Colossal Cave Available Now for iPhone and iPad

SEATTLE, Oct. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — New release! Colossal Cave, an award-winning game known to millions, has been reimagined for iPhones and iPads by Roberta Williams, the multi-million copy bestselling author of King’s Quest, Phantasmagoria and many other #1 hits. Colossal Cave is credited as foundational for the entire gaming industry, providing the inspiration for virtually every adventure game you can name, from Zork to Monkey Island, King’s Quest, and more. Cygnus Entertainment has been in development for over two years to create a game that will challenge every iOS user. The first three levels are available now, FREE, with an optional $12.99 unlock for the full game. No in-game advertising and no in-app purchases.

ABOUT COLOSSAL CAVE:

Colossal Cave Adventure (AKA: Adventure or ADVENT) was released in 1976 by developer Will Crowther for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. It was expanded in 1977 by Don Woods. In the game, the player explores a cave system rumored to be filled with treasure and gold. It is the first well-known example of interactive fiction, as well as the first well-known adventure game, for which it was also the namesake.

Originally based on Crowther’s maps and experiences caving in Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, the longest cave system in the world; further, it was intended, in part, to be accessible to non-technical players, such as his two daughters. Woods’s version expanded the game in size and increased the number of fantasy elements present in it, such as a dragon and magic spells. Both versions, typically played over teleprinters connected to mainframe computers, were spread around the nascent ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet, which Crowther was involved in developing.

Colossal Cave is regularly noted as one of the most influential video games, and in 2019 was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame by The Strong and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games.

In 2020, Ken and Roberta Williams, best known for having founded and ran Sierra On-Line over a twenty-year period, started an effort to completely redesign the game for modern devices, as a totally immersive 3D experience.

Cygnus Entertainment, Sierra On-Line & Roberta Williams:

Ken and Roberta Williams founded Sierra On-Line in 1979, selling it in 1996 in what at the time was one of the largest industry transactions ever. Sierra today is part of Microsoft because of their acquisition of Activision. Ken and Roberta retired and bought a boat. Ken acquired both a US and European captain license and they decided to pursue real adventure by circumnavigating in a small boat. In 2020 Ken wrote a bestselling book chronicling the Sierra days, inspiring the couple to form Cygnus Entertainment and do “just one more game.” Whether there will be more is an unknown at this time, but they are very proud of Colossal Cave.

Ken Williams states, “In 1980 Wozniak and Jobs, then a tiny hardware company with grand ambitions, wanted a game to show off their Apple ][. They published Apple Adventure, also known as Colossal Cave. I remember being blown away by their technical achievement. Since that time, Apple has gone on to up the stakes a bit. Modern iPhones are far more powerful than the Apple ][. Roberta and I wanted to show what the latest iPhones and iPads can do and put a lot of attention into our iOS version of Colossal Cave. Only the latest iPhones and iPads have the required horsepower, but those who do run the game are in for some serious fun. We are delighted to have upped the ante!”

Quick info:

Hardware requirement: iPhone or iPad with A12 processor or newer. IOS 15 or newer
Title: Colossal Cave 3D
Publisher: Cygnus Entertainment
Redesign for iOS: Roberta Williams
Price: Free for first three levels, then $12.99 to unlock full game
Release date: Oct 20, 2023

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