Will Moczarski – The Retro Gaming Treasury

Asylum II: Stubborn like a mule

On April 23, 2020April 24, 2020 By IndieRetroNews

Written by Will Moczarski Last time I thought I’d made a pretty good run through Asylum II – the game seemed as tedious but a lot easier than part one, that is until I was confronted by one of the guards who told me that my escape was not to […]

Asylum II: The Birds, Part 2

On March 19, 2020March 19, 2020 By IndieRetroNews

Written by Will Moczarski At the beginning of my second session I make a list of all possible puzzles I will have to solve. There is, for one, the obvious fetch quest (a): the scientist needs a magnet, a battery and some copper wire. So far I haven’t found any […]

Intermission: Med Systems Marathon – That was 1981!

On December 6, 2019December 6, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski We’ve finished the second year of our Med Systems marathon now, and there are only four adventure games left. The company would exist for two more years, and in 1983 it was rechristened Screenplay. They would continue to operate under the new name until around 1986 but […]

Missed Classic: The Institute – WON! and Final Rating

On November 28, 2019November 28, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Last time I explored the first of four dreams that make up the bulk of The Institute. I presented it as a streamlined narrative for your convenience, rather than describe all of my errancies. On my first run, for example, I examined the bronze statue from the […]

Missed Classic 77: The Institute (1981) – Introduction

On November 21, 2019November 21, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski The Institute is the first game in my Med Systems marathon that I will actually replay as I’ve played (and solved) it before. It has been decades, however, and my memories of the game are pretty unreliable. Also, I only know the later port for the Commodore […]

Saigon: The Final Days – WON! and Final Rating

On November 14, 2019November 14, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Last time I was severely stuck. Not even the first room in Asylum had given me such a headache. I was unable to venture past the Viet Cong gun nest and unable to open the dead soldier’s snap pocket on the starting screen. I must have tried […]

Missed Classic 76: Saigon: The Final Days (1981) – Introduction

On November 7, 2019November 7, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski The fourth and final game by Jyym and Robyn Pearson that was – albeit only sometimes – marketed as an “OtherVenture” by Adventure International, is Saigon: The Final Days. It was first released for the TRS-80 in 1981 and ported to the TRS-80 CoCo as well as […]

Missed Classic: Earthquake – San Francisco 1906 – WON! and Final Rating

On November 2, 2019November 2, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski The game’s own PISSED rating To get the most important fact out of the way first: You need the crowbar a lot. Last time I was stuck somewhere in earthquake-ridden San Francisco in the year of 1906 with nothing left to do. My only lead was the […]

Missed Classic 75: Earthquake – San Francisco 1906 (1981) – Introduction

On October 24, 2019October 24, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski The 1906 San Francisco earthquake hit the famous Northern Californian town 113 years ago on April 18 with a magnitude of nearly 8. Almost 3000 people died in the event and over 80 percent of the city were destroyed. It remains one of the biggest natural disasters […]

Missed Classic: Escape from Traam – WON! and Final Rating

On October 17, 2019October 17, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Last time we left off after about an hour of gameplay, with a reasonably small gameworld and some items we haven’t found a use for. We deciphered an alien language and attempted to explore a dark cave but didn’t really get anywhere plot-wise. So far, this was […]

Missed Classic 74: Escape from Traam (1981) – Introduction

On October 9, 2019October 9, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Special thanks to the Museum of Computer Adventure Game History! (mocagh.org) It’s time for the third OtherVenture and our second Jyym Pearson game Escape from Traam. This one has a 1980 copyright date and it may possibly be the earlier game of the two. It is usually […]

Missed Classic: Curse of Crowley Manor – WON! and Final Rating

On October 2, 2019October 2, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Cursing Crowley Manor This is an astonishing game. I know that it might seem as if I was easily satisfied by a few extra descriptions in a text adventure but for a game released in 1981 it does a lot of things right. So far, it’s not […]

Missed Classic 73: Curse of Crowley Manor (1981) – Introduction

On September 24, 2019September 24, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Introduction: Who was Jyym Pearson? The sixth adventure game in our Med Systems marathon is the last one released in 1981, and it’s a rather famous one. The Institute is also the first game I’ve played before (albeit in the later port for the Commodore 64), and […]

Missed Classic 72: Microworld – WON! and Final Rating

On September 17, 2019September 17, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Med Systems Marathon Overview: (a) 1980 Summary(b) Reality Ends (1980)(c) Rat’s Revenge / Deathmaze 5000 (1980)(d) Labyrinth (1980)(e) Asylum (1981) Second Time’s the Charm My actual playthrough of Microworld takes me about 7 hours and a fair amount of head-scratching. I’ll start from the beginning in this […]

Missed Classic 72: Microworld (1981) – Introduction

On September 13, 2019September 13, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Med Systems Marathon Overview:(a) 1980 Summary(b) Reality Ends (1980)(c) Rat’s Revenge / Deathmaze 5000 (1980)(d) Labyrinth (1980)(e) Asylum (1981) The confusing ad (thanks to Ira Goldklang at trs-80.com) Introduction In the context of our current marathon, Microworld is a notable game in many ways. It’s the first […]

Missed Classic 71: Asylum – WON!* and Final Rating

On August 29, 2019August 29, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Med Systems Marathon Overview: (a) 1980 Summary(b) Reality Ends (1980)(c) Rat’s Revenge / Deathmaze 5000 (1980)(d) Labyrinth (1980) * with a little touch of “lost”. On the Road to Find Out So I solved the roadster puzzle. It took some gall, it took some nerve, I’m still […]

Missed Classic: Asylum – (Almost) Lost (My Mind)

On August 23, 2019August 23, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Med Systems Marathon Overview:(a) 1980 Summary(b) Reality Ends (1980)(c) Rat’s Revenge / Deathmaze 5000 (1980)(d) Labyrinth (1980) Map of the World My next session is devoted almost exclusively to mapping. I try the silver key, the brass key and the inmate with all of the doors and […]

Missed Classic: Asylum – Off To A Rocky Start

On August 18, 2019August 18, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Med Systems Marathon Overview: (a) 1980 Summary(b) Reality Ends (1980)(c) Rat‘s Revenge / Deathmaze 5000 (1980)(d) Labyrinth (1980) Where I end and you begin The first puzzle My first hour in the Asylum is a tough one. I start the game in a cell with a locked door […]

Missed Classic 71: Asylum (1981) – Introduction

On July 11, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Med Systems Marathon Overview – Catch up here!: (a) 1980 Summary(b) Reality Ends (1980)(c) Rat‘s Revenge / Deathmaze 5000 (1980)(d) Labyrinth (1980) If 1980 was the year of programming for Med Systems with a total of 14 releases advertised in various magazines, 1981 certainly was the year […]

Intermission: Med Systems Marathon – 1980 Rundown

On June 22, 2019June 22, 2019 By IndieRetroNews

by Will Moczarski Introduction According to issue 017 of “Compute! Magazine” (Oct. 1981), “MED SYSTEMS has been publishing and distributing software worldwide since 1979”. If my research is correct, Med Systems Software started developing and publishing games for the TRS-80 (and subsequently the Commodore PET and the Apple ][) more […]