Audyssey;

Computer Games Accessible to the Blind

Issue 22: March/April, 2000

Edited by Michael Feir



+++

Welcome





Welcome to the twenty-second issue of Audyssey.  This magazine is dedicated

to the discussion of computer games which, through accident or design, are

accessible to the blind.  This issue covers a lot of recent activity in the

blind gamer's universe. Dave Sherman brings us an inside look at the

Audio-Tips Dungeons and Dragons campaign being run by Randy Hammer. Also,

Justin Fegel has interviewed Suzanne Britton, author of the highly acclaimed

Worlds Apart. Bavisoft, a new company producing games for the blind, has

produced Grizzly Gulch, and has thereby given all of us a taste of what the

future holds in sound-based gaming.



Please write articles and letters about games or game-related topics which

interest you. They will likely interest me, and your fellow readers. They

will also make my job as editor a lot more interesting and true to the

meaning of the word. This magazine should and can be a highly interesting

and qualitative look at accessible computer gaming. To insure that high

quality is maintained, I'll need your written contributions. I'm not asking

for money here, and won't accept any. This magazine is free in its

electronic form, and will always remain so. PCS needs to charge a

subscription cost to cover the disks and shipping costs that it incurs by

making the magazine available on disk. I'm writing this magazine as much for

my own interest as for everyone else's. Your articles, reviews, and letters,

as well as any games you might care to send me, are what I'm after. Send any

games, articles, letters, or reviews via E-mail, or on a 3.5-inch disk in a

self-addressed mailer so that I can return your disk or disks to you once I

have copied their contents onto my hard drive. Please only send shareware or

freeware games. It is illegal to send commercial games. By sending me games,

you will do several things: first, and most obviously, you will earn my

gratitude. You will also insure that the games you send me are made

available to my readership as a whole. As a further incentive, I will fill

any disks you send me with games from my collection. No disk will be

returned empty. If you want specific games, or specific types of games, send

a message in ASCII format along. Never ever send your original disks of

anything to anyone through the mail. Always send copies! This principle may

seem like it shouldn't even have to be stated, but when it comes to just

about anything related to computers, there's always some poor soul who will

act before applying common sense. Disks are not indestructible. Things do

get lost or damaged in the mail, and disks are not immune to these

misfortunes. If you have a particular game that you need help with, and you

are sending your questions on a disk anyhow, include the game so that I can

try and get past your difficulty. If you can, I recommend that you send

e-mail. Thanks to my new computer, I can now send and receive attachments

with ease. This way, no money will be wasted sending me a game I already

have, and you'll get my reply more quickly. You are responsible for shipping

costs. That means, either use a disk mailer which has your address on it,

and is either free matter for the blind, or is properly stamped. I can and

will gladly spare time to share games and my knowledge of them, but cannot

currently spare money above what I spend hunting for new games. I encourage

all my readers to give my magazine to whoever they think will appreciate it.

Up-load it onto web pages and bulletin board systems. Copy it on disk for

people, or print it out for sighted people who may find it of value. The

larger our community gets, the more self-sustaining it will become.



This magazine is published on a bi-monthly basis, each issue appearing no

earlier than the twentieth of every other month. Submitions for a particular

issue should be submitted no later than two days before the issue is

published. I now use MS-Word to produce Audyssey, and can therefore accept

submissions in pretty much any format. They may be sent either on a 3.5-inch

floppy disk, or via e-mail to my CompuServe address. I will give my home

address and my CompuServe address at the end of the magazine.



There are now several ways of obtaining Audyssey. Thanks to ESP Softworks,

there is once again a distribution list for those who want to receive

Audyssey via E-mail. To subscribe to the distribution list so that you

receive all future

issues, the direct Url to the subscription form is:

http://www.espsoftworks.com/forms/audyssey_to.asp

You may also refer a friend and pass onto them the current issue as well as

an introduction e-mail explaining the magazine in detail.  Then, if they

wish to subscribe they will be referred to this form.  The form is available

from the Audyssey Magazine section of the ESP Softworks web-site. To get

there directly, go to:

http://www.espsoftworks.com/textonly/audyssey/audyssey.html

The Audyssey section also contains all back-issues of Audyssey if you want

to get caught up with events.



Travis Siegel has set up a list to facilitate discussions among readers

between issues. Anyone participating in the discussion list will have issues

of Audyssey automatically sent to them via E-mail. Representatives from all

major developers of games for the blind are actively participating on the

list. All staff members of Audyssey are also participating. If you want an

active role in shaping the future of accessible games, this is where you can

dive right in. To subscribe to this discussion list, send a message to:

listserv@softcon.com

with "subscribe Audyssey" in the body of the message. To post to the

discussion list, send your messages to:

audyssey@softcon.com



You can find all issues of Audyssey on the Internet on Paul Henrichsen's web

site at:

www.thesocket.com/~henrich

If you have web access, Audyssey now has an official web page, maintained by

Igor Gueths at:

www.concentric.net/~igueths

Besides having all issues of Audyssey available for download, six megabytes

of storage space are available for popular games.



Another source for back-issues of Audyssey and accessible games is provided

by Kelly Sapergia. He was our first interactive fiction expert, and has put

his Internet skills and resources to splendid use for the magazine. Visit

his site at:

http://listen.to/ksapergia



If you have ftp access, all issues are also available at Travis Siegel's ftp

site:

ftp://ftp.softcon.com

Look in the /magazines directory.



For those of you who have trouble finding some of the software discussed in

this magazine, or if you know someone who doesn't have access to the

Internet, but would be interested in the magazine, this magazine is now

available on disk. PCS has agreed to distribute Audyssey, as well as

selected shareware or freeware software on disk for ten dollars US per year.

To subscribe to Audyssey on disk, contact them at:

Personal Computer Systems

551 Compton Ave.

Perth Amboy N.J.

08861

Phone (732)-826-1917

E-mail: pvlasak@monmouth.com



+++

Contents:

Welcome

Contents

From The Editor

Letters

Interview with Suzanne Britton

Quitting the Field

Free Game Winner

News From Bavisoft

News From ESP Softworks

News From PCS

News From Zform

A Look at Accessible Educational Software

Game Announcements and Reviews

Contacting Us



+++

From The Editor:



A whole lot has happened in the past two months as you'll appreciate when

reading this issue. So much has transpired that we had to prioritise and

couldn't cover everything. As many of you know, I found a full-time job with

an Internet service provider. As part of our service to the disabled, the

company wants to include a section for blind gamers. This section will be

known as Audyssey Plus, and will enhance the quality of the magazine as well

as allow people to be rewarded for their efforts on Audyssey's behalf. More

details on this will be forth-coming in the next issue due out at the end of

June. Due to the time constraints I'm now under, I have decided to place a

hard deadline for submitions. From now onward, I will only accept material

for a given issue that arrives no later than two days before the issue is to

be published. Anything arriving later than this date will be automatically

withheld for the next issue. Of course, I would very much appreciate it if

you send material in earlier than this late a stage in Audyssey's

construction.



For a time, it looked like we would actually lose a member of our staff.

James Peach contemplated resigning his position. However, due to a high

level of positive feedback from members of the Audyssey discussion list, he

has decided to remain a part of the official Audyssey team. As you'll see

later in his announcement, he has taken on web-based games as his new area

of responsibility. If you find a particularly helpful or interesting article

or review, it is important to let the staff member or reader responsible

know that you appreciate his/her efforts. Without feedback from our readers,

we cannot improve the magazine.



Due to increased inquiries in educational games, Kelly Sapergia chose to

concentrate on these instead of his usual interactive fiction coverage. His

efforts will be of especial interest to parents and teachers. Unfortunately,

Justin was unable to cover many of the new interactive fiction games which

have appeared since the last issue. Check the Game Announcements and Reviews

section for info on games which have appeared. If you choose to play them,

please submit a review for Audyssey.



With the appearance of Bavisoft and other developments, it looks like the

months ahead will be very exciting for all of us. As long as readers don't

decide to sit on the sidelines, Audyssey will thrive on their efforts.

Seeing increased activity in Audyssey by newcomers to the community will

hopefully inspire game developers to add more fuel to the fire by creating

more games. We are now at a cross-roads in Audyssey's development. This also

holds true for developers of games for the blind. It is up to all of us to

take the right path. Until next time, enjoy this issue and play on.



+++

Letters:

++

The following two letters are from Stan Bobbitt:



Hello Audyssey magazine,



My name is Stan Bobbitt. I am totally blind. I have been playing

(interactive fiction) - (text adventure) games on the PC for only about 2

years now. I started playing RPG games on the Nintendo (NES) in 1987. After

some initial sighted help, I managed to finish several games, totally on my

own. I believe that Final Fantasy for the (NES) was one of my first. I am

also able to complete (Mike Tyson's Punch-out all the way to the end,

including punching-out Tyson himself, GRIN. As well, I have completed

several games on the (SNES), including: Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat 1 and

2, Super PunchOut,

Final Fantasy 2 and 3, and many others that I can't recall right off hand.

In addition--with some sighted assistance--I have managed to play several

other

games on such console systems as: Nintendo64, PlayStation, and Sega,

including the new Sega DreamCast.

Around 1990, After struggling through game after game after game,

frustrated,

I came up with a few--what I considered, great ideas--for making many

commercial games accessible to low vision or blind persons. At that time, I

was totally computer illiterate and had never played any PC games.

I had no idea how I might go about implementing any of my ideas. The only

thing that I could think to do, was to write to some of the commercial

companies.

So, In 1993, I composed a 6 page letter, detailing some of my "sound" ideas

that I thought would help a blind person to navigate through certain games.

I sent the letter to Nintendo. In 1995, I sent a similar letter to Sega.

Well, as you can probably guess, Nintendo and Saga only sent me a thank you

letter and that was that.

I haven't heard anything from either company since. As far as I know,

nothing has been done within Nintendo, PlayStation, or Sega to make their

games more accessible

and I believe this holds true with most of the other major commercial game

developers as well.



Then, in January 2000, I read the article in Audyssey magazine (issue 19)

about Zform! (Sound-Sight). I was greatly excited! At last, a  company that

might listen to, and perhaps even implement some of my suggestions!

It comes as a great relief to me to hear that finally, there is a company

actually working on creating games that can be played by blind and sighted

people alike.



I am currently working on a comprehensive compilation of some of my better

ideas for using sound to navigate through a graphical virtual world.



My ideas would not inhibit or interfere with any of the visual aspects of

the game, in fact, it is my belief that the added sound would greatly

enhance the game.

Here is one example:



In most RPGs, the player spends a large part of his playing time wondering

through mazes, caverns, countrysides, and inside castles and such. Well, for

starters, let's have a sound when the character bumps a wall. Let's take it

even further by having the sound fit the object that the character is

bumping against.

For instance, in the countryside, bumping against a tree would make a

"wooden" sound.

Bumping a rock would make a "solid" sound.

Bumping a bush would make a "brushy" sound.

Bumping a structure wall would make another "solid" sound, different from

the rock.

At any rate, you get the gist of the thought. These sounds would also be

quite useful for locating towns, caves, buildings, etc. A player could sort

of, build an "audio-map", so to speak.

Let's say you start from the forest: (wooden sound).

Travel west to the rocks: (solid sound).

Travel south to the brush: (brushy sound).

Travel west to the castle: dissimilar (solid sound)

Of course, it wouldn't take very long to put together an audio-map for any

area on the game, provided there were enough dissimilar sounds. This same

technique could be used just as effectively for manoeuvring around indoors.

Another idea to assist in indoor or outdoor navigation and to make more

sense of your surroundings, would be to have the character breathe. When the

character is at a standstill, you would hear no breathing. Should you start

the character on his/her way however, a slight breathing

sound would begin. When the character encounters a solid obstacle and can no

longer move, of course the breathing would stop.

Turn left, still no breath, signalling another obstacle, turn right, the

character begins to breathe again, signalling an open pass, and the

character continues on. This would also be useful  in finding ladders,

ropes, vines, cliff-faces, etc.

When the character makes contact with a climbing area, you would hear

increased breathing and maybe some grunting, letting you know that you were

climbing up or down something. There are  many other situations where the

breathing of the character could assist in identifying areas and objects

within the game.



I would be very interested in hearing from your readers. I believe that

their input could greatly expatiate and enhance my own ideas.



I look forward to receiving the next issue of Audyssey! I always await

anxiously for each issue.



Keep up the great work!



+ I have only been playing PC games for about the last couple of years or

so.

Around 2 years ago, I was able to purchase a computer and  a copy of JAWS

for Windows. At that time, I was unable to attend any classes and I had no

one around to teach me anything about the computer, JFW, the Internet, or

anything, let alone PC games. So I had to just jump right in and learn what

I could for myself.

I have learned a great deal over the past 2 years.  I am now quite competent

with computers in general, I pretty much know windows inside and out, I am

good with HTML, I am familiar with writing frames, tables, forms, etc., and

I am currently learning several programming languages here at home, via the

Internet.

My hope is to someday write an interactive fiction game of my own. To make a

long story short, or to keep from going around the barn to get to the back

door--so to speak--I can remember just what a frustrating time I had at

first, trying to figure out where and   how to download (IF) games. Pulling

my hair out, attempting to open one in DOS, and pounding the old CPU after

every  crash--which was quite often.



