Space Quest

Space Quest is a science fiction adventure game released by Sierra On-Line in 1986 for the Apple II computer. Created by Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy, who called themselves the "Two Guys from Andromeda," this game started one of the most popular adventure game series of the 1980s.

In Space Quest, you play as Roger Wilco, a janitor on the spaceship Arcada. When alien pirates attack and kill everyone else on board, Roger must escape and stop the aliens from using a dangerous weapon called the Star Generator. The game uses a text parser system where players type commands like "look at panel" or "take keycard" to interact with the world. Roger walks around different screens filled with puzzles and dangers.

The gameplay combines puzzle-solving with humor. Players explore the Arcada spaceship, escape to the desert planet Kerona, visit an underground cave system, and travel to other locations. Each area has specific items to find and puzzles to solve. Death comes easily in Space Quest. Roger can die from touching the wrong object, waiting too long, or making poor choices. The game includes over 50 different death scenes, but players can save their progress and try again.

Space Quest uses the AGI (Adventure Game Interpreter) engine, which displays graphics at 160x200 resolution with 16 colors. Characters and objects appear as simple sprites against painted backgrounds. The Apple II version has no sound effects or music, unlike some other computer versions. Players control Roger using arrow keys for movement and type all other commands.

The game stands out for its comedy writing and science fiction parodies. