Popular games for platform TRS-80

08.07.1983

Planetfall is a science fiction interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky, and the eighth title published by Infocom in 1983. Like most Infocom games, thanks to the portable Z-machine, it was released for several platforms simultaneously. The original release included versions for the PC (both as a booter and for DOS) and Apple II. The Atari ST and Commodore 64 versions were released in 1985. A version for CP/M was also released. Although Planetfall was Meretzky's first title, it proved one of his most popular works and a best-seller for Infocom; it was one of five top-selling titles to be re-released in Solid Gold versions including in-game hints. Planetfall utilizes the Z-machine originally developed for the Zork franchise and was added as a bonus to the "Zork Anthology". The word planetfall is a portmanteau of planet and landfall, and occasionally used in science fiction to that effect. The book Planetfall written by Arthur Byron Cover, uses the game image on the cover, and is marketed "In the bestselling tradition of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.[2] A sequel, Stationfall, was released in 1987. Planetfall teleports you 12,000 years into an outrageous future. You joined the Stellar Patrol to explore the galaxy, but all you've seen is the end of a mop - until your ship explodes and you're jettisoned onto a mysterious, deserted planet. Luckily, you have Floyd, a lovable multi-purpose robot with the personality of a mischievous 8-year-old. He's the ideal companion with whom to brave your new world, as you dare its dangers and uncover its secrets.

01.08.1979

This dungeon crawler is one of the first ever RPGs with graphics and character progression.

31.12.1982

Deadline is an interactive fiction computer game published by Infocom in 1982. Written by Marc Blank, it was one of the first murder mystery interactive fiction games. Like most Infocom titles, Deadline was created using ZIL, which allowed the easy porting of the game to popular computer platforms of the time such as the Apple II and the Commodore 64. It is Infocom's third game. The player's character in Deadline is an unnamed police detective, summoned to a sprawling Connecticut estate to investigate the apparent suicide of wealthy industrialist Marshall Robner. At first, it seems a very straightforward case: the body was discovered in the library, which had been locked from the inside, and the cause of death was an overdose of his prescribed antidepressants. But something just doesn't feel right. Could someone have killed Robner for his money? Did he make an enemy through his business dealings? Or was there some other motive? With the able assistance of level-headed Sgt. Duffy, the player has twelve hours to solve the case before it is closed forever.

04.06.1987

A middle-aged male virgin named Larry Laffer desperately tries to "get lucky" in the fictional American city of Lost Wages. Your goal in Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards is to find and seduce the girl of your dreams. This goal won't come easy, because you only have one night, and unfortunately, you are stuck with Larry's looks. Other problems, such as lack of money, lack of opportunity, and bad breath can complicate things significantly. Your interaction with the game controls the outcome of each situation. For example, having your character sign on with a major league baseball team or start a successful men's magazine could be beneficial to your ultimate goal. On the other hand, catching a fatal disease or losing all your cash can only impede your progress. A combination of common sense, logical thinking, and downright sheer luck is needed to achieve your goal.

01.01.1982

Zaxxon is a 1982 isometric shooter arcade game developed and released by Sega. The game gives the player the experience of flying a fighter craft through a fortress while shooting at enemy entities (missiles, enemy gunfire, etc.) The object of the game is to hit as many targets as possible without being shot down or running out of fuel, which can be replenished paradoxically, by blowing up fuel drums.

01.10.1986

With over 50,000 units sold in it's first six weeks of release (on just one computer), King's Quest III was the best received software sequel of the year. As the game moves to other computers, it is quickly becoming the best-selling 3-D animated adventure game in history. Like it's predecessors, King's Quest III breaks new ground in the development of adventure games as an art form. "Questbusters- The Adventurers' Journal" praises the "several exceptional innovations introduced in King's Quest III" including the addition of pull-down menus, special self-mapping features and an advanced parser. King's Quest III also breaks new ground in the area of puzzles and plot. The complexity of the storyline, and the intricate game puzzles, make for a game that will challenge even the most experienced adventurer. Subplots include an escape from slavery, piracy on the high seas, and the mastery of powerful magic. King's Quest III is a graphics extravaganza with plenty of color, animation and quick screen changes. The locations and characters of King's Quest III are the most lifelike and interactive to date. The soundtrack, which includes well-choreographed music and funny sound effects, adds new dimensions to the viewer's enjoyment. In fact King's Quest III was nominated for "Best Music in Computer Software" by the Software Publisher's Association. The most fun you can have playing computer adventure games! In 1983 Roberta Williams and her team of programming artists designed the original King's Quest playing system. Four years later, King's Quest games are still the most enjoyable adventure games available. Roberta Williams is designer of the King's Quest series. Over the last half decade, Roberta has worked closely with The Walt Disney Company and Jim Henson in the development of computer software. Her games have sold more copies than any other woman in computer software history.