Well, it would be nice if there was somewhere that novices--first time (IF)

players--and pros alike could go to get help with these games. The site

could be broken up into several sections. One for beginners--including not

only hints and tips--but information on how to download, install, and play

the games--as well as a trouble shooting section.

Another section mainly covering hints, help with games, and maybe navigation

and mapping. The site could even be set up so that visitors could add there

own content

to the files. That way, it would keep the site current and up to date. I

have been throwing this idea around for some time now. Although I still

consider myself a novice when it comes to Interactive fiction for the PC, I

would be interested in starting such a site.

I believe with help from your Audyssey readers, as well as some of your

contacts, that such a page would not be very difficult to put together. It

is my belief that such a web site would be quite useful to a lot of people,

starting with myself!

I still have trouble getting certain games to run correctly on my PC. I have

adjusted settings and changed configurations both in JFW and in my PC, I

have altered resolutions, wallpapers, backgrounds, colours, etc., but still,

there are some games that just will not play correctly on my computer. Well,

I just wanted to throw the idea about the (IF) games help site your way, and

see what you thought about it. When you get time, let me know what you

think.



By the way, I went and downloaded all issues of Audyssey magazine. So far,

I've read issues 18 through 21 I think that you are doing an outstanding job

with the magazine. I believe that it is a great service. Keep up the good

work!



Sincerely,

yet another adventurer.



+



Well, Stan, you appear to have learned quite a lot in such a short time. I

grew up using computers, and was given at least minimal training by

professionals in DOS, Windows, and my access technology. Such hard-won

expertise as you've obtained will doubtless serve the Audyssey community

well.



I think that a site for novices is a wonderful idea. From my position as a

long-time gamer, it can often be difficult to address the problems faced by

novices trying to figure both the games and their access technology out.

Let's all start thinking about how such a site should be implemented. We

have quite a few readers who are quite savvy when it comes to the Internet.

In the mean time, if anybody wants to write hints or even full-blown

tutorials for novice gamers, we'll publish them in future issues of

Audyssey. Two ideas that spring immediately to mind are a guide to the

If-archive where all the interactive fiction is found, and a tutorial on how

to play screen-oriented games like Adom and Nethack. Let's hear what the

rest of you think on this. If you're already part of the Audyssey discussion

list, send in your opinions and comments on what a site for novices should

have. If you haven't joined the list yet, I would encourage you to do so. It

is an especially good place to ask for help on games.



++      From Daniel Rowe:

Hi Mike and the Audyssey community.



Its Daniel Rowe. I have got some interesting facts  I would like to share

with you all, and I have got a few questions I would like to ask, so put

this e-male in Audyssey. First, I'll get on to the facts. In one of the

issues, I found out the people were saying how they got started with games

for the blind, so I'll tell you how I got started with them. (Until then, I

never new that computer games for the blind existed until last year when I

got a demo copy of Kurzweil 1000 at a trade show  for access technologies

for the blind. I bet your wondering, what's that got to do with games? Well

its got a folder on the CD called Extras, which is almost everything from

Paul Henrichsen's websight! I found some demos of PCS's games  and  the

ifiction.zip collection made by you.

It might be a good idea for owners of this product to have a look in this

folder because  you might have  set out to download a game from  Paul

Henrichsen's sight but you might never got round to it.

Also I noticed that you described Curses as a really crap game or something

on these lines, but you put it in your Rising From Times Ashes collection.

Why is this?



+

I'm glad to hear that people fortunate enough to obtain Kurzweil will also

get issues of Audyssey. Hopefully, more vendors and software companies

serving the needs of the blind will also take advantage of issues of

Audyssey. They are certainly welcome to do this, just as anybody is welcome

to distribute copies to people, schools, or other agencies.



To explain myself regarding Curses being part of the Time's Ashes

collection, I'll recount the goals I had in making it. Basically, I wanted

to gather the most influential and highest-quality games for beginners to

explore. While I personally am not a big fan of that game, Curses was by far

the best game available at the time it was released. Even critics like

myself are forced to admire its technical craftsmanship. It also has major

historical importance, as do the Zork games. It can be quite beneficial to

gamers to play historical works of interactive fiction since they have had

major impacts on other games which have come after them. This will give them

a better understanding and awareness of the traditions that game authors

choose to follow or break away from. It will also engender a deeper

connection with the art form and where it is heading. Curses showed a whole

bunch of great authors that it was indeed possible for individuals to write

the same kinds of games that Infocom produced with the same high standards

of quality. Without Curses, we'd never have seen any of the Inform games we

all enjoy today.



++

From Tony Baechler:



Hello.  I must first start off with a confession.  A long time ago, I posted

a short letter to you which appeared in issue 3 of your excellent magazine.

I completely forgot about it, since you did not reply to me directly, but

recently rediscovered all 21 issues and downloaded them.  I was shocked when

I read my own letter, and, incidentally, I still have the same problem,

which is trying to find games that I, being totally blind, can access that

are not IF or RPG, and hopefully are freeware.



Anyway, this question might be addressed already, I have only read the first

four issues and skimmed through the rest.  What DOS screen reader are you

using?  I am using Vocal-Eyes (VE) for DOS and Window-Eyes and JFW for

Windows.  I am wondering what your solution is to games which use direct

screen writes in DOS, such as Fallthru and "The World is Mine."  I do know

how to use the basic features of VE and the screen review functions, but I

prefer automatic speech as opposed to trying to cursor around the screen for

new text every few seconds.



Also, would you know offhand whether JAWS for DOS or VE works better for the

above types of games?  Apparently JAWS is freeware now, so I have been

playing with it, but know nothing about how to use it.  Similarly, are you

aware of a good Apple II emulator that actually supports an IIE or some

such?  Like you, I grew up on "Great Escape," and the Eamon adventures, and

have disk images for most of them but no decent emulator, the one I have is

very old and only supports 64 k of RAM or less.



Finally, do you know where I can find "Supreme Ruler," mentioned in one of

your earlier issues?  You give the filename of sruler.zip, but a search on

Altavista does not find it.  (Also, I had a very, very hard time finding

"The World Is Mine," so you might want to upload it to softcon or somewhere

where people can find it.)  Also, while I am on the subject, would you

consider providing a complete list of all your accessible games for DOS and

Windows that you are willing to share?  I know about IF and the PCS games,

but I am always interested in older DOS programs which are hard to find.



One last thing.  I would like to thank you very, very much for pointing out

ftp.gmd.de in the first issue of Audyssey.  I remember discovering it in the

middle of June, 1996.  I felt like it was an early Christmas present, with

more IF games than I knew were possible.  I had a similar feeling to what

you described when discovering Great Escape for the first time, a sense of

wonder, amazement, and excitement all at once.  I had always hoped

for such a site, but never found it.



+

Well, Tony, I think you'll find a lot of questions there answered in the

remaining issues of Audyssey. There are a vast number of different

accessible games of many different types. PCS has produced a large number of

them. Also, you'll find the future goals of ESP Softworks, and their

freeware game Shellshock to be of interest. The bulk of available games

still mainly consists of interactive fiction. However, that may change in

the months ahead. I'll be very interested in learning your impressions of

the variety of games out there that have already been covered in Audyssey.

If you find that certain kinds of games are missing or there are too few of

them, I'm certain the game developers in the Audyssey community would be

eager for any suggestions.



For games such as Fallthru and The World is Mine, there is no magic solution

which will work every time. Fallthru has a screen that is neatly divided

into sections. The first eight or nine lines are for status information. The

rest of the screen is for text messages. I use Tinytalk in DOS. It allows me

to easily make speech windows. I therefore made two windows. The top one

covers the first eight lines and is inactive. That means that it won't

always be spoken. Whenever I want to hear my stats, I just hit the alt-1 key

combination. The bottom window is active and set to "echo all". This means

that it will speak any changes that appear on it automatically. The only

thing to be aware of is the delay that happens whenever a warrior or

stranger appears. You've got to give time between moves for any such

characters to appear. I've missed out on a lot of encounters simply by

moving too quickly.



With Jaws for Windows, you can access DOS stuff easily by going into the DOS

box with JFW running and set the insert-s toggle to "all". Just remember to

set it back to "highlighted" when you're done. Fallthru works amazingly

well, as do many other games. It's not perfect, but it is certainly

bearable.



As to a list of all the games I've got, it's something I've thought of

doing. However, I'd never have the time to actually get it done. On the

other hand, I've probably covered at least the better ones in issues of

Audyssey, and plan to continue doing that in future issues.



++

From Kent Tessman:



I am the developer of the interactive fiction system Hugo.  It has been

reported to me that Hugo is more difficult for non-sighted players to use

than Z-machine (Inform) or TADS games, and I'd like to be able to fix it so

that's not the case, and so that people are more easily able to enjoy the

smaller but growing number of games written in Hugo (including my own game

Guilty Bastards).



What are existing play/usage obstacles in Hugo?  It has been suggested to me

that the screen model doesn't get along well with speech software; this may

be due to the fact that Hugo's screen display model is somewhat more

flexible in certain ways (and therefore more complex) than other systems.

Which versions of the Hugo Engine misbehave?  I imagine the Windows-based

engine does, but is the case the same for the text-only DOS engine?  It

would probably be possible for me to build a simple version of the engine

that uses standard input and output without any of the (in this case

unnecessary) text formatting frills, if that were what's required.



Thank you for any comments or feedback--I look forward to hearing them.



--Kent Tessman





+

Until recently, Kent's Hugo system and the games developed with it have not

been given much attention by Audyssey. With all the games made which were

more easily accessible, I suppose this should come as no surprise to

anybody. Kent's thoughtfulness and willingness to correct this situation

will hopefully come as a pleasant surprise to many of you as it has to me. I

certainly plan to give Hugo a look when time permits. There is currently a

whole lot of interactive fiction related material to cover, but I hope that

you, my readers, will give Guilty Bastards and other Hugo games a chance.

I'll also assign one of my staff to look into Hugo as it is and help anybody

else who tries the games out. Let's all pitch in and help Kent make Hugo as

blind friendly as we can. Too few game developers have shown a willingness

to make originally inaccessible games accessible. May it never be said that

the Audyssey community isn't willing to go halfway.



+++

Blind Dungeoneers

by Dave Sherman

and Randy Hammer, DM

[Edited by Allen Maynard, Phil Vlasak, and Adam, the Immortal Gamer]



D&D was the ultimate RPG (role playing game) some twenty years ago. I have

vague memories of staying up all night playing it (on the weekends, of

course ... after all, I was still in high school then). Those of you old

enough to remember this fad are already familiar with the game. For those of

you not so fortunate, let me take this time to give you a very brief

description.



D&D is an RPG which takes place in medieval times.  It's a land filled with

heroes and villains, adventurers and monsters, fighters, thieves, magic

users, and clerics.  There are humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, goblins,

dragons, and hundreds of other races of beings. It's a fantasy world filled

with magic and conflict.  There can be up to eight players or player

characters (otherwise known as PC's). The game is controlled by a person

designated as the Dungeon Master (DM).  It is the DM's duty to design the

adventures, and build the world through which the PC's will travel.



Since its inception, this "board game" has had many computer games designed

around its basic concepts.  I'm sure you're all familiar with a few of

them -- such as ADOM, Nethack, and Rogue.z8.



A couple of months ago, Randy Hammer posted a message to the Audyssey

discussion list saying he was going to start a live D&D game over the

Internet, via the use of the blind gamers voice chat room on Audio-Tips.  He

brought together the two genres; computers and a live multi-player "board

game" RPG.  The computers

are used as secondary equipment, allowing the players to access note takers

to keep track of their character's health and wealth, and small programs

(such as random number generators) for the DM to determine dice rolls.  The

DM also has the ability to type a private message to any of the players

without letting the others know about it.  Putting the technology aside, the

game is played essentially the same way it was twenty years ago. There seems

to be a large interest in the D&D sessions within

the Audyssey community.  So, for those unable to participate, or sit in on

the sessions, we are tentatively planning on including a D&D article each

issue, describing the most recent adventure. With those preliminaries aside,

let's jump into the world of

Dungeons and Dragons ...



ADVENTURE: The Missing Orb



The obvious thing to do at this point is to introduce our four dauntless

heroes:



First is Ardrah Domedread.  Having scavenged for most of her life, she has

developed the skills of a ranger (fighter).  She is quite strong, and

skilled with both sword and bow.  She appears to be human (though not the

most attractive, by far).  She's developed a knack for bartering with

shopkeepers, though she often gets taken

to the cleaners on some deals.



Next is Brik.  Not the most brilliant of humans to walk the planet, but

don't tell him that. He is built like a tank. His incredible strength allows

him to wield a two handed bastard sword in only one hand.  He has spent his

life doing heavy labour (nothing requiring much intelligence).  He spends a

lot of time in taverns, and has been known to go into overdrive, and become

a Berserker.



Muldred is next.  This male elf has started training as a cleric. He is just

beginning his studies, but between his natural and magical abilities as an

elf, his clerical training will only add to his powers. His recent life as

an adventurer has caused some

internal conflict in him.  His natural tendency to gain power and wealth

tends to conflict with the ideals of a true cleric. He wields a war hammer

since clerics cannot use sharp weapons.



