Topologika Games - LaunchBox Games Database

Topologika

Acheton

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1984

Acheton was written by Jon Thackray, David Seal and Jonathan Partington. The BBC Micro version was originally published by Acornsoft in 1984 and re-released in 1987 by Topologika. Acheton is a home computer conversion of the mainframe adventure of the same name. Similar to Zork (which was released on the VAX mainframe not long before Acheton's original appearance), it is a fantasy treasure hunt set in a claustrophobic dungeon. It boasts over 400 rooms and 200 objects, thereby making it much bigger than Zork. As with many games of this kind the most time is spent by exploring the environment and solving item-based puzzles. Everything is described solely with plain text and the player interacts with the game by typing in phrases which describe his desired action, e.g. "take bottle". It also features a help function with graded hints.

Acheton

Acorn Electron - Released - 1987

Written by Jon Thackray, David Seal and Jonathan Partington. Acheton is a home computer conversion of the mainframe adventure of the same name. Similar to Zork (which was released on the VAX mainframe not long before Acheton's original appearance), it is a fantasy treasure hunt set in a claustrophobic dungeon. It boasts over 400 rooms and 200 objects, thereby making it much bigger than Zork. As with many games of this kind the most time is spent by exploring the environment and solving item-based puzzles. Everything is described solely with plain text and the player interacts with the game by typing in phrases which describe his desired action, e.g. "take bottle". It also features a help function with graded hints.

Acheton

Acorn Archimedes - Released - 1989

Acheton was written by Jon Thackray, David Seal and Jonathan Partington. It's a home computer conversion of the mainframe adventure of the same name. Similar to Zork (which was released on the VAX mainframe not long before Acheton's original appearance), it is a fantasy treasure hunt set in a claustrophobic dungeon. It boasts over 400 rooms and 200 objects, thereby making it much bigger than Zork. As with many games of this kind the most time is spent by exploring the environment and solving item-based puzzles. Everything is described solely with plain text and the player interacts with the game by typing in phrases which describe his desired action, e.g. "take bottle". It also features a help function with graded hints. The Archimedes release includes an extended version of The Kingdom of Hamil game.

Avon

Acorn Archimedes - Released - 1989

A double-pack of games originally written for the Phoenix IBM System/370 mainframe at Cambridge University, reworked for commercial release on home computers: Avon is an appropriately Shakespearean adventure which begings innocently enough with a sight-seeing visit to the celebrated playwright's hometown. As the protagonist explores the streets and souvenir shops, certain people, animals and objects begin exhibiting strange behavior; finally, the surroundings become completely unfamiliar, and the inhabitants' English unusually rich and poetic... the stage is set for an exploration of this strange land, in an attempt to find a way out. The happenings take place over three different calendar dates; the game world is a blend of places and characters from Shakespeare's plays, but as the authors reassure us, "an exhaustive knowledge of the Shakespearean Canon is not necessary". Monsters of Murdac is billed as a bonus game, in which an expatriate known only as George takes a flight from England back to his native land of Murdac. Here he meets a mysterious old lady remembered from his childhood, rumored to be a witch (in any case, she's at least somewhat unconventional). A stop at her strangely-furnished home proves fateful, as the hero finds himself sent on a quest deep into the foreboding forest of Murdac. Only the hag's incoherent mumblings about hostile powers and odd rituals hint at what lies ahead.

Avon

Acorn Electron - Released - 1990

A double-pack of games originally written for the Phoenix IBM System/370 mainframe at Cambridge University, reworked for commercial release on home computers: Avon is an appropriately Shakespearean adventure which beings innocently enough, with a sight-seeing visit to the celebrated playwright's hometown. As the protagonist explores the streets and souvenir shops, certain people, animals and objects begin exhibiting strange behavior; finally, the surroundings become completely unfamiliar, and the inhabitants' English unusually rich and poetic... the stage is set for an exploration of this strange land, in an attempt to find a way out. The happenings take place over three different calendar dates; the game world is a blend of places and characters from Shakespeare's plays, but as the authors reassure us, "an exhaustive knowledge of the Shakespearean Canon is not necessary". Monsters of Murdac is billed as a bonus game, in which an expatriate known only as George takes a flight from England back to his native land of Murdac. Here he meets a mysterious old lady remembered from his childhood, rumored to be a witch (in any case, she's at least somewhat unconventional). A stop at her strangely-furnished home proves fateful, as the hero finds himself sent on a quest deep into the foreboding forest of Murdac. Only the hag's incoherent mumblings about hostile powers and odd rituals hint at what lies ahead.