01.12.1982

Sokoban ("warehouse keeper") is a is a classic puzzle game created in 1981 by Hiroyuki Imabayashi, and published in 1982 by Thinking Rabbit, a software house based in Takarazuka, Japan. In 1984 the ASCII Corporation published a version produced by Khaled Bentebal. It was the basis of numerous clones in the later years. It is set in a warehouse. On each level, the player must push crates (from square to square) to get them onto designated spots; once each crate is on a marked spot, the level is complete. Crates can only be pushed one at a time (so two crates next to each other cannot be pushed together), and cannot be pulled--so it's possible to get a crate stuck in a corner, where it cannot be retrieved! By the last levels, you must plan 40 steps in advance.

01.05.1977

Zork is one of the earliest interactive fiction computer games, with roots drawn from the original genre game, Colossal Cave Adventure. The first version of Zork was written in 1977–1979 using the MDL programming language on a DEC PDP-10 computer.

31.01.1984

Many centuries ago, the Earth was ruled by Sorcerers and Wizards. They possessed mystical powers capable of both good and evil. The most respected influences in the land were from the good Sorcerers. This fact continually disturbed the evil Wizards, and they eventually decided to use their power to conquer the countryside and enslave its people. They devised a plan to systematically eliminate the good Sorcerers by sending wave after wave of diabolical creatures to ravage the world. As the bravest of the good Sorcerers you have been asked to destroy these forces and save the planet. As a reward for your bravery: whenever you overcome or destroy a creature, you will receive a treasure. Knowing your bravery the Wizards have done everything within their power to keep you from succeeding. They don't believe you will survive their first three waves of evil, but just in case you do they have several surprises waiting, Only you can discover through bravery and talent how evil they can become. To give you more power over the Forces of Evil the good Sorcerers have provided a magical Flying Platform. When you start on your journey you should first catch this elusive platform. You can continue without it, but only the foolish would dare to do so. Once on the Flying Platform you can go anywhere on the screen to avoid or destroy the enemy. The good Sorcerers have also given you four lives to use against the Forces of Evil.

14.09.1984

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a classic Interactive Fiction game. Though divergent from the source material, the main characters, locations, and concepts are here. Unlike the book, death can come quickly if Arthur fails to observe his surroundings, collect inventory, talk to people, and consult the Guide. Don't panic!

15.05.1982

This is ancient board game of Othello (another name is Reversi). You must capture opponent's pieces, placing your stones on board. Any opponent's stones directly between your new stone and any of your old ones became captured and reversed to your color. You can play with friend or with computer. This is anonymous BASIC version of 1982, translated from TRS-80 version.

01.04.1985

Thexder is a robot capable of transforming into a jet whose job is to destroy the central computer to save the planet.15 stages are waiting you for in this shooting game.

01.05.1985

Wishbringer: The Magick Stone of Dreams is an interactive fiction computer game written by Brian Moriarty and published by Infocom in 1985. It was intended to be an easier game to solve than the typical Infocom release and provide a good introduction to interactive fiction for inexperienced players, and was very well received. The player's character is a postal clerk in the small fishing village of Festeron. The cranky postmaster, Mr. Crisp, orders the player to deliver an important envelope to the proprietor of Ye Olde Magick Shoppe. The proprietor in question, a kindly old lady, then asks the player to rescue her cat from a mysterious sorceress known only as The Evil One. Stepping out of the store, the player finds that quaint Festeron has mysteriously been transformed into a more sinister town called Witchville. There are but a few hours to defeat The Evil One. Fortunately, the player soon finds the Wishbringer, a magical stone that can grant seven wishes if a suitable object is used in conjunction. The seven wishes that can be granted by the stone are for advice, darkness, flight, foresight, freedom, luck, and rain. Each wish can only be used once per game, and requires that the player possess some related object.