Lastly is Myrthorn.  This human specimen was not blessed with the physical

strength to fare for himself very well.  He is both intelligent and wise.

He has undertaken studies in the magical arts, though rather new to it all.

He fancies himself walking in the footsteps of masters like Merlin, but all

things take time -- and Myrthorn needs a lot of it.  He is adept with the

crossbow and a special silver dagger.



As these four roam the countryside, they happen across each other, and join

together.  Ardrah and Brik meet first, and they come across Myrthorn a few

days later.  While staying at an inn, they encounter Muldred, and he joins

the other three.  And thus our

group of heroes is formed.



They overhear some talk of a high cleric in a nearby school in need of some

adventurers.  So they seek out this cleric at The School of Learning.  They

discuss his problem and the cleric is rather vague. He talks of a powerful

student who has turned

Chaotic.  He has stolen an orb from the school, and the high cleric would

like it returned. The student is believed to be hiding in the catacombs

under the old church near the edge of a nearby town called Pendboro.



This is all the information the cleric gives the party about their quest.

He refuses to discuss compensation for return of the orb.  On their way out,

the cleric mentions that he will be sending a second party in search of the

orb.



The four are lucky enough to catch a passing coach which is heading to

Pendboro.  The driver lets them ride for free, since he was going in that

direction anyway.  Once the group gets to town they stock up on supplies,

and ask about the church.  Everyone they talk to merely says, its that old

church near the edge of town, that no one goes near ... you can't miss it".



So, the four head to that part of town, and find a dilapidated old stone

building.  The group of adventurers enter the old church, and search it

until they find the cellar.  They slowly descend the steps leading down into

the catacombs.  Myrthorn is supposedly leading the group, but do to his low

physical strength, he lets Brik and Ardrah "lead" the way.  And Muldred

takes up the rear guard position.



The group encounters a door halfway down the stairs.  There is a key in the

lock, and the party is more than willing to let Brik do the honours in

opening it.  (As it turns out, the party didn't have the foresight to seek

out a thief, who would be able to search

the door for traps).  Brik easily opens the door, and finds that it was

neither locked nor boobie-trapped.  Muldred grabs the key on his way past,

to ensure that the party doesn't get locked down in the catacombs by some

unscrupulous twit.



The group reaches the bottom of the steps without incident. Ahead of them

lies a double set of doors.  Myrthorn again allows Brik the honour of

opening these.  He is assisted by Muldred, each opening one door.



To the groups surprise, these doors lead into a room filled with coffins ...

and eight sword-wielding skeletons!  Brik, Ardrah and Muldred confront them,

while Myrthorn hangs back, holding a lantern, and withdrawing his silver

dagger.  Brik, being as big and

slightly awkward as he is, misses with his first swing, and nearly slices

himself, as his bastard sword swings around. Myrthorn decides to throw his

dagger at one of these skeletons, being as how silvered weapons are supposed

to be very effective

against certain undead monsters.  Unfortunately, his dexterity is not the

best, and the dagger soars past its target, and clangs to the ground across

the room. Ardrah gets in a good slash with her sword, and ducks past the

approaching skeletons, in order to retrieve the dagger.  Muldred swings at a

skeleton, and gets in a decent hit with his war hammer. Unfortunately, he is

attacked by several opponents and one sword strikes home on him.  Brik

manages to deflect a swing at him with his shield. Muldred casts a spell of

protection around himself, and backs up by Myrthorn, to get out of the front

lines.  In the meantime, Brik manages to turn a few of the skeletons into a

pile of bones on the dirty floor.  Ardrah, having recovered the dagger,

sneaks up behind the skeletons, and manages to disassemble a couple of

others.  Myrthorn has drawn and loaded his crossbow, and gets off a shot,

taking out an injured skeleton.  In the meantime, Muldred has recovered from

the shock of his wound, and decides to use his war hammer as a projectile

weapon.  It lands solidly home on its target and the skeleton drops but so

does Muldred's protection spell.  Brik takes a final swing, and scatters the

last standing skeleton.



After catching their breath, the group searches the coffins and their

attackers for treasure, but finds nothing but bones and rusting swords.  The

set of double doors which they initially entered the room in is in the

Northeast corner.  They discover a

passage leaving this room in the Southwest corner, and enter it, in a

modified marching order.  Brik is still in front, but Ardrah has fallen to

the back, to protect Myrthorn and the injured cleric, Muldred.  The party

walks west for several paces, then turns south, following this corridor.

After approximately 20 yards, they come to a T-junction.  One branch

continues South, with nothing noticeable in sight, and the other heads East,

again with no outstanding markings. The group decides to turn and take the

Eastern corridor.



After travelling a fair distance down this corridor the party discovers two

doors.  One on the Southern wall, And the other (about ten feet further

East) on the Northern wall.  The wizard decides to let Brik open the

Southern door, being the strongest --

but not necessarily the brightest.  Brik does so, again without incident.

The door leads into a very narrow room, more like an elongated broom closet.

They enter, and see a shiny metal door on the West wall.  Well, the three

men see it; Ardrah, on the other

hand, has no clue as to what the others are looking at. They discuss whether

or not they should attempt to open the enigmatic door ... with Ardrah

standing there with a puzzled look on her face.  Once again, Brik is the

lucky one.  He reaches for it ... and his hand touches a granite wall!  The

other two try, and they both find nothing there.  Suddenly the apparent

illusion vanishes.  Myrthorn detects some sort of magical aura in the air,

but being a novice in the use of magic, he is unable to discern anything

further.  Of course, Ardrah (being the woman that she is) doesn't let the

fact that she was right all along, slip by without comment.



The party next approaches the Northern door, and once Brik opens it the

group is met by a mixture of sights.  This room was obviously a crypt used

by nobility to bury their dead.  Finely carved shelves and coffins line the

walls.  And there is a skeleton

sitting on a chair, diagonally opposite the door.  This skeleton appears to

be holding a mace.  Perhaps a special one!  A possible treasure?



On the floor, well that is a different story.  This apparently has become

the lair for a group of giant rats.  Garbage, bones, and feces lay scattered

amidst the scurrying rats.  Ardrah and Brik attempt to skirt along the wall

in order to reach the skeleton ...

and ultimately the mace.  As they enter the room however, some of the rather

large rats approach them squealing with teeth bared. Myrthorn loads his

crossbow from the doorway and sends a quarrel flying in amidst the vermin

... only to hit nothing.  Brik and Ardrah are forced to swing, and one rat

is injured, while another is severed in two.  Another rat quickly climbs

over the dead one and attacks them.  Brik manages to avoid them, but Ardrah

is bitten. Brik lobs the head off of that rat.  And Muldred throws his

hammer while Myrthorn lets another quarrel spring free.  The hammer hits the

ground, and so does the quarrel. Brik and Ardrah kill another rat, and

suddenly the remaining mass of rats charge the door.  Myrthorn and Muldred

are knocked aside as the scared rats scurry down the dark hallway.



Ardrah is slightly injured, and hopefully not rabid.  She goes over to the

skeleton to retrieve the mace, while Muldred comes into the room to retrieve

his hammer.  Ardrah hesitantly approaches this skeleton, but there are no

signs of motion, so she bends and

reaches for the mace, just as Muldred is bending to pick up his thrown

hammer. Suddenly a click resonates in the room and six darts shoot out of

the Northern wall!  Brik, being the only one standing erect, and in the

direct line of fire, is struck by one of these darts.  He angrily yanks it

out, and apparently is not poisoned, since there seems to be no effect other

than some muscle damage. Ardrah examines the mace, and it appears to be

nothing special.  No inlaid gems, no precious metals, no special markings,

nothing special at all, except acting as a trigger mechanism for the darts.



So far the party is not doing very well.  Ardrah and Brik are both slightly

injured, and Muldred's earlier wound seems to be having a serious affect on

his ability to continue.  Myrthorn is the only party member not yet injured,

though he hasn't exactly been in the forefront of any battles, and probably

wouldn't last long if put in that position.



Myrthorn removes his pack and retrieves a potion of healing, and hands it to

Muldred.  He tells Muldred to drink it all. Muldred does so, and almost

instantaneously is back to his original health status. Ardrah is disgusted

by the groups bad luck, and strolls back into the corridor with her jaw set

and eyes smouldering.  She waits for the others impatiently.  Brik, in the

meantime, is searching through the garbage, and finds a vial.  He hands it

to Myrthorn, who puts it in his pack and stands.  The rest of the room is

searched, and nothing of value is found.



The three men join Ardrah in the corridor, and continue venturing down it,

about another 20 feet, into a barren room.  It is entirely devoid of

anything, except for a large raised platform directly in the middle of the

room.  It appears as if this room has been stripped clean long ago, by grave

robbers.  In the shadows, a narrow corridor is discovered in the Northeast

corner of this room, heading North.



The group approaches the entrance to this newly discovered corridor, and

peers into it ... Nothing but straight corridor as far as the lantern light

will show. Should they enter?  It's only about three feet wide, so they will

be forced to travel single file.  Is this another trap?



They decide to search further down this narrow passage.  Brik leads,

followed by Ardrah and Myrthorn, and Muldred (being recently restored to

full health) acts as rear guard.  They venture down the passage, and come to

a wider section of the hall and a quite heavy, solid looking door.  Brik

attempts to open it, but it seems locked or barred from the other side.



Suddenly, voices are heard back in the main corridor.  The group sends

Muldred, their elven cleric to inspect the situation. Since Muldred is an

elf, he has the ability to see heat sources in the dark (known as

infravision).  He sneaks back, takes a look and

rushes back to the group and reports that there are at least eight 'things'

approaching. Now the adventurers are really stuck!  What are those 'things',

and are they friendly or not? Is it the other search party? If so, are they

going to be happy to see our four, or are they going to react violently, in

order to get the high clerics reward for themselves?



Meanwhile, Brik (who has a hard time counting to 5) has twice nearly charged

the door.  Ardrah and Myrthorn have had to restrain him, and try to keep him

quiet.



A hasty decision is made.  They resolve that the group stands the best

chance by breaking down the door, hopefully encountering nothing, to find

another passage to escape the voices which are drawing ever closer.



Ardrah and Myrthorn stand back, and Brik gets a big silly grin on his face.

CRASH!  Brik splinters the wooden board, acting as a deadbolt for the door.

He tumbles about three feet into the room. The rest quickly follow.



A fast scan of the room reveals no other exits ... oh yeah, and two ghouls,

and two zombies!  The group is too small to fight two groups of 'monsters',

one from the South, and this other group just discovered. Muldred slams the

door shut, and throws his pack

down.  He retrieves several spikes, and having no ordinary hammer, is forced

to use his war hammer to pin the door shut.



Meanwhile, Brik, Ardrah and Myrthorn face the oncoming creatures. Myrthorn

loads his crossbow, but has no time to use it. The zombies move rather

slowly, but the ghouls are faster. The wizard is forced to drop the bow and

draw his dagger.  Brik, first in the room, has slashed one of the zombies

with his heavy sword. But the zombie is still standing, and fighting back

with its own sword.



Ardrah had her short bow drawn when entering the room, and gets a shot off

at one of the ghouls.  The shot nicks its target, but doesn't hinder it .

She then draws her sword.  One ghoul attacks the wizard, but he luckily is

untouched.  These ghouls seem to bite as well as use their clawed hands.

Myrthorn backs up against the door.  Meanwhile, Brik is not as lucky.  The

other ghoul tries to bite him and misses, then claws at him.  One of the

claws catches a seam in Brik's armour, and Brik freezes in position! That

ghoul slinks backward.  However, the zombie which Brik had struck, now

bashes Brik, and he drops to the floor with a thud. Muldred has now finished

pinning the door, and stands to face the ghoul with his hammer.  They both

get hits in on each other, though Muldred is not paralysed when scratched

(he later informs the group that elves are immune to this effect caused by

ghouls).



A bashing noise has started at the door, and Myrthorn moves further along

the wall, away from the door and the fight.  The ghoul fighting Muldred is

successfully slain, and Ardrah and Muldred work together to attack the

second zombie.  The first zombie has given a few more blows to Brik, and he

doesn't look good.  Myrthorn retrieves the vial found in the burial crypt,

and takes a sip of it -- in an attempt to discern its identity.  For a split

second, his left hand seems to disappear. A potion of invisibility!  Not of

much use right now, except perhaps to save his own hide, if it comes down to

that.



Just as the second zombie falls, the door bursts open!  An elven fighter

strides in.  Myrthorn quickly talks to him, and it is discovered that this

group of 'things' is in fact the second search party. He apparently is their

group leader, and he motions to the passage behind him.



A dwarf rushes in, and buries his battle-axe in the head of the zombie

attacking Brik.  Two halflings follow him carrying bows. They both get off

accurate shots, and kill the remaining ghoul.



The elven leader is named Arnor.  By now, the rest of his party have entered

the room.  They apparently are not hostile towards Myrthorn's party.

(Luckily for our heroes).  Ardrah checks on Brik, and reports that he is

barely alive, if that.  Myrthorn notices a cleric in Arnor's party, and

inquires of his healing abilities.  Arnor gives his cleric a signal, and the

cleric goes to Brik and lays his hands on him.  Brik's body stirs, and the

cleric removes his hands and stands.  Myrthorn takes note that this second

party is much better equipped and more experienced than the four beginners.