Avon

MS-DOS - Released - 1989

Avon is an appropriately Shakespearean adventure which beings innocently enough, with a sight-seeing visit to the celebrated playwright's hometown. As the protagonist explores the streets and souvenir shops, certain people, animals and objects begin exhibiting strange behavior; finally, the surroundings become completely unfamiliar, and the inhabitants' English unusually rich and poetic... the stage is set for an exploration of this strange land, in an attempt to find a way out. The happenings take place over three different calendar dates; the game world is a blend of places and characters from Shakespeare's plays, but as the authors reassure us, "an exhaustive knowledge of the Shakespearean Canon is not necessary".

Avon

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1987

A double-pack of games originally written for the Phoenix IBM System/370 mainframe at Cambridge University, reworked for commercial release on home computers: Avon is a Shakespearean adventure which begins with a sight-seeing visit to the playwright's hometown. As the protagonist explores the streets and souvenir shops, certain people, animals and objects begin exhibiting strange behavior; finally, the surroundings become completely unfamiliar, and the inhabitants' English unusually rich and poetic. the stage is set for an exploration of this strange land, in an attempt to find a way out. The happenings take place over three different calendar dates; the game world is a blend of places and characters from Shakespeare's plays. Monsters of Murdac is billed as a bonus game, in which an expatriate known only as George takes a flight from England back to his native land of Murdac. Here he meets a mysterious old lady remembered from his childhood, rumored to be a witch. A stop at her strangely-furnished home proves fateful, as the hero finds himself sent on a quest deep into the foreboding forest of Murdac.

Countdown to Doom

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1982

Countdown to Doom is a text adventure computer game written in 1982 by Professor Peter Killworth. There are two sequels, Return to Doom and Last Days of Doom. The game was first published by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro in 1982. It was ported to the Acorn Electron in 1984 but only released as a ROM cartridge for the Plus 1 expansion. This was the only game released exclusively as a ROM cart for the Electron. The game was later re-released in 1987 by Topologika (who also published the game's sequels). This version was expanded by about 50% and as well as being released for the BBC and Electron (on disk only), the game was ported to many other systems including ZX Spectrum (+3 disk only), PC, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Atari ST and RM Nimbus. It was also available for Acorn RISC OS computers as a compilation with Return to Doom and Philosopher's Quest. In this game, the player's spaceship crash-lands on Doom's inhospitable surface and they emerge from the wreckage to realise that, unless they can locate the necessary spare parts, their ship will corrode away in a mere 400 time units. There are many ways to be killed in this game.

Countdown to Doom

Acorn Archimedes - Released - 1989

Doomawangara. Abbr.: Doom. Climate: Varies dramatically from desert to jungle, glacier to swamp. Atmosphere intensely volatile; explorers must guard against rapid corrosion of equipment and spaceship alike. Dangers: Atmosphere, as above. Automatic defence system. Also the Ruins, reputed to have been the home, aeons ago, of The Ancients; none who has entered them has ever returned. Special features: The large number of crashed spaceships littering its surface, many of which had been carrying treasure from one planet to another, make Doom a potentially lucrative source of income for that special breed of explorer known as Adventurer... An adventure game by Peter Kilworth. Also included are extended versions of the two adventure games, Return To Doom and Philosopher's Quest.

Countdown to Doom

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1987

After your spaceship's crash-landing on Doom's inhospitable surface, you emerge from the wreckage to realise that unless you can locate the necessary spare parts your ship will corrode away in a mere 400 time units. Explore a exotic new world in this classic text-adventure.

Kingdom of Hamil

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1983

A huge adventure game in a medieval setting with some ingenious puzzles and mazes. The game is a slightly trimmed version of the one written by Jonathan Partington on the Phoenix mainframe. It was converted by Peter Kilworth for the BBC Micro. It was first published by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro and later re-released by Topologika for a number of platforms including the BBC Micro and Electron.