30.09.1979

In the third game of the adventure game series Zork, you are once again a nameless adventurer, only this time you won't travel through a beautiful magical land, but are immediately cast into a deep dungeon. Like in a dream, you hear a mysterious voice telling you that you have passed all the tests but one. When conscience returns to you, you find yourself on the endless spiral of stairs, with only your trusty lantern near you... will you be able to survive the horrors of the Dungeon?

31.12.1978

A text based Adventure Game for the TRS-80, later enhanced with visual scenes in various ports. Only allowed 2-Word input and was largely based on Colossal Cave Adventure.

01.09.1982

The year is 2186. Humanity has established colonies on the moon, Mars, and several of the larger asteroids. Earth's sky is dotted with space habitats, and the spaceways are always busy. As usual, there is the urgent need for energy to power this advanced civilization; one of the primary sources of that energy is quantum black holes. In Starcross, you are a miner of black holes, scouring the asteroid belt in your one-man survey ship. Finding and harnessing a single black hole can make a person's fortune. It's a lonely business, fraught with the known and unknown hazards of space. You've equipped your ship, the M.C.S. STARCROSS, with the best gear you could afford. You've put everything into this venture, and though you've tried before, you somehow sense that this time will be different.

01.09.1983

Enchanter is a 1983 interactive fiction computer game written by Marc Blank and Dave Lebling and published by Infocom. It belongs to the fantasy genre and was the first fantasy game published by Infocom after the Zork trilogy (it was originally intended to be Zork IV). The game had a parser that understood over 700 words, making it the most advanced interactive fiction game of its time. It was Infocom's ninth game. Krill, an incredibly powerful evil warlock, is spreading chaos and destruction. None of the more experienced members of the Circle of Enchanters dare to attempt to stop him. In desperation, the player, a novice Enchanter with only a few weak spells in his spell book, is sent in hopes that Krill will either fail to detect him or dismiss him as harmless. More powerful spells can be found on scrolls hidden in various locations, but as the player becomes more of a threat, Krill will respond accordingly. This game features an innovative new spell system based partially on Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series and partially Dungeons and Dragons' Vancian spell system, where spells must be prepared through "memorization" before being cast. As in the Earthsea series, each spell is represented by some nonsense "magic word" which is treated as a verb by the game's text parser, so that one can use the FROTZ spell (which causes objects to glow and give off light) by typing >FROTZ BOOK, in exactly the same way as one might type >PICK UP BOOK or >READ BOOK.

31.12.1979

The game is similar to the traditional game of tic-tac-toe, but is played on four 4×4 grids stacked vertically; it is basically a computerized version of the board game Qubic using traditional tic-tac-toe notation and layout. To win, a player must place four of their symbols on four squares that line up vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, on a single grid, or spaced evenly over all four grids. This creates a total of 76 possible ways to win, in comparison to eight possible ways to win on a standard 3×3 board. The game has nine variations: it can be played by two players against each other, or one player can play against a built-in AI on one of eight different difficulty settings. The game uses the standard joystick controller.

01.03.1978

The AFGNCAAP begins in the Barrow from Zork I armed only with the trusty brass lantern and sword of elvish antiquity. The purpose of the game is not initially clear. The Wizard of Frobozz is soon introduced. The wizard was once a respected enchanter, but when his powers began to fade he was exiled by Dimwit Flathead. Now bordering on senility, the wizard is still a force to be reckoned with. Your goal, as you venture into the wizard's realm, is to avoid his capricious tricks and learn to control his magic. Like its predecessor, Zork II is essentially a treasure hunt. Unlike the previous game, the ten treasures are tied together by a crude plot. Finding the treasures does not end the game, nor are all the treasures needed to finish the game. Instead, the adventurer must figure out a way to use the treasures in order to reach the game's finale.

05.09.1986

Pitfall Harry returns to adventuring in this "Super" sequel to Pitfall! and Pitfall II: Lost Caverns. Harry’s mission: to recover the famed Raj Diamond, and also to rescue his niece Rhonda and loyal lion sidekick, Quickclaw. Now armed with a gun, Harry must navigate some 270 screens of 8-bit action-platforming. Valuable items will be collected along the way to aid your quest, but beware: dangers also abound, from snakes and spiders to falling rocks and boiling lava!

31.12.1979

Galactic Empire is a strategy video game. It is the first game in the Galactic Saga and the first game published by Brøderbund which was, in fact, created for the purpose of publishing the game.

31.12.1981