Arnor is obviously more knowledgeable about this old church, and explains

the history of this last room, and divulges that there is yet a second level

to this catacomb.



Arnor's group has also suffered injuries.  They apparently ran into a gang

of goblins at the T intersection.  After some discussion, both leaders agree

that the best course of action for all would be to head back up to the

surface and go into town to re-equip, and recuperate.



Before leaving this room they notice a small treasure chest.  One of the

halflings opens it and finds a few gems and gold coins. Arnor allows our

four heroes to keep this hoard rather than sharing it with his party.



When they reach town, the two parties split up.  Not wanting to waste any

time, the four adventurers search out a group of clerical students and pay

them to perform healing spells on the three injured members.  They then go

to the market and re-equip, and finally come back to the local tavern for

the evening.  While staying at 'The Pink Elephant' Bar and Grill, they are

approached by the two halflings from Arnor's group.  They express an

interest in joining the four.  Since our heroes were intending to search for

other skilled adventurers who might be interested in this dangerous quest,

after a few questions, the twin halflings are gladly accepted.  The twins,

Hock and Brock, are a welcome addition to the party, and are able to add

certain skills not mastered by the

others (such as trap detection, and stealth).



The next morning, the party (now numbering six) descend once more into the

catacombs. Time for some light.  Myrthorn reaches for his lantern, then

kicks himself for forgetting to buy more oil while in the marketplace. Well,

there are at least 12 torches amongst the group, so that will have to do.

Having reached the T-junction, the party is certain that they've explored

everything down the eastern corridor, so they continue southward.



They enter a room, which is bare, except for a huge stone coffin. They

examine it, and find no special markings or runes on it.  The lid of the

coffin is a huge stone slab, which will require all the effort of the party

to remove (mainly Brik, Ardrah, and Muldred).



After their last trip into these depths, they are a bit wary of everything.

So they Ask Hock and Brock to search the coffin for any traps.  Hock finds

something and motions to Brock.  The rest of the party back away.  Brock

gets out a hammer, and taps at a point

on the side of the coffin base.



CRASH!  A granite block, about half a meter on each side suddenly drops from

the ceiling, and smashes onto the floor right next to the coffin lid!  The

original four members are beginning to grow ever more thankful that they

encountered these two little guys.



Not knowing what lay inside the coffin, Myrthorn, Hock, and Brock ready

their missile weapons as the other three heave on the lid.  It seems to be

stuck, then starts to give way ... it is pushed back a couple of feet, and

inside ... a staircase is discovered!



The three holding the weapons continue to watch even more carefully now, not

knowing what may lie at the bottom, waiting to charge upwards.  The lid is

completely pushed off, onto the floor, and shatters into smaller pieces.

Nothing rushes up, so several torches are lit, and the party descends the

stairs, with the cannon fodder in front (that's Brik if you're wondering).



As the group descends, they discover a couple of zombies in the room below.

The staircase has no railing, so several party members jump to the floor

before reaching the bottom of the staircase.  The zombies are rendered

lifeless rather quickly, with little damage to most of the party.  Ardrah

does however, take some serious injury to her leg, but can still function as

an archer.



The staircase lines the southern wall of this room.  In the middle of the

Northern wall is a doorway.  The party starts to proceed through this door,

when a group of eight or nine sword wielding skeletons approach from the

North.



Suddenly Brik goes wild, and charges the on comers!  Oh no, he's gone into

Berserker mode! The first skeleton he blitzes scatters into parts all over

the corridor. Hock and Brock charge behind him, taking up positions on the

right and left.  Muldred falls in behind Hock, on the left side of Brik,

swinging over Hock's head.  Ardrah, still recovering from her recent wounds,

holds the torch providing the much-needed light. Myrthorn stays back by

Ardrah, and uses his crossbow to send quarrels whizzing over Brock's head.

After most of the skeletons are eliminated, Brik suddenly falls back from

exhaustion, and pulls out of the battle. Hock and Brock take minor wounds,

but the walking bones are no match for these adventurers.



The party regroups, sets Brik down and gets him some water and nourishment.

After resting, Brik is ready to forge ahead.



The group continues north, coming to a four-way intersection. To the east, a

door is seen on the southern wall.  North and west reveal nothing from this

distance.  The party splits into two groups, to explore the corridors and

see what lies beyond.  A few minutes later, they meet back at the

intersection.  To the west lies a double door blocking the hallway, while

the northern path takes a westerly turn.



It's decided to head north, and explore that area first.  The group turns

the corner, and approaches a door, which is run down, and slightly ajar.  A

hissing sound is heard from inside the room. Hock and Brock search the

doorway for traps, and find none.  Brik

opens the door, and the party enters.  They are in a fairly large room at

the southern end.  Looking to the far north end, a large chest is seen!

Finally, perhaps some serious treasure!  However, between the chest and the

group lies a trough which is level with

the floor.  It spans the entire width of the room, and is eight or nine feet

across. In this trough is a black liquid bubbling and steaming. And on the

ceiling on the northern end of the room is some sort of fluorescent green

fungus.  Muldred, the cleric, has a particular interest in trying to bypass

these hurdles to get at what might be in the chest.  He takes a piece of

bloody cloth from Ardrah and raps it around a stone then slings it into the

liquid. It sputters and sizzles like acid.  The rest of the party decides

they liked life too much to mess with this room.  So, they back out for now,

... perhaps they will come back later ... better prepared.



The next choice is the double doors to the west of the intersection. Again,

Hock and Brock search for traps, and listen for sounds inside. Nothing.  So

both doors are opened, and a small room is revealed. It is only about 10

feet by 10 feet, empty except

for another door to the west.  The party approaches, Brik opens the door and

then closes it again.  Myrthorn asks him what is wrong. Brik says, "people".

Myrthorn says, "What people?", and Brik just shrugs.  Myrthorn has Brik open

it again.



Inside is a table with an orb sitting on it.  Also, quite alarmed by the

intrusion are three men.  One is obviously the astrayed cleric. The other

two seem to be lesser clerics, who are quite large, well armed, and well

armoured.  They approach, inquiring of the groups intentions. Myrthorn, as

leader, speaks for the group.  However, being fairly young, Myrthorn has not

yet developed a knack for spinning fanciful tales, such as those heard from

wizened mages.  He blurts something about searching for treasure, and is

told by the cleric to leave at once.  When the party doesn't move, one of

the bodyguards rings a bell, summoning two additional guards from the east.

Myrthorn can see that the party has no chance of surviving a (fair) fight

with these five. The cleric says that the other four 'clerics' would escort

them back out.  (It is fairly obvious that they aren't true clerics, judging

by the sharp blades they wield.)



And so, the party grudgingly lets themselves be directed back to the

staircase leading to the coffin above.  They take their time, trying to find

an opening in the guards defences.  None comes, so the group ascends the

stairs, and the guards stay at the bottom, not following. The group heads

north, into the hallway, to at least give the pretence of their surrender

and retreat. Of course, this is the last thing they have on their minds.

The question is: How do they get back down stairs, past the guards, and

steal the orb from the evil cleric?



The group quietly discusses differing approaches, and finally decides to

send Brock down to survey the situation.  Being a halfling, Brock exhibits

infravision, as do the elves.  And to add to this, halflings are extremely

stealthy, and are rarely noticed when spying. So Brock removes his armour,

and carefully descends the stairs.  After several minutes, he returns, and

reports that there seems to be only two guards left in that first room, and

they are not using any light sources for some reason.  Not willing to give

up, after having come this far, the group decides to try to bait the guards

into ascending the stairs, and ambush them.



Brock is sent down once again; this time with a bow.  The rest of the party

has quietly taken offensive positions in the room, surrounding the coffin.

A 'twang' is heard from below, and is quickly followed by a thudding sound,

as that of a heavy person falling down.  Brock appears at the top of the

coffin, and leaps over the side then runs toward the hallway, where he left

his armour.



The others wait a few seconds, and don't see or hear anyone in pursuit of

Brock.  So much for the ambush plan.  The guards are obviously going to know

that the group hasn't left yet, so they take the offensive, and head down

the stairs. Brik, followed by Myrthorn, then Hock, Muldred and Ardrah.

Brock will join as soon as he has gotten his armour on.



Brik meets the second guard on the staircase.  The guard is starting to

climb, just as Brik lurches down on top of him.  His bastard sword cleaves

into the guard's neck -- completely severing his head from its body.  A

quick scan of the room finds the other

guard lying dead, on his back, with an arrow imbedded in his skull.

Apparently Brock got in a lucky shot also. The other two guards rush into

the room as the party descends the stairs and jump for an attack.

Unfortunately for them, these guards are caught unaware.  Between Brik,

Muldred, Hock, and Ardrah's lucky bow shot, they are all lying dead before

Brock even finishes his descent.



That just leaves the evil cleric against all six!  Time for some dirty

tricks.  Myrthorn quickly gets out the Potion of Invisibility. Normally, if

one quaffs the whole potion, the spell lasts for an hour. But this potion

can be drank in sixths, and work in ten-minute intervals. Myrthorn,

realising that Brik is not a genius when it comes to mathematics, merely

hands the potion to him, and tells him to drink half of it, then set it on

the floor

(so the wizard could save the rest).  The effect of this potion wears off if

an "invisible" person attacks someone. But that's all the advantage they're

hoping for.



The group heads up the northern corridor, turns left, and flings open the

double doors.  The door to the cleric's room is closed again. Myrthorn tells

Brik to sneak in behind the cleric, and attack.  The last door is opened,

and Brik slips in unnoticed. Myrthorn and Hock slip in and stand to the

right of the door, while Brock and Muldred enter and stand to the left.

Ardrah (still injured) hangs back with bow drawn at the doorway.  There is a

surprise for the entire group. Inside the room, with the cleric, are two

large and tough zombies. They stand from a sitting position at the far end

of the room, and approach.  One nearly bumps into Brik, but misses, and Brik

goes unnoticed.



Myrthorn asks for the orb.  The cleric laughs and draws his mace. Too bad he

had the last laugh.  Brik raises his sword and slashes the cleric with it

from behind.  The cleric is stunned, and knocked off his feet onto the

table.  Simultaneously, the others engage the zombies.



Myrthorn yells to Muldred to use his natural clerical ability to turn the

undead.  Hock and Brock swing at the zombies, and the zombies return blows,

before Muldred has the opportunity to cast his spell.



Hock is stabbed and knocked to the floor, and the spell is cast. It affects

one zombie -- the one who struck Hock.  Normally the spell would cause

undead to run away, but being as how the exit is blocked, the zombie merely

cowers in a far corner.  Ardrah shoots a couple of arrows at the other

zombie, but they go wide.  Myrthorn, seeing Hock fall, grabs him, and drags

him back to the door.  Ardrah takes Hock and pulls him back into the entry

room, to examine him. Myrthorn takes Ardrah's place with his crossbow.  The

cleric attempts to fight back against Brik, now that he is visible, but the

cleric has been taken by surprise too quickly for him to react effectively.

Brik swings three more times, with his powerful arm, and the cleric slumps

to the ground!



Muldred and Brock, in the meantime, have been attempting to disable the last

fighting zombie.  It is injured, and a quarrel to the head from Myrthorn's

crossbow finishes it.



Ardrah announces that Hock is dead!  In a fit of rage, she grabs her sword

and charges the remaining cowering zombie.  She runs it through with her

blade, and it ceases to move.



The orb is examined by Muldred and Myrthorn.  A spherical object about the

size of one's palm, with many different coloured lights inside. The lights

dart here and there, and neither can detect its purpose.  Myrthorn  places

the orb in his backpack.  The rest of the room is searched, and nothing of

value is found.



Brik picks up Hock's limp body, and the party hurries towards the surface as

fast as possible.  Ardrah and Muldred grab a few souvenirs from the dead

guards on their way out.  Worried about the other party searching for the

orb, Myrthorn gets out the Potion of

Invisibility and takes the rest.  They reach the surface with no more

encounters, and debate what to do next.



Ardrah and Muldred head into town to pawn their mementoes, while the others

wait near the church.  After visiting the marketplace, the two stop by a

stable, and rent a coach to carry the party to the School of Learning.



The group reaches the school some eight hours later.  They meet with the

high cleric, and have a difficult time bartering with him. They finally turn

the orb over to the cleric after  having Hock resurrected.  The cleric

reveals that the orb is nothing more than a complex form of entertainment.



The group arranges for compensation with one of the high cleric's aides.

They also inquire further about the orb.  After a hesitant description, the

party realises that they risked their lives over a magical Rubix orb!  A

mere game!



They collect six thousand gold pieces total, and a potion of healing for

each member of the party (plus the resurrection of Hock). They stay at the

school, another few days, until their wounds are healed. They divide the

gold equally, and Hock and Brock leave the original four, and head back to

their homeland.  The other four bid the halflings farewell, and head back to

Pendboro. Perhaps they will meet again in the future.....



*******

Weekly sessions of D&D are held in the blind gamers chat room

on the Audio-Tips website every Sunday evening, starting at 9 p.m.

EDT (6 PDT.  That website is:

http://www.audio-tips.com/blind-gamers.html

Anyone interested in participating in the adventures should contact

Randy Hammer at:  hammerrd@home.com.

