The player's character is a young detective, asked by friend Tamara Lynd to investigate her new home of Tresyllian Castle in Cornwall, England. Tamara has recently become engaged to the castle's lord, Jack Tresyllian. She was very happy until she began seeing what appeared to be The White Lady, a ghost who has allegedly haunted the castle for centuries. As if seeing a ghost wasn't nerve-racking enough, she's also begun to fear for her life. Is Tamara's imagination just overly excited from living in a large old castle, or is someone really trying to kill her? And if her life is in danger, is it from a ghost or someone using it as a disguise?
GameplayEdit
The actual game is divided into several quests depending on the player's answer to the question "what is your favorite color?" As such, the game contains green (the easiest), blue, red, and yellow (the most difficult) quests, each with a separate criminal and treasure to locate.[6] Interaction is made through the standard text commands typical of the genre.
The game must be completed by 6:59 am the following day or the game ends without a resolution. It is also possible to die in a few rare instances, though the focus of the game remains on exploration and deduction.
ReleaseEdit
The Moonmist package includes the following physical items:
A book, The Legendary Ghosts of Cornwall written by Lady Lisbeth Norris, which includes a page dedicated to "The White Lady of Tresyllian Castle." The book has a stamp indicating it was checked out from the Festeron Town Library, the town where Wishbringer was set.
Two letters from Tamara Lynd to the player: one explaining Tamara's engagement to Lord Jack Tresyllian and her moving to the castle, and one begging the player to investigate the "White Lady".
A Visitor's Guide to Tresyllian Castle, a tourist-type brochure providing a history and rough maps.
The official hint book for Moonmist, which was purchasable by mail order and not included with the game, is printed in invisible ink.[7]
ReceptionEdit
COMPUTE! wrote that Moonmist was a good introduction to Infocom adventures for newcomers, and an example for veterans of how their storytelling had improved from older games.[8] However, Atari User expressed disappointment in the game's lack of depth and originality. While acknowledging that Moonmist had "deliberately been made simpler than the usual run of Infocom products", it noted that their earlier Wishbringer "was also a beginner's adventure but [..] offered yards more variety, entertainment, humour and challenge".[9]
Macworld reviewed the Macintosh version of Moonmist, calling it "an excellent [example] of text-only interactive fiction." Macworld praises the gameplay, stating that "Moonmist succeeds in emulating the classic youth mystery novels. Its puzzles and challenges are inventive and playful, and they complement the story without requiring advanced leaps and bounds of logic ... There are four variations of Moonmist, each different enough so that repeated plays will still be enjoyable." Macworld also praises the graphics, stating that "Moonmist features excellent pen-and-ink drawings reminiscent of an old-fashioned illustrated novel." Macworld expresses that the feelies included with Moonmist contribute to the game's gothic atmosphere. Macworld however criticizes the inability to scroll back to previously seen text, stating that the game as a result requires the player to take notes.[7]
LegacyEdit
In 1992, about six years after the original Moonmist, a remake of the game was developed and published by Japanese software development company SystemSoft for the NEC PC-9801, entitled Moonmist: Shiroki Kifujin no Nazo (MoonMist ～白き貴夫人の謎～, MūnMisuto ～Shiroki Kifujin no Nazo～, lit. "Moonmist: The Mystery of the Noble White Lady").[10][11] There are differences in this enhanced remake: the game recognizes verb commands typed in kana (Japanese syllable system) or Latin alphabet. For convenience, some of the most common verb commands (Look, Take, etc.) can be accessed by pressing a corresponding button, but the player still has to type the name of an object. This remake also helps the player to interact with the environment by displaying a list of objects after the player has typed a command. Also, unlike the original, the remake contains enhanced graphics; every location has a unique background picture, on which the text is super-imposed, like in the PC-9801 version of Enchanter.[10][12]
ReferencesEdit
^ abHague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
^Cobbett, Richard (February 20, 2011). "They Did It First". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
^Maher, Jimmy (2015-03-12). "Moonmist". The Digital Antiquarian. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
^ abMcCandless, Keith (August 1987). "Gender-Specific Leather and Lace: Moonmist 4.0 Review". Macworld. Mac Publishing. pp. 159–160.
^Randall, Neil (July 1987). "Moonmist". Compute!. p. 34. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
^Brillig (February 1987). "Moon Eclipsed". Atari User (22).