Kingdom of Hamil

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1987

The plot is simple: You play the part of the rightful heir to the throne who, in your infancy, was abducted and brought up many leagues from Hamil. Over the years you desperately hoped for someone to come and rescue you but no one came. Now, a fully grown adult, you have escaped from your captors and have returned to claim your kingdom. The adventure starts with you in a chapel on the outskirts of Hamil. To leave by the way you entered is sudden death. Another exit is sought and found and you are now within striking distance of what you have dreamed of for all those years. All you have to do is prove that you are worthy of your inheritance. The puzzles are ingenious and I suppose must be accepted as fairly logical. A major problem is to get the parser to understand what you are trying to do. As with many games in the classical mould, the vocabulary is not very large and the way in which you can input commands is strictly limited. Extensive hints are supplied for those faint hearted enough to require them, but I am pleased to say that they are, on the whole, only hints. You still have to interpret them for them to be useful. The hint sheet supplied with the game has a list of potential areas of difficulty listed as objects and locations. Each has a number that can be referred to elsewhere. This gives you a number to type into the computer and you will then receive a clue. You may then ask for another on the same subject and the answers you get will be clearer the longer you persist. Some hints may appear to be quite explicit but you then have to decide how to input this new found knowledge, and that may not be so easy. Kingdom of Hamil does not have an enormous number of locations but there are plenty of puzzles to solve. Whether you manage it on your own or with the help of the clues provided, you will still feel satisfied when you reach the climax of the adventure. The problems you meet are not in themselves an entirely believable part of the plot but nevertheless provide a stimulating experience in adventuring. There is no RAM SAVE, but SAVEs to disc are rapid and should be made quite frequently as sudden death is around every corner. The instructions omit reference to any common commands, RESTORE must be used to re-load a SAVEd game position and the adventurer's favourite command EXAMINE is not recognised at all. This seems a strange omission but once you get used to its absence you just read the text more carefully.

Philosopher's Quest

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1987

Philosopher's Quest is a single player text adventure. The story starts with the player mooching around a junk shop. Somewhere in the back of the shop is an old wand. Its just lying there and, well, what harm could come from giving it a little wave - especially if the shop keeper's back is turned. So that's what happens, the wand gets waved and the player is transported to another shop somewhere inside a cave system. Though alone in the cave the player hears a voice telling them to go and explore, to seek treasure and bring it back to the shop in payment for misuse of the wand. So begins the adventure that will see the player encounter the serpent in the Garden of Eden, the Ancient Mariner, an invalid old lady, a whale and many other strange characters and places.

Philosopher's Quest

Acorn Electron - Released - 1988

Welcome to the adventure! This pack contains programs on cassette plus instructions for Philosopher's Quest, an 'intelligent' adventure where the player explores a strange land full of weird and unlikely things, some dangerous and some even magical. In this new and authentic game the concept of the adventure is exploited to the full, and extended to include abstract thought as a means to progress and survival. However, wild speculation will get you nowhere - you have to use your wits! The objective is to find all the treasures and bring them to where you began, but in the meantime you have to sift clues, weigh up risks, spot magic words and remember which way you came! The game starts with a description of your immediate surroundings, and a choice of objects which you can take with you (use "TAKE" followed by the name of the object) on your quest. Choose carefully, before setting off with a command such as "WEST" if you want to try going west, or "NE" to go to the northeast. The computer becomes your eyes and hands. It will tell you what you can see and what is happening around you. You must tell it, in return, what to do (it prompts you with a colon). Use commands of one or two words (in upper case). The computer only looks at the first four letters of any word you type, so that the command "NORTHEAST" must be typed in as "NE" to distinguish it from "NORTH" (or "N" - there are various abbreviations you will pick up as you go).

Return to Doom

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1988

Part 2 of Topologika's DOOM adventure trilogy. You must return to the planet Doom, this time to rescue an ambassador who has crashed there.

Spy Snatcher

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1992

A text adventure in which you're summoned to MI7 headquarters in order to unmask a mole who is leaking British Intelligence to the unstable country of Ruritania.

Spy Snatcher

Acorn Archimedes - Released - 1992

As an agent of MI7 you have to unmask a 'mole'. The plans for the new Sonic Macrothrodule are believed to have been leaked and you've to solve the puzzle within one hour.

The Last Days of Doom

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1990

Part 3 of Topologika's DOOM adventure trilogy. The original game was written by Peter Killworth, with Acorn conversions for the BBC Micro, Electron and Archimedes by Jon Thackray. Some releases came bundled with the free bonus game Hezarin.

The Last Days of Doom: Part 3

Acorn Archimedes - Released - 1990

This is the final part of the trilogy of DOOM adventures. The planet Doomawangara is dying and, together with your robot dog, you must try and save it. You have to deal with squashed spaceships, renegade robots, a ruined city, time travel and other puzzles. It also contains a bonus game, Hezarin.

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