Mystery House

Mystery House is a 1980 game for the Apple II by Roberta and Ken Williams. Although it had no sound, no color (other than black and white), and no animation, it did have one feature that would make it part of computer gaming history: graphics.

Related Topics:
1980 - Game - Apple II - Roberta - Ken Williams - Animation - Graphics

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Mystery House was the first adventure game to ever contain graphics (70 simple two-dimensional drawings by Roberta Williams). Previously, adventure games were entirely text-based (this refers to story-based adventure games; computer role-playing games had been using graphics for several years by this point). Due to its "newfangled" graphics, Mystery House quickly became a best-seller at a first-release price USD$24.95. It eventually sold more than 10,000 copies, which was a record-breaking phenomenon for the time.

Related Topics:
Adventure game - Two-dimensional - Text-based - Computer role-playing game - USD$

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The game starts near an abandoned Victorian mansion. The player is soon locked inside the house with no other option than to explore. The mansion contains many interesting rooms and seven other people. Terrible events start happening and dead bodies begin appearing. It becomes obvious that there is a murderer on the loose in the house, and the player must discover who it is or become the next victim.

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Elements from the game were reintroduced in The Colonel's Bequest.

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