Gargoyle Castle

It's been a while since I played this game, but my recollections are that it was one of the more interesting 8-bit two-word-parser-under-16K adventures. Several versions of this program seem to exist. I think there is an original TRS-80 version, a port to the TRS-80 Color Computer and the MC-10 port that I did from the Coco source and possibly some others I think I recollect being mentioned in other retro-computer forums.

The scenario is ostensibly medieval, but the feel is more of a dream state (and a weird Freudian dream state at that, or perhaps an Alice in Wonderland Carolesque variety). The presence of a handy cigarette lighter, gives away the unreality of the Medieval landscape. Surreal elements pepper the landscape, although I have to admit I am still unsure whether they are meant to be there or whether some of them are simply programming errors of the type which are so common in early 8-bit basic adventures. (Spoiler - click to show)For instance, when you dig a hole it always takes you to the same generic room, meaning that if you drop items there you can, wherever digging is possible, dig them up again other places.

Despite its quirks, or perhaps because of them, this simple early Basic text adventure seems to have endeared itself to many.