^ ab"PC-98x1 게임 도서관 :: System Soft의 게임 목록 (1992년)" [PC-98x1 Game Library :: SystemSoft's Game List (1992)] (in Korean). PC-98 Library. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
^"PC-9801 User's Manual for Moonmist". VGJunk. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
^"Enchanter: Wakaki Madōshi no Shiren". MobyGames. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
External linksEdit
Moonmist at Infocom-if.org
Moonmist at Lemon Amiga
Moonmist can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive
Package, documentation, and feelies
Moonmist in the Interactive Fiction Database
October 21, 2023
moonmist, interactive, fiction, computer, game, written, galley, lawrence, published, infocom, 1986, game, released, simultaneously, amiga, amstrad, apple, atari, family, atari, commodore, macintosh, infocom, twenty, second, game, released, infocom, 1995, comp. Moonmist is an interactive fiction computer game written by Stu Galley and Jim Lawrence 1 and published by Infocom in 1986 The game was released simultaneously for the Amiga Amstrad CPC Apple II Atari 8 bit family Atari ST Commodore 64 MS DOS TRS 80 TI 99 4A and Macintosh It is Infocom s twenty second game Moonmist was re released in Infocom s 1995 compilation The Mystery Collection as well as the 1996 compilation Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces 2 3 MoonmistCover artDeveloper s InfocomPublisher s InfocomDesigner s Stu GalleyJim LawrenceWriter s Jim LawrenceStu GalleyEngineZ machinePlatform s Amiga Amstrad CPC Apple II Atari 8 bit Atari ST Commodore 64 MS DOS TRS 80 TI 99 4A MacintoshReleaseRelease 4 September 18 1986 Release 9 October 22 1986Genre s Interactive fictionMode s Single playerJim Lawrence one of the co authors of Moonmist ghostwrote books in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series 4 Galley and Lawrence previously co wrote Seastalker for Infocom 1 Moonmist is the first known English language video game to feature a gay character 5 Contents 1 Plot 2 Gameplay 3 Release 4 Reception 5 Legacy 6 References 7 External linksPlot EditThe player s character is a young detective asked by friend Tamara Lynd to investigate her new home of Tresyllian Castle in Cornwall England Tamara has recently become engaged to the castle s lord Jack Tresyllian She was very happy until she began seeing what appeared to be The White Lady a ghost who has allegedly haunted the castle for centuries As if seeing a ghost wasn t nerve racking enough she s also begun to fear for her life Is Tamara s imagination just overly excited from living in a large old castle or is someone really trying to kill her And if her life is in danger is it from a ghost or someone using it as a disguise Gameplay EditThe actual game is divided into several quests depending on the player s answer to the question what is your favorite color As such the game contains green the easiest blue red and yellow the most difficult quests each with a separate criminal and treasure to locate 6 Interaction is made through the standard text commands typical of the genre The game must be completed by 6 59 am the following day or the game ends without a resolution It is also possible to die in a few rare instances though the focus of the game remains on exploration and deduction Release EditThe Moonmist package includes the following physical items A book The Legendary Ghosts of Cornwall written by Lady Lisbeth Norris which includes a page dedicated to The White Lady of Tresyllian Castle The book has a stamp indicating it was checked out from the Festeron Town Library the town where Wishbringer was set Two letters from Tamara Lynd to the player one explaining Tamara s engagement to Lord Jack Tresyllian and her moving to the castle and one begging the player to investigate the White Lady An iron on logo of the game s title A Visitor s Guide to Tresyllian Castle a tourist type brochure providing a history and rough maps The official hint book for Moonmist which was purchasable by mail order and not included with the game is printed in invisible ink 7 Reception EditCOMPUTE wrote that Moonmist was a good introduction to Infocom adventures for newcomers and an example for veterans of how their storytelling had improved from older games 8 However Atari User expressed disappointment in the game s lack of depth and originality While acknowledging that Moonmist had deliberately been made simpler than the usual run of Infocom products it noted that their earlier Wishbringer was also a beginner s adventure but offered yards more variety entertainment humour and challenge 9 Macworld reviewed the Macintosh version of Moonmist calling it an excellent example of text only interactive fiction Macworld praises the gameplay stating that Moonmist succeeds in emulating the classic youth mystery novels Its puzzles and challenges are inventive and playful and they complement the story without requiring advanced leaps and bounds of logic There are four variations of Moonmist each different enough so that repeated plays will still be enjoyable Macworld also praises the graphics stating that Moonmist features excellent pen and ink drawings reminiscent of an old fashioned illustrated novel Macworld expresses that the feelies included with Moonmist contribute to the game s gothic atmosphere Macworld however criticizes the inability to scroll back to previously seen text stating that the game as a result requires the player to take notes 7 Legacy EditIn 1992 about six years after the original Moonmist a remake of the game was developed and published by Japanese software development company SystemSoft for the NEC PC 9801 entitled Moonmist Shiroki Kifujin no Nazo MoonMist ムーンミスト 白き貴夫人の謎 MunMisuto Shiroki Kifujin no Nazo lit Moonmist The Mystery of the Noble White Lady 10 11 There are differences in this enhanced remake the game recognizes verb commands typed in kana Japanese syllable system or Latin alphabet For convenience some of the most common verb commands Look Take etc can be accessed by pressing a corresponding button but the player still has to type the name of an object This remake also helps the player to interact with the environment by displaying a list of objects after the player has typed a command Also unlike the original the remake contains enhanced graphics every location has a unique background picture on which the text is super imposed like in the PC 9801 version of Enchanter 10 12 References Edit a b Hague James The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers The Mystery Collection a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a Cite magazine requires magazine help 1995 Infocom Activision Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a Cite magazine requires magazine help 1996 Infocom Activision Moonmist Manual p 18 a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a Cite magazine requires magazine help 1986 Infocom Infocom Cobbett Richard February 20 2011 They Did It First PC Gamer Retrieved April 8 2018 Maher Jimmy 2015 03 12 Moonmist The Digital Antiquarian Retrieved 12 March 2015 a b McCandless Keith August 1987 Gender Specific Leather and Lace Moonmist 4 0 Review Macworld Mac Publishing pp 159 160 Randall Neil July 1987 Moonmist Compute p 34 Retrieved 10 November 2013 Brillig February 1987 Moon Eclipsed Atari User 22 a b PC 98x1 게임 도서관 System Soft의 게임 목록 1992년 PC 98x1 Game Library SystemSoft s Game List 1992 in Korean PC 98 Library 16 June 2011 Retrieved 16 December 2016 PC 9801 User s Manual for Moonmist VGJunk Retrieved 16 December 2016 Enchanter Wakaki Madōshi no Shiren MobyGames Retrieved 16 December 2016 External links EditMoonmist at Infocom if org Moonmist at Lemon Amiga Moonmist can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive Package documentation and feelies Moonmist in the Interactive Fiction Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Moonmist amp oldid 1174556069, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