--   One final note: Thanks go out to Randy Hammer for starting

these sessions and devoting his time as Dungeon Master, and

developing these adventures!



+++

Interview with Suzanne Britton

by Justin Fegel



Since Worlds Apart has been so well received among the Audyssey community, I

thought it would be interesting to interview the game's author, Suzanne

Britton, and find out a little about the background of this incredible game

and how it came to be. If you would like to read a review of the game, you

can find two excellent reviews in the Game Reviews section of issue 21. If

you haven't tried Worlds Apart yet, you really must download a copy. You can

download it from:

ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/tads/worlds.zip

Worlds Apart is also included in the Rising from Time's Ashes collection,

which was compiled by Audyssey's editor Michael Feir. You can download this

collection from:

http://www.espsoftworks.com

Now, on with the interview.



JF: Well, I guess we'll start with that universal question that seems to

begin every interview. Could you tell us a little about yourself?



SV: Lesse. I'm a 26-year-old happily married Roman Catholic computer geek.

I'm an

idealist. I'm asocial (usually). I have a somewhat hyperactive imagination.

I program computers for a living and for fun, and have had a passion for

writing since adolescence. These two loves are combined in my interactive

fiction work.



"Worlds Apart" is my first real work of IF. Before that, I wrote a

teach-myself-TADS, Tolkien-themed game called "Journey to Lothlorien". I had

fun with it, but it will probably never see the light of day.



I've been a lurker in the IF community for some time now--since well before

the first IF competition. Every now and then I poke my head up, usually to

help with TADS questions on raif. I can be found on ifMUD periodically as

"Tril". But for the most part, I keep to myself, listen and learn and

occasionally offer something back to the community.



JF: When did you become interested in interactive fiction and what are some

of your favourite games?



SV: I was 12 when I had my first encounter with IF: a split-screen Apple IIe

adventure game called "Death in the Caribbean". It was a straight puzzle

game which boasted a primitive two-word parser, an imp that followed you

around stealing your inventory, and various types of Instant Death (e.g. a

chasm that you must jump across, with a 50% chance of surviving). I fell in

love with it. When I was playing "Death in the Caribbean", the outside world

might as well have ceased to exist.



The Real World and I never got along very well in my childhood, and from as

early on as I can remember, I was inventing alternate ones (Worlds Apart is,

in fact, the fruition thereof). IF became part of that escapist passion. And

as I grew and the computer gaming industry matured, I became more and more

demanding, favouring story-rich interactive fiction with good writing and

smoothly integrated puzzles.



Some of the more memorable games I remember along the journey, in

chronological

order, are In Quest of the Starlord, Caladuril II: Weatherstone's End (both

CoCo III graphic/text adventures), King's Quest III and IV, Bureaucracy,

Wishbringer, Trinity, Loom, Gateway and Gateway II. You may notice these are

all commercial games. But since the commercial gaming industry began to shun

text and the parser interface (which I believe to be by far the most

flexible and immersive interface), I've drawn away from it and become

increasingly engrossed in and loyal to the modern text-IF movement.



Some of my favourite works of modern, text-based IF are Curses, Shelby's

Addendum, Delusions, Tapestry, Babel, Sunset over Savannah, For a Change,

and LASH. But the king of them all is Photopia: I feel it's the greatest

masterpiece the IF community has ever produced, and I don't think it will be

surpassed any time soon.



JF: Worlds Apart is certainly a very large and detailed game. In fact, even

though I have played it a couple times, I still don't feel I've found

everything yet. How did you come up with the idea for the game and was it

intended to be this large?



SB: The universe in which Worlds Apart takes place has been with me,

evolving in my

imagination, since I was very young. It almost seems to evolve on its own,

and its denizens feel very emotionally real to me, so it seems strange to

talk about "coming up with ideas", as if I sat down one day and thought,

"let's write a story about a healer". I never did.



You might say the whole thing started with Yuri: he was the first Dyrana I

ever knew, coalescing when I was 14 and evolving from there. I knew that

someone in his past had affected him deeply, transforming his whole

personality and outlook on life, but I didn't know who or how or why.  The

seed of "Worlds Apart" was in those questions. The game design, prose, and

puzzles were all consciously created, but the *story* was more of a

discovery.



Was it intended to be huge? Definitely. In fact, there was a time I wanted

to tell the whole story in one game (instead of splitting it up into WA and

its sequel), in which case it would have been unreasonably huge. But the

bulk of the game's size is in its depth. I don't think any one person will

*ever* find everything unless they find a way to disassemble the TADS

binary. Over 50% of the game, I'd estimate, is optional, and finding the

hidden surprises is intended to be one of the pleasures of playing it--and

replaying it.



JF: How long was Worlds Apart in development?



SB: There were three years of writing and programming, plus some preceding

months of "gestation"--letting ideas bounce off each other and scanning

design discussions on raif.



JF: Are there any other interactive fiction games that had an influence on

Worlds Apart's creation?



SB: Quite a few. The most influential were my favourite games of the 1996

competition, since around that time I started programming in earnest. These

included Delusions, Tapestry, and Fear. Each introduced powerful tools for

player immersion, and immersion was one of my foremost goals in "Worlds

Apart". Delusions' self-discovery theme, Tapestry's forcing of the player to

make a difficult decision, and Fear's vivid representations of the

subconscious: these three were a big influence on my imagination and my

design decisions.



JF: I understand that there are colour changes that take place in certain

parts of the game. Of course, blind players will not be aware of these

changes unless they are playing with a sighted friend. How crucial is it to

know about these colour changes and are there any parts in particular that

blind players should be aware are in a different colour?



SB: Colour is not heavily used and is not crucial to understanding--it's

employed mainly in a few special instances (e.g. the three section title

screens) for setting mood. A more important but related detail is font: I

use italics to represent Lyesh's thoughts, bold for others' thoughts, and

bold italics on the rare occasion that her thoughts sync with someone

else's. It's an important distinction and sometimes the font is the only way

to tell whose mind is speaking.



Perhaps the most crucial instance is the curse at the end of the

locket-vision within the statue. That was Kitara's mind speaking, not

Lyesh's, a detail which even one of my (sighted) beta-testers missed.



JF: Since the game was developed with HTML tads, have you considered adding

graphics, or for us visually impaired players, sounds?



SB: I'm not planning much further development on Worlds Apart. I'd rather

make

room for new endeavours. The sequel may have graphics and/or sound,

though...



JF: I also understand you are working on a sequel. Can you tell us a little

about that and how it's coming along?



SB: It's gestating. There was a burst of activity towards the end of "Worlds

Apart"

development, during which I wrote about 60,000 words of prose, but no code.

Things have quieted down since then. I'm bouncing ideas around, and also

waiting for TADS 3 to mature.



"Full Circle" will be fairly big, but unlike "Worlds Apart", most of its

size will be in breadth rather than depth. There will be less optional

material and therefore less for the player to miss, though as with "Worlds

Apart", they will have to read carefully to understand what's going on. This

change is somewhat dictated by the subject matter: the base story of "Full

Circle" is so far-reaching that there is little room for optional

embellishments. Also, while Lyesh remains the player-character, "Full

Circle" is not a story about Lyesh. The focus is on someone else.



The endgame/epilogue will be an exception to both of those statements,

however, and my hope is that it will help to resolve the "left hanging"

feeling that many players had at the end of "Worlds Apart".



A final note: "Full Circle" will be a story told from up to three viewpoints

at a time, and my current plan is to divide the screen into three scrolling

frames. Since becoming aware of Audyssey and the IF fans among its

readership, I've started to give some thought to how I can adapt this plan

to vision-impaired players.



JF: What are your thoughts on the future of interactive fiction? Can we

expect more games like Worlds Apart that focus more on telling a story

rather than puzzle solving?



SB: Absolutely. Like me, the IF community as a whole has grown demanding and

a little jaded. Its collective reaction to Lunatix (a quite solid old-school

adventure game, well above that old Apple IIe game that so enchanted me as a

child) alone shows this. Most IFers, certainly in the newsgroup-based

community, are no longer willing to forgive arbitrary puzzles, sketchy

plots, or sub-Infocom parsers. There's been a movement

towards story-rich, prose-rich IF starting around the 1996 competition, and

I'm enjoying every minute of it.



On the other hand, puzzles will always have their place. I decided early on

that "Worlds Apart" would not be puzzleless--but the puzzles (although

"problems" is perhaps a better word) are woven into the story as seamlessly

as possible, and are designed to aid immersion rather than thwart it. Part

of it is the old cognitive dissonance trick. After struggling to help Lia

transform her nightmare, or to make contact with Echo, the player will

hopefully think something like: "If I put in all that work, I must be a true

healer." And

hopefully, they won't stop to think, "Nah, I put in all that work because it

was the only way to finish the game."



JF: Worlds Apart is a fine game and I'm certainly looking forward to the

sequel. Do you have any final comments? Any words of advice for any

potential interactive fiction developers?



SB: Advice: Worship your beta-testers. Without my testers, "Worlds Apart"

would not

be half as rich and detailed as it is. Many of the optional discoveries

originated from tester comments. Also, without my testers, the game would

have sported several hideous game-killing bugs despite all of my own careful

testing (actually, one such bug managed to make its way to release, but one

of my testers, Vincent Lynch, caught it and alerted me soon after),

including one which put Lyesh into a self-repeating time warp when she came

out of the jinna tree. You won't catch all of these yourself--guaranteed.

Most of them turn up when the player is prying at a difficult puzzle,

something the author never has to do.



And one other note about testing: ask for full transcripts. You'll find out

all sorts of things this way that your testers might not otherwise report.



Final comments: Many thanks to Audyssey and its readership! I didn't know

about this magazine until recently. As a new author, I'm somewhat starved

for feedback, so finding the reviews in Audyssey came as a very pleasant

surprise. If you have any suggestions on how I can make "Full Circle" more

accessible to you, let me know.



Thanks Suzanne for taking the time to do this interview. We certainly are

looking forward to Full Circle when it is released.



+++

Quitting the Field?

Announcement by James Peach Hello all! I know that it seems like a

never-ending saga; will I stay with Audyssey, or will I quit the field?

Well, while such a decision could not be made alone, it was a choice I had

to make for myself in the end. I put the question to the Audyssey discussion

list. I think I'll let some of my "loyal fans" do some of the talking here,

so you can get a sense of what the majority feel about the issue:



HI James



I've been an avid game player for years, I get a great deal of information

from your reviews. I have bought a great many of the games that you have

reviewed in Audyssey. occasionally I do get sighted assistance when I'm

playing games. I think I speak for most of the Audyssey community when I

say, that you will be greatly missed if you do decide to leave the Audyssey

staff. I hope you will take some time and reconsider whether or not you want

to leave. In my personal opinion I think you contribute a lot to the

Audyssey community.



Thank you



Steven Cullen



Wow! This is a fine example of how much they read Audyssey and especially

the work that I do. Steve, I really appreciate what you've said; it is very

inspirational, as it gives me a reason to continue. Knowing that I've

affected the gaming of one person so dramatically makes it all seem

worthwhile. Unfortunately however, this would be about the only completely

positive feedback I've received; there seems to be mixed feelings about the

issue as you'll soon read below.



Hi, gamers and James,

I don't have any objection to your work, Mr. Peach. The simple fact is I

can't give you any feedback because I can't play any of the games you review

because I live alone. I have a few friends but they are married and they

either have little interest in such games or they are working 8, 9, or 10

hour jobs. I work a full-time job myself so we just don't connect.



I do think your work is extremely valuable for those who can use the

information you provide to the gaming community.



Allen

The Desert Bat



Hey Y'all

I would also concur with Allen's opinion. I find myself in similar

circumstances, that is living on my own. My friends don't take the same

amount of interest in computer games as I do. Thus if a game is not

virtually blind friendly, unfortunately, I gain nothing.

Now that out of the way, I still read your work and find it interesting to

know that there are commercial games out there that are playable. I am

unable to benefit from those that require a team effort, though it is good

to know we as gamers can take part in game play to some degree. Also since

there are games out which blind people can play solo like You don't Know

Jack [in it's many reincarnations] or Star Trek The Game Show, with news of

this type of game, then it is time to consider going out and spending like

there is no tomorrow! In short, you are making a valuable contribution and

it would be a shame if you decided not to continue. I hope you keep up the

superb work.



Ron



As you can see, some people are generally uninterested in my articles and

reviews, but for practical, real-world reasons, of which I can understand.

With this said, however, I didn't get the feeling that they wanted me to

stop whatever it is I was doing (sometimes I don't know myself, staying up

till all hours, typing...); I hope they can eventually find the

time/companions, that will allow both David and Ron, to play some of the

games I've covered. I was a bit untruthful, when I said that Steve's was the

only one who sent positive and uplifting comments. S. Bobbitt has also

offered high praise, and so I thought I'd save it for last. Here's what she

had to say:



Hello James,

I have read all of your work in Audyssey. I think you are a fine writer and

that what you write about is very important to the magazine and the game

community in general.

I would certainly miss your contributions to the magazine if they were to

cease. Please, do not let them cease!



I know exactly where you are coming from when you talk about getting neither

positive nor negative responses to your work. You begin to second guess

yourself. Am I going about this the wrong way? Are people simply not

interested? I think that most real gamers are most definitely interested,

but like myself, they may feel either that their responses would go

unnoticed or they think, well, there's probably a half a dozen other people

sending in letters just like mine, so I'll just let them submit their

response and let mine go for now.



