game in the Zork series for the PC and Apple Macintosh. Zork The Undiscovered Underground (or ZUU for short is an Interactive fiction Computer game written by former Infocom Implementors Infocom was a Software company, based in Cambridge Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of Interactive fiction. Activision Inc is an American Video game developer and publisher. FrobozzCo International is a fictional monopolous conglomerate from the Infocom text adventure Zork universe The Z-machine is a Virtual machine that was developed by Joel Berez and Marc Blank in 1979 and used by Infocom for its text adventure games AFGNCAAP (pronounced Afghan-cap or Afghan-cop is a satirically politically correct Initialism for " Ageless Faceless Gender-Neutral Culturally-Ambiguous The Zork books were a series of four books written by S Eric Meretzky, which took place in the Fictional universe of Zork. A personal computer Game (also known as a computer game or simply PC game) is a Video game played on a Personal computer, rather P David Lebling (born 1949 was an Interactive fiction Game designer, or Implementor, at Infocom. Infocom was a Software company, based in Cambridge Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of Interactive fiction. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Like most of Infocom's games, it was released for many of the time's popular computer platforms, such as the Commodore 64, Atari ST and Apple II. The Atari ST is a home / Personal computer that was commercially available from 1985 to the early 1990s It is Infocom's eighteenth game.
Contents |
Plot
Over the course of events in the trilogy's earlier games (Enchanter and Sorcerer), the player's character has progressed from a novice wizard possessing a few weak spells to the leader of the Circle of Enchanters. Now the very foundations of Magic itself seem to be failing, and the leaders of all the Guilds in the land have gathered to demand answers. Some Role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the Paranormal sense A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers In the midst of this impassioned meeting, the crowd is suddenly transformed into a group of toads and newts! Everyone present is affected except for the player and a shadowy figure who flees the hall.
In the course of investigating the mystery, the player learns new, powerful spells that must be used in novel ways. But since magic is no longer dependable, each spell has a chance of failing. The only objects that can help to shore up the effectiveness of sorcery are the Cubes of Foundation, each of which can transport the player to a different location and strengthen certain spells.
Eventually the player discovers a terrible secret: the shadowy figure responsible for all this chaos is a dark twin. Even with magic, every action has an equal and opposite reaction; and with every spell cast, the player's opposite has grown stronger. Finally, this evil being seizes the magic cubes and uses them to construct a portal which will bestow near-infinite power. The only way to defeat the doppelgänger is to sabotage the portal, an action which also leads to the destruction of all magic. A doppelgänger ( or fetch is the ghostly double of a living person a sinister form of Bilocation. Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy oppressor or employer through subversion obstruction disruption and/or destruction
Feelies
Spellbreaker was no exception to Infocom's long-standing tradition of including extra items in the game package. The feelies for this game included:
- A Frobozz Magic Magic Equipment Catalog, Special Crisis Edition
- An Enchanter's Guild pin
- Six "Enchanter cards", baseball card-like items each containing a picture and information about legendary wizards
In keeping with another Infocom tradition, these feelies also provided a measure of protection against software piracy. Infocom used the term feelie to refer to the extra content included with the boxed versions of their Interactive fiction Computer games Feelies differed A baseball card is a type of Trading card relating to baseball usually printed on some type of Paper stock or card stock The Copyright infringement of Software (also known as software piracy) refers to several practices which involve the unauthorized copying of computer At one point in the game, Belboz would ask a question whose answer could be found on one of the Enchanter cards.
Notes
As the final game of a series, Spellbreaker was intended to be very difficult. Labeled as an "Expert"-level game, it is widely regarded as one of Infocom's toughest releases. Some players even criticized it as an effort to boost sales of the InvisiClues hint system. InvisiClues were hint Booklets sold by Infocom to help players solve Puzzles in their Interactive fiction Computer games Before Perhaps due to its legendary difficulty, Spellbreaker was never as popular as either of its predecessors in the Enchanter trilogy, despite a fair deal of critical acclaim.
One of the game's innovations among Infocom's works was the ability to "name" objects. As the player collects twelve "featureless white cubes", it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate between them. The game, however, provides a burin with which the player can "write" a word or phrase on a cube, and thereafter refer to the cube by that inscription. Burin from the French burin meaning "cold Chisel " has two specialised meanings for types of tools in English one meaning a Steel
During development, Spellbreaker's working title was Mage. A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development usually a Film, Novel
Taglines
An unknown evil causes magic to fail and threatens your world with total annihilation. Only the most inspired enchanter can hope to uncover and destroy this dark force. . .
Break a mysterious curse!
External links
- Spellbreaker at MobyGames
- Spellbreaker overview and information
- Scans of the Spellbreaker package, documentation and feelies
- The Infocom Bugs List entry for Spellbreaker
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