Admittedly, for nearly a year, I did just sit on the side-lines--so to

speak. I read every issue of Audyssey, played the games, but I never

contributed anything. I suppose one of the reasons that I never submitted a

letter to the magazine or posted to any of the news groups was that I was

afraid of sounding ridiculous. I have come to the point now to where I don't

really care whether I sound foolish or not. I enjoy playing games of all

kinds. Always have, and always will. I have an opinion just like everyone

else and just because I can't express that opinion quite as well as someone

else might, doesn't mean that I shouldn't express it.



Not to be redundant but, my opinion in this case is that your work is VERY

good and is VERY important! I sincerely hope that you decide to stay on as a

staff member of Audyssey magazine.



Come on people! Let's all let James know just how much we do enjoy his work.

If you have a different opinion, well, let him know that, too.



Sincerely,

S Bobbitt



Well, what can I say? If this is a good representation of the community at

large, then I guess I'll have to bow to public opinion and stay. Oh, but

wait, I think I'll have to throw a little twist into this supposedly neat

and tidy conclusion. You see, since I seem to do so much work, concerning

web-based gaming, and websites devoted to gaming and games development, I've

decided, that I'm going to move as Head of Web-based Entertainment and see

how that goes. Hey! It's a win/win situation; Commercial Games still get

covered, but now exclusively by Randy Hammer, our newest member, and a new

division at Audyssey opens up! The future holds endless possibilities, and

it can truly only get better from here! Enjoy Audyssey, now with a Web-based

Entertainment division, and keep on playing the games you love.



[Editor's addition]: James has shown a fair degree of modesty in the

announcement he submitted above. There were many more positive responses,

and none which were completely negative. I only wish it didn't take such a

crisis to provoke action out of people who don't usually contribute to

Audyssey or the on-going discussions surrounding it. A part of Stan

Bobbett's letter which James did not include is below: I've chosen to add it

since it illustrates exactly the kind of mutual benefit that partnerships

between blind and sighted gamers can have. I hope it encourages more blind

and sighted people to seek out such partnerships.



[Stan Bobbett]: My son who is 17 now, has been a great help to me in playing

normally

inaccessible games such as Nintendo, PlayStation, and Sega. We started

playing video games together when he was only 4 years old. Not only was he

helping me with the games, but by reading the text to me from an RPG, he was

improving his reading skills. He learned to read very well at an early age.



So yes, I do value your reports on games that are accessible with a sighted

partner.



[Editor]:If you're in school and having trouble making friends, games can

make for wonderful ice-breakers. I was the only blind person in secondary

school, and have found an excellent friend by the name of Adam Taylor. I was

playing a game on my computer which intrigued him enough to introduce

himself. It's been over ten years, and we're still excellent friends. A lot

of folks have very narrow impressions of what blind people can do and are

interested in. Not many of them realise that computer games and other

activities like sports fall within our capabilities. Once they realise this,

they'll be less likely to cling to beliefs that we're too narrow-minded or

un-intelligent to be interesting companions. I started Audyssey so that

others could benefit the way I have from computer games. A large part of how

they benefited me was that they gave me something in common with my sighted

peers. James was willing to take on a very difficult task to help bring that

about. I hope that you'll enjoy Randy's efforts to continue what James began

to be helpful, and that you'll offer him your help when you can. James Peach

will also need your help in his new role covering web-based games. With only

one staff member covering such wide areas of the gaming universe, we can

barely scratch the service without your help. Contributing your articles,

letters, and reviews to Audyssey will allow me to direct my staff members to

cover more unexplored territory.



+++

Free Game Winner!



For his outstanding efforts in bringing the excitement of the Dungeons and

Dragons campaign to Audyssey readers, David Sherman wins this month's free

game from PCS. Readers will no doubt appreciate his attention to detail in

recounting the journey undertaken by himself and the brave companions who

went with him. It is hoped that this and future adventures will prove of

interest to the Audyssey community. Congradulations, Dave.



+++

News From Bavisoft



4/18/2000

Bavisoft Releases Grizzly Gulch Western Extravaganza!



Hello, Audyssey readers. I would like to inform everyone of a new company

named Bavisoft. We are a software company dedicated to creating computer

games based purely on sound imagery. Our first product, Grizzly Gulch

Western Extravaganza, is an exciting mix of action and adventure set in the

Old West. We are extremely proud of this game and we hope you enjoy it.

I would very much like to thank everyone involved with Audyssey, as well as

the other developers and companies producing games for the blind and

visually impaired for making us at Bavisoft feel very welcome to this

community. The months ahead promise to be very exciting for everyone, and I

look forward to them.



Jeff Gibbons

President, Bavisoft



About the Game

--------------

Grizzly Gulch Western Extravaganza is a virtual world set in the Old West

created purely from sound imagery. You will have the chance to meet and

interact with many crazy characters as you explore the town of Grizzly

Gulch. Would you like to settle into the Saloon for a game of chance, or try

to make a name for yourself upholding the law against some of the baddest

outlaws in the West with your trusty six shooter in blazing arcade style gun

battles? It's all up to you.



Featuring:

Simple 4 key control interface

CD quality stereo sound

Original music

Professional voice talent

Over 1000 digitally recorded sound effects and dialogue lines

Full stereo environments for each of the many locations

Complete audio help which can be accessed at any time with the "Quick Help"

feature

An interactive evolving story line

4 different games of chance in the saloon

Gun fighting

Action Sequences

...and much, much more!



For more information and the latest news, we invite you to stop by our web

site at:

http://www.bavisoft.com

We will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about us,

or the Grizzly Gulch game.



Have fun!



[Editor's note]: For those living outside of the US, you can obtain the game

by check or money order. Be certain to check out the web-site for full

details.



+++

News From ESP Softworks



What's New @ ESP Softworks - April 30th, 2000



Greetings, Gamers!



This section is designed to help keep everyone up-to-date as to what's going

on at the ESP Softworks' website as well as to let people know of new

additions to the site. If you don't already know what it is that we do, or

haven't already explored the web site, now would be a *great* time to find

out!

ESP Softworks is an up and coming game and entertainment software company

that specializes in the development of software that's completely accessible

to those with low or no vision.



What's New at ESP Softworks' Web Site:



Monkey Business News

--------------------



The Monkey Business demo and open beta will be available on the website

within the first two weeks of May.  Shortly thereafter, a retail version

will be available on CD for purchase.  Monkey Business is a real-time action

arcade game using stereophonic sound effects and music.  Check the web site

soon for more information, the demo, and pricing and availability.



ESP Partners with PCS Games for Space Invaders Conversion

---------------------------------------------------------



ESP Softworks and PCS are working together on a preliminary project to port

PCS' new Space Invaders title to the Windows platform.  Stay tuned for new

and upcoming information regarding this joint project on the PCS website at

http://www.pcsgames.com as well as the ESP Softworks website.  We look

forward to working with the cool guys at PCS!



Free Stuff!

-----------



In the last What's New @ ESP Softworks, we announced our Freebies Section

with the introduction of Shell Shock.  Shell Shock has since gone through

four revisions since it was put on the web site for download including an

update to the computer opponent intelligence.



Shell Shock

-----------

An 'artillery' style game that can be played by two players or one player

against the computer. It features cool stereo sound effects and is easily

accessible to play. Requires Microsoft Direct X to play.



Check back occasionally to see if any new Freebies have been released. If

you have an idea you'd like considered to be produced as a Freebie, drop us

a line at freebies@espsoftworks.com. Ideas that are fun, quick to implement,

and accessible will be considered and if your idea's used, the freebie will

be dedicated on the website.



Scheduled Release Dates for Upcoming Titles

-------------------------------------------



As usual, our release order has shifted once again with the following order

at the moment:



Shell Shock - Released and Available!

Monkey Business - First Quarter

Dark Realms - Second Quarter

Genesis Project - Third Quarter

Battle Chess - Fourh Quarter



These dates are subject to change and, as we know, will. *grin*



The information above reflects the current news of ESP Softworks.  For all

news, please visit the news section of our website at

http://www.espsoftworks.com/textonly/news/whatsnew.html.



+++

News From PCS



P C S on Enable Link

Personal Computer Systems games will be included in the Enable Link Shopping

area. Enable Link has a Technology news section, an Arts and Entertainment

section and an on-line Shopping section where you can purchase hardware and

software. The shopping section gives P C S customers the ability to click on

a game and purchase it with a credit card.

http://www.enablelink.com



Here is the article we submitted for their Arts and Entertainment section:



Personal Computer Systems creates fast action, fun and exciting computer

games for the blind community.  In our arcade games you aim by using your

ears to hear a tone or a series of beeps to hit a target.  Thus, the

impossible to play eye hand video game becomes an easy to play ear hand

audio game.



P C S now has games playable from Windows without needing any adaptive

equipment.  The games are completely audio, all information is spoken by a

human, not a synthesiser, played through your computer's speakers.



Personal Computer Systems is operated and maintained by blind programmers.

You can contact P C S in any format at:

PERSONAL Computer Systems

551 Compton Ave.

Perth Amboy NJ.  08861

phone (732) 826-1917

E-mail pvlasak@monmouth.com



+

PERSONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS GAMES 2000



P C S SPACE INVADERS



Thump, thump, a flash of audio peeps, chirps and blips alert you that one of

the six columns of invaders is directly over head.  You hold down the fire

button, chupe, chupe, chupe and three enemy ships are destroyed.  They move

off to the right, thump, thump,

thump, thump, and you try to get ahead of them.  Again they come into your

sights and you let loose with another burst.  Chupe, chupe, chupe, the last

three of six invaders in the column are vaporised.  With no time to waist

you move right again to try getting a bead on the first column of space

invaders.  You hear a high tone and before you can react, Ca-Boom, you run

into a bomb. Its all over for you, and a tremendous explosion takes out your

fortress!

P C S Space Invaders is a game of awareness, concentration and quick

reaction.  You listen to the sounds from the PC speaker, where information

about the column at the current location is given.  The stereo speakers will

give you additional information about your position and the invaders, the

remaining columns and how far apart is the first

column from the last.  Even the occasional UFO will enter the fray from the

left or right side.  You try to blow away thirty six invaders before they

reach the planet, and then do it again, again, and again.  This is by far

the most audio intents game Personal

Computer Systems  has made to date.  There are many things going on at the

same time, invaders moving back and forth and down, you can move right and

left faster then the invaders, bombs are falling and missiles are flying.

As if that is not enough an occasional UFO enters worth fat bonus points and

as you reduce the columns of invaders they move faster.  Our help screen is

there to decipher what the sounds represent.  Once you understand what is

going on, how the sounds are relaying information and after a little

practice, the sounds and action become second nature

and you can concentrate on racking up high scores.

Are you up to the challenge of this arcade game?  Do you have what it takes

to save Earth from the hoards of space invaders, threatening your survival?

Well if so, try this one!



SNIPE HUNT



Grab your flashlight and a sack and lets go Snipe Hunting! There was a good

hatch this year and they are ready for the picking.  A word to the wise,

"just be a where of the Male Snipes! They will chase you and attack your

lamp.

Personal Computer Systems is going to take you on a Snipe hunt like you've

never been on before.  Not only are the Snipes plentiful but there are four

different kinds of them!

This fast action arcade game is sure to have you hopping around

bagging flocks of the Elusive birds.



PERSONAL Computer Systems

551 Compton Ave.

Perth Amboy NJ.  08861

phone (732) 826-1917

E-mail: pvlasak@monmouth.com



Our P C S Games web site:

http://www.pcsgames.com



+

P C S game demos are on the Internet!

Ever since Paul moved our demos the links to them on our site do not work.

Until we get that fixed, here are the updated links:



Shades of Doom

P C S Games and ESP Softworks agreed to share resources and offer a Windows

game prototype developed by David Greenwood of P C S Games and the readers

of Audyssey magazine.

You can find a link to it at the bottom of the E S P main page:

http://www.espsoftworks.com

or read information about it at:

http://www.espsoftworks.com/textonly/sod/beta.htm

You will get information on what types of computers can play this

prototype and that it is in one zipped file of 3.4 Mb.

Or you can down load it directly at:

http://www.espsoftworks.com/downloads/sod/sod.zip



Thanks to Paul Henrichsen,  You can download the following

DOS games from his new site.  All but the football game have multi

media sound and they are all speech friendly.



Star Trek- Let the battle begin.

Trek99.zip 1,226k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/trek99.zip



Red Dragon kick boxing challenge.

Kbx99.zip 1,222k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/kbx99.zip



Pack Man, Eat fruit and avoid ghosts.  Live action arcade game.

PM99.zip 919 k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/pm99.zip



Lone wolf, Command a WW2 sub and reek havoc on shipping.

LW99.zip 913k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/lw99.zip



Cops catch the bad guys before they leave town.

cops98.zip 1,230k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/cops98.zip



Walk through a maze and try to find your way out.

maze98.zip 863k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/maze98.zip



Monopoly game.

Mn98.zip 946k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/mn98.zip



Car racing game.

Car98.zip 730k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/car98.zip



Breakout, smash objects arcade game.

break98.zip 757k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/break98.zip



World War 2 Tank game.

Pz97.zip 1,277k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/Pz97.zip



Shooting gallery with sounds.

Shoot97.zip 904k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/shoot97.zip



Bowling game with sounds.

Tenpin97.zip 853k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/tenpin97.zip



CARD CLUB,  Play the game hearts with real sounds.

Cards97.zip 1,405k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/cards97.zip



Mobius Mountain math game for children.

Mobius97.zip 814k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/mobius97.zip



Fox and hounds catch the fox game.

Fox97.zip 1046k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/fox97.zip



World Series Baseball, Special Edition.

Wsbb11.zip 1,343k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/wsbb11.zip



Scavenger hunt game, not a demo!

Map96.zip 530k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/map96.zip



Any night football game.

Fan95.zip 146k

ftp://ftp.outofsight.org.nz/pub/henrich/fan95.zip



Paul Henrichsen's new home page is:

http://home.pacbell.net/paulh52/



We are also in another FTP site:

ftp.softcon.com/textgames/pcs/



+++

News From Zform LLC



18 April, 2000

TR� update: Version 1.10 of TR� is out and ready for downloading.  This

newest version includes a totally new style of gameplay, better

accessibility for those with low vision, and easier installation.  If you

have questions or comments on TR�, please email us at: tre@zform.com

GDC (Game Developers Conference):

We just came back from the GDC 2000, and we feel obligated to report a

smashing

success!  There were a lot of enthusiastic responses to our game plans,

especially in the VI field.  Many companies expressed interest and desire to

work with us on future projects.  Many thanks to all those at the GDC for a

wonderful convention!  Special Thanks to Aureal, Inc., who provided us with

top of the line sound cards for use in our development!



Funding Update:

Our first grant has come in, from the Lemelson Assistive Technology

Development

Centre (LATDC).  This grant provides us with the critical resources to begin

development of our first fully-accessible game.  Many thanks to the people

at LATDC!



+++

A Look at Accessible Educational Software

by Kelly Sapergia



It's too bad that there isn't much in the way of educational software for

blind or visually impaired students these days. Sure, there are some great

games like Jigsaw, a text adventure where you travel back in time to

historical events in the 20th century,, or Mobius Mountain, a math game by

PCS in which you answer questions as you try to get to the top of a

mountain. Overall, there aren't enough in my opinion. There are a lot of

math games that use sound, but they're not, in my opinion, accessible.

Either they use a mouse, or the sounds don't tell you what's going on in the

game. I must admit, I was upset by the fact that the sighted kids at my

school were playing games like Math Blaster, and I couldn't find any GOOD

educational games that I could play with my access equipment. I also

remember having to use a recorded textbook in our typing class, instead of

software like FasType, or other typing tutor programs. A few days ago, while

looking around on the Internet, I decided to look for some educational

software for DOS or Windows 95, and came up with a few programs I thought

I'd review in this article.



DOS Games



Note- The following games were written by DareWare, Inc. They are shareware,

but I don't know if they're supported. These programs are designed for kids

aged 1-7.



123-TALK



This is one of a few programs that use digitised speech to teach your child

how to say numbers, remember their phone number, count, etc. There are two

versions that you can download on the Internet, at sites like shareware.com,

hotfiles.com, etc. The first version uses the PC speaker, and the other

version is designed for sound cards. Both versions are easy to use, and just

about all the activities talk. You may want to try the sound card version

since the speech quality of the PC speaker version isn't the best, but the

program is good. Another advantage of using the Sound Card version is that

all the sound files are in .VOC format, so you can load them into your

favourite sound editor and overwrite them with your own voice. The only

activities that aren't suitable for visually impaired kids are the "counting

game", where you have to count balloons on

the screen, and "Easy Draw", which allows you to use a mouse to draw on the

screen.



ABC-TALK



This program is the same as 123-Talk except that this teaches your child the

alphabet.



Windows 95/98 Games



THE SPEAK AND SPELL SIMULATOR



The "Speak and Spell" toy was created in the early 80s, and was the first

toy that used speech. As it's name implies, this program is a simulated

version of the Speak and Spell. It's keyboard driven, and I personally found

it easy to use once I read the README file that contains keyboard commands.



APH Programs



Note- The following programs were created by the American Printing House for

the Blind (APH), and are intended primarily for use at schools.



MATH FLASH



This is a new educational computer game that functions like math flash

cards, but is designed for visually impaired students. If you're a teacher,

you can also use this program to create tests for the student. The student

can answer all the questions, but he/she won't be told if the answer is

right or wrong. At the end of the test, you can use the Page Up and Page

Down keys to move through the various questions, and will be told if the

answer was correct or incorrect. This program is a self-voicing application,

that uses your sound card. You don't need a screen reader, since all the

menus

are spoken using the Microsoft Text-to-Speech synthesiser, or any SAPI

synthesiser on your computer. This program uses digitised speech from APH's

narrators to ask questions, say numbers as you enter them, and comment on

your answers. You can listen to, or download an audio overview of this

product in Windows Media format, and you can also download a playable demo

of this program from APH's Technology page at:

www.aph.org/tech

Note that the playable demo is 37MB.

You can order a free demo CD from APH that contains demos of Math Flash,

Talking Typer for Windows (see below), and Learn Keys (a program that speaks

the names of keys on the keyboard without interfering with your computer),

by calling 1-800-223-1839.



TALKING TYPER FOR WINDOWS



This is a new typing tutor that's specifically designed for visually

impaired students. It's

similar to APH's DOS-based typing tutor called PC Typer, except that the

Windows version uses Microsoft's text-to-speech synthesiser, or any other

SAPI-compatible synthesiser on your computer. The program will speak the

letters you're to type.

After you type the letters and press Space, a bell will sound if you got the

sequence right. A beep sounds if you get a letter wrong, and the correct

letter you're to type is spoken. This program also comes with a game called

Hurry Scurry. In this game, you have to type sequences of letters correctly

before the letters fall off the screen. This game plays a MIDI file that

gradually speeds up as you get the letters right, and will slow down if you

get letters wrong.

This program costs $79 US on CD-ROM, but you can get a demo either by

downloading it from www.aph.org/tech, or you can order the free CD-ROM from

APH discussed in the Math Flash review. An audio overview is also available

both on the web site, and on

the demo CD.



I hope to have more educational games to review in the future. If you have

any comments or suggestions about this article, feel free to e-mail me at:

k.sapergia@dlcwest.com.



+++

Game Announcements and Reviews:



This section is where you'll find announcements of new games not covered

elsewhere in the magazine as well as reviews of new and older games. Above

the full reviews which appear in this section, any new games which have not

been fully reviewed yet will be announced in the hopes that readers and/or

the Audyssey staff will try out and review these games for us. Reviews of

games will not appear in any particular order. The only exception to this

will be when we have more than one review for a game. In this case, reviews

will be placed consecutively so that it is easier to compare them. As with

Anchorhead a few issues back, I may wish to interject my own thoughts on a

game should it provoke significant reaction or otherwise prove itself

especially noteworthy. When I choose to do this, you'll find my remarks

above the review or reviews for the game in question. Should a game have

more than one review, two plus-signs will be placed above the first review

and/or my remarks. This policy will hopefully encourage people to try both

the latest as well as some older games which may have been overlooked. Just

because something isn't hot off the presses doesn't mean that it is any less

worthy of a gamer's attention. Also, remember that it doesn't matter if a

game has been reviewed before. If you have a different take on the game than

has already been published, send in your review and I'll consider it for

publication. If a review fails to interest you, simply skip to the next

plus-sign. It's that simple, folks.



A gap in our interactive fiction coverage has resulted in a number of new

games not being covered. Several games have also been updated, so those

having trouble with particular games may wish to check for updated copies to

them. Two large Zcode games have appeared. They are Augmented Fourth and

LASH. Both are .z8 files and can be found in the /games/zcode directory at:

ftp.gmd.de/if-archive

You may also want to go to:

www.if-archive.org

if you feel uncomfortable navigating ftp sites.

Mulldoon's Legacy has recently been updated yet again. No new game elements

were added, but more bugs were fixed. Worlds Apart is now at version 2.0.

Again, only minor changes and fixes have occurred. Reviews of Augmented

Fourth, Mulldoon's Legacy and LASH would be very much appreciated.



We also need reviews for Grizzly Gulch, [see my review below], and Jim

Kitchen's Winbopit[See below].



+

Grizzly Gulch Western Extravaganza

Game by Bavisoft Inc.

Available as commercial software from www.bavisoft.com

Fully accessible without sighted assistance

Reviewed by Michael Feir



In one fell swoop, Bavisoft has appeared from nowhere with a game which

clearly demonstrates the potential of the Windows environment to the blind

gamer. Making fabulous use of sound and real-time action, they have plunged

their audience into an over-the-top version of the wild west. The town of

Grizzly Gulch is chalk full of goofy characters and places.



If you're looking for realism, this game isn't for you unless you're

prepared to lighten up. In a recent discussion, Bavisoft's president, Jeff

Gibbons, acknowledged that this cartoonish style was intentionally made and

not at all an accident. Anybody who plays the game will easily understand

the wisdom behind this artistic choice. Characters in the game are basically

stock characters. There's a marshall, a hotel owner, a banker, a saloon

owner and his four nephews, and a host of others. Going for the cartoon

approach allows otherwise predictable characters to acquire a depth they

otherwise couldn't have. It also makes sound depictions such as bottles

flying through the air less jarring to one's suspension of disbelief. If the

whole reality is tilted out of true, changes made in the interests of

playability seem less far-fetched when you're caught up in the action.



The sound work and voice acting in Grizzly Gulch is excellent. Stereo sounds

are used throughout the game, and each place has its own sound environment.

For instance, in the centre of town, you hear people walking around greeting

each other and horses going along the cobblestones. The bank has people

talking quietly and the clinks of coins. Music for the game is all original

if somewhat cliched, and lends itself well to the overall atmosphere. Audio

help is also quite well-executed. You can skip help you don't want to hear,

and navigate through the sections easily.



As far as interface goes, Bavisoft went for the simple approach. Everything

is done with the four arrow keys. The left and right arrows let you move

through the options and the up arrow selects an option. In action sequences,

the left and right arrows aim your gun left and right. The up arrow fires

the gun. The gun fights are done in a somewhat un-realistic but playable

fashion. Characters will taunt you before they shoot. You have to line the

click of your gun up with the taunt before the character shoots and shoot

him first. To complicate things, characters often appear simultaneously.

Also, innocent by-standers may sometimes appear. I shot one of these when

trying to stop a bank robbery, and Cecil was not all that happy with me.



The saloon games are quite well-done. Careful attention was obviously paid

to details such as making certain that players have the information they

neeD&Don't have to tax their memory too hard. This is done in such a way

that players shouldn't feel too self-conscious of things being done to cater

to their blindness.



The only complaint I have is that there aren't enough optional things to do

that aren't related to the main plot of the game. One can't, for example,

visit any farms or houses in town or earn money doing labour. Only people in

charge of games at the saloon may be spoken with. I couldn't just decide to

strike up a conversation or get into a bar-room brawl. Such additions could

do a lot to give Grizzly Gulch a more open-ended feel. Bavisoft plans to

release patches for their flagship game over the coming months, and concerns

such as this may well be addressed in them.



Now that Bavisoft is ready, people from all over the world can order this

game. Only US residents can order it directly from the web-site at this

time, but Bavisoft plans to rectify this in the future. International orders

can be made via money-order or check. The price is $49.95 US, and the game

is certainly well worth the money.



+

Jim Kitchen has recently released his first game ever for the Windows95/98

platforms. It is a version of the popular Bopit game he made for DOS users.

Just before Audyssey's publication, he announced that he had released an

updated version of the game. For those wondering what kind of game Bopit is,

it is a fast and furious version of Simon Says. The game will tell you to

"twist it", "pull it", or "bop it", and you have to hit the appropriate key.

The hand-held version has actual parts for you to perform these actions on.

Here is the message he sent describing his recent changes to the game.

You'll also find his web-address and other contact information. A full

review of this new game would be much appreciated.



I just put a new version of the bop-it game for windows 95 or 98 up on my

web site.



I fixed a couple of bugs, reversed the arrow keys to match the DOS version

and added difficulty levels.



Also if you are using the sound card for your synthesiser the game will now

work better for you.



The file name is winbop2.exe  It is 2847k bytes in size.



My web site address is below.



Jim



Lot's of bugs fixed in this version !!!



jimkitchen@simcon.net

http://www.simcon.net/public/jkitchen

1-440-286-6920

Chardon Ohio



+

During the past two months, David Greenwood brought a web-based game called

Utopia to the attention of the Audyssey discussion list. It is reported to

be a cross between Civilisation and Sim City. No full reviews have come in

for this game yet. However, we've had two fairly revealing letters from two

bright and bold explorers. These are Guy Vermeulen and Dave Sherman. I have

included both of their letters below in the hopes that others will try this

game out and provide more thorough feedback. It is important that this

feedback include information on how accessible Utopia is with different

access technology and/or web-browsers. Unfortunately, Mr. Peach doesn't have

access to all of this access technology. It is therefore up to you, the

readers, to help him with this one.



Guy Vermeulen's letter:



Hello Paul, I've been playing utopia for five days, and can report the

following:



1. I was very excited to be finally able to play a civilisation sim, having

watched my sighted brother play age of empires(and it's successors), and not

being able to participate.

2. Even if I always used the "graphics off" link in the game, it was not as

accessible as I hoped it would be: I had to use many times my navigation

keys (I use hal95 as my screenreader), and even then I had the impression

that I could not access everything I should be able to access to

successfully play the game.

f.i. for growing my province, I could indicate that I would like to built

and even built in a faster way then normal, but I could not indicate which

type of buildings I would like to be build first : there was a list of the

type of buildings with the stats of these types, but I could not access or

influence the stats, didn't even know if the stats had to be  influenced or

not. and this is just an example, the same goes for the other activities

like

military, science etc.

3.so I was not surprised that after a few days, during which I could not

develop my province like I should have, the protection time for my province

had run out and my beautiful little province was taken over by someone

else(grin).

4.despite these accessibility problems, I very much like this type of game,

only: I sure would like to know what the options are for the gamer with

every menu choice, right now I am sure I miss some actions I could undertake

without knowing which they are and if I can access them.

so a detailed review of a sighted reviewer indicating the actions to

undertake with the different menu selections would sure be helpful. of

course, making the game itself more accessible would help also, but I don't

think that a game with that many sighted players cares about the few blind

or VIP players that try to access it. still, it is a fun game to play, I

sure would like one of the commercial game makers like PCS or ESP or your

own firm, Paul, to consider making a game like this, be it a normal version

and not a web based version like utopia. would it be possible to have an age

of empires for the VIP ?



guy vermeulen



Dave Sherman's letter:



Hi Paul, I've been messing around with Utopia since Dave Greenwood posted a

message about it.  (That's about two weeks).  [Thanks a lot Dave!] I

unfortunately have an addiction for these type of strategy games. I'm using

JFW 3.5, and I have no problems navigating around the Utopia site.  It's all

just links, buttons, edit fields, and combo boxes.  It's

divided into frames, but that's no prob. with JFW 3.5.



(I noticed you didn't divulge your province's name or location).  Come on

... give it up ... be a little more forth coming.



I'm running Dimsdale (20 : 8).  Could be doing better, but I'm holding my

own.



I haven't tried the other game -- Earth 2025 yet, so I have no clue if the

interface is the same, easier, or more difficult.  But from the docs I've

read, the two games seem to be basically similar in nature  -- just one is a

medieval fantasy world with Dwarves and Elves, and such, and the other takes

place in the future (I'm assuming with phasers and things of that nature).



I'm spending about an hour a day playing (which means I log in about once

every month in game time).  [At least I've started to catch the hang of this

game, and am not spending as much time with it as I was the first week.]



Anybody into multi-player, real-time strategy games should check it out!



-- Dave Sherman



+

Monopoly PC.

Author: Len shepherd.



This computer version of the popular bored game monopoly, is very speech

friendly.



The game uses simple menus, to enable the player to make decisions, e.g., to

buy and mortgage properties.



In my opinion, the only disadvantage of the game is that it can only be

played against the computer.



You can download the game for free from

ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/poehlman/

That site also contains many more speech friendly programs and games. I my

self give this game 7 on 10. I like many of the simple to use features such

as the decisions menu, and also the sounds that work via the PC speaker.



+

SASS. (Speak And Spell simulator).

Review by Daniel Rowe.

Some sighted assistance will be required in some aspects of the game. SASS

is a speak and spell simulator. For those who don't know what a Speak And

Spell is, I'll give you a description. The speak and spell is a hardware

game made by Texas Instruments in 1978.  When you press go, it speaks a word

and you have to spell it. The game has 4 levels: a, b, c, d. Also the game

has a hangman game and some other features.



Unfortunately, it uses a touch pad, which is a flat surface with the letters

and icons printed on. The speak and spell has a pretty weird voice which you

might have to get used to. For instance, wrong sounds like rung, p sounds

like key, swimming sounds like swimilion (or something like that) It is

aimed at people aged seven or up.



Now back to the present. SASS uses your computer keyboard or mouse for

operation, (both give full access to the programme). Other than that, It is

just the same as the real thing. You cannot use the mouse simulator on your

screen reader to navigate the game so shut it down before running SASS. Mike

Green, the person who wrote this software has released a beta version of an

American Speak And Spell simulator, which at the moment has a worse voice

than the English version. Mike Green says it sounds like it is coming from

the toilet, so don't download it yet. SASS V 1.2 sounds like the real thing.

If anyone wants to download this game, go to:

http://sass.retrogames.com



++

PCS Games Examined In-Depth

By Randy Hammer



It's been a while since anyone reviewed any PCS games.  In this issue I've

chosen to do a review of several.  We'll be taking a look at five games this

time, all the old DOS classics.  Next issue I'll be covering the upcoming

Windows releases.  In most cases these won't change much, they are actually

a hybrid of DOS and Windows.  However, a few games (specifically Lonewolf

and Shades of Doom) are actual Windows-based games.



The first offering we'll look at is Arthur's Quest.  PCS has attempted to

create a game and back it up with little to no marketing.  It's unfortunate,

but they flopped completely.  The game is very playable, once you learn the

tricks.  However, so many things stay cryptic that it's almost impossible to

win.



Problem number one is that the game comes with almost no documentation.  I

didn't have to pay for my copy as a reviewer, and I'm lucky.  Had I paid for

the game I would have been terribly disappointed, since the learning curve

of the game is somewhat difficult.  The included documentation does have

examples, but these are canned and not sufficient.  There is no test arena

in which to hone your skills before attempting the real thing, and the

documentation gives no assistance with real-life situations.



Once your playing with the game the problems really start to annoy.  The

game is based on a half-RPG half-action scenario.  There are quests that you

are to go on, though they do you little good.  Your ultimate goal is to

defeat enough opponents that you can obtain Excalibur and take on the evil

Lord.  Thus, the game is basically a hack and slash, with you wandering

around the map in between fights.  Realise that it will take you over 160

fights to even think of reaching the state where you can complete the game,

and the first 20 are extremely difficult.  I couldn't figure out how to tell

what fights would give more experience, since sometimes fighting weak

enemies gave me more experience than tough ones.



The fights are quite difficult to win, many scenarios are drawn out severely

with extraneous sounds, and there are several features that need to be

added, or that don't work as a normal user would expect.  For example, the

game requires you to rest and eat every now and then in cottages or castles,

which regains "Fatigue".  However, while doing so the player does not see

his fatigue score change.  Therefore it's impossible to understand how much

healing is required.  (The number actually doesn't change until after the

next fight.)  The game also lacks retreat options in fights, and doesn't

allow you to see the health of your enemy.



This game requires a stereo speaker setup with a decent sound card.  I want

to specify that I played this game extensively, putting about twenty hours

into it before coming to the above conclusions.



Fortunately Arthur's Quest is the only game I'm going to give a truly poor

rating on.  The next game up the scale that I reviewed was Packman.  this is

almost exactly like the adorable (annoying to some) little creature that

chomped his way through 1980's video games.  The premise of the PCS game is

the same:  Run through the maze eating pellets and keeping out of the reach

of the ghosts.  It even includes the ability to obtain powerups that scare

away the ghosts.



The sound quality in this game is quite good.  The powerups are random so

play stays interesting, and it's relatively easy to stay away from the

ghosts.  However, one of the draws of the original suite of Packman games

was that you could see the maze and knew where to go.  The blind community

obviously doesn't have this option, and it's pretty difficult to complete a

board.  You can tell where you have been by the lack of pellets, but it's

still relatively easy to go in circles.



The first two games are relatively new to the PCS catalogue.  My next review

was of Panzer's in North Africa, a World War II tank game that was produced

in 1997.  Despite it's age this game is still quite entertaining, and has no

major flaws.  There are a wealth of options within the game, mainly in the

form of different tanks.  Added to the variety of vehicles is the option to

raise and lower the difficulty in two different ways, giving no end of

playing options.  Though not completely easy at all the lowest settings this

game is extremely difficult at the most difficult settings, challenging all

players.  I recommend checking out the demo.



The final two games were developed by David Greenwood, and produced/sold by

PCS.  The first I will review is Star Trek.  This is a turn-based game like

all the others, but brings to the table excellent sound, complex strategy,

and the ability to play over and over again with every game different.

David Greenwood always adds a difficulty option to his games, something that

is lacking to almost all PCS games.  The continuous sounds option adds a bit

of realism to the game, while the option of either running the game in menu

or prompt mode allows ease of play for all.



At the beginning of the game you start with four Federation ships, facing

off against the three evil races of the galaxy.  You must defeat all enemies

and make the galaxy safe for humanity.  Each race that you face has the

objective of knocking you out of the game, and they all have strengths that

make the game difficult.  Each game starts with your ships in different

locations, so it's extremely unlikely that you will have two games that are

exactly the same.  I recommend this game for purchase, even without checking

out the demo.  Should the sound not work you can simply shut it off and play

the game with only a slight disadvantage.  (With sound you get warning

alarms when the enemy is close to one of your ships.)



Top honours for all these reviews goes to David Greenwood's Lonewolf.  This

is the first ever game to be created for the VIP community that is not turn

based.  This means that while you are sitting there thinking about whether

you should dive to escape the destroyer, or stay on the surface and get off

a shot at your target the destroyer and (sometimes) the target keep moving.

The destroyer bears down on you and begins firing, and if you don't react

you will be sent to the bottom.



The game is set in World War II, and you are the captain of a submarine.

For some reason you always get these missions that send your sub in alone

against sometimes impossible odds.  You have to depend on your wits and

quick actions to keep your sub moving towards the target.  The game comes

with 17 missions.  The missions start fairly easy and progress up to very

difficult.  First time players should definitely work through the early

missions a few times, increasing the provided difficulty ratings.  Realise

that you don't have to successfully complete a mission to progress on to the

next one.



The game is fairly complex at first, and uses about 35% of the keys on the

keyboard for all the required tasks.  However, the documentation is

excellent, and after a few missions players should have no trouble

understanding what is necessary.  I've put probably 100 hours in to this

game, and driving the sub is second nature to me now.



So this is my top rated pick, and you would expect me to recommend you run

out and buy it immediately, right?  Nope, if you have a DOS-based system,

and never use Windows then, yes, I recommend this version wholeheartedly.

Go out to the PCS web site and pick it up immediately.  However, for those

who use Windows I'll have you hold off a month or so.  David Greenwood is

almost finished with the Windows-based version of this game.  It will be a

full blown Windows application, and will have more weapons and flexibility.

The best feature of all is that David will be allowing a few the ability to

create new missions, and distribute them to registered owners of the game.

At the writing of this article it is expected that these missions will be

provided free of charge.



I am aware that there are several parents who read this magazine, and are

interested in games for their children.  All these games are playable by all

ages, unless you have reservations about violence.  Each one of them deals

with violence, and may not be suitable for all children.  I would probably

place an age of 8 on all five games, mainly due to difficulty of play.  I

would encourage teachers to buy Lonewolf, as it teaches graphing, would be

easy to work into a history lesson, and shows the relation between velocity

and distance.



+++

Contacting Us



I can be reached in three ways. The easiest is through CompuServe.

My e-mail address is as follows:

Michaelfeir@compuserve.com

You can also call me via telephone. I have voicemail, so you can leave a

message if you fail to catch me at home and off-line. I'll do my best to

return calls, but won't accept collect calls. My number is as follows:

(905)-814-0608



Alternatively, you may correspond with me on 3.5-inch disks,

provided you be sure to send them in returnable disk-mailers. I don't have

the money to pay for postage. My mailing address is:

5787 Montevideo Road

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Postal code: L5N 2L5



Adam Taylor, star of Adam, The Immortal Gamer, and our resident ADOM guru,

can be reached three ways. You can send him e-mail at:

blade@ican.net



Or, you can check out his homepage on the web:

Blade's Armoury

http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/9111

His page is dedicated to providing help, cheats and solutions to many games.

Send him a request, and he'll do his best to find what you need. He also has

sections on ADOM and Nethack available. Also, you can download the magazine

from his page.



Finally, if you wish to contact him at home, his address is:

3082 Bartholomew Crescent

Mississauga, Ontario

Canada L5N 3L1



Kelly Sapurgia is another expert in interactive fiction. He is a

well-established reviewer of games for Audyssey, and has an interest in

developing interactive fiction as well as playing it. He can be contacted

at:

k.sapergia@dlcwest.com



Justin Fegel is one of our two interactive fiction staff members. He will be

happy to advise and guide players through the many interactive fiction games

out there. He can be contacted at:

Jfegel@earthlink.net



James Peach, our web-based games expert, will do his best to advise those

seeking accessible games played on the Internet. He can be contacted at:

jamespeach@hotmail.com



Randy Hammer is the latest addition to the Audyssey team. Those on the

Audyssey discussion list will have seen many posts from this seasoned

veteran of the gaming world. He conducts an ongoing search for worth-while

mainstream games that can be enjoyed by blind players with sighted

assistance. He will also review commercial games and shareware produced

specifically for the blind, such as that from ESP Softworks, PCS, and

eventually, Zform. He can be contacted at:

RHammer@illuminet.com







Michael Feir

 Editor of Audyssey

E-mail: michaelfeir@compuserve.com

Phone: (905-814-0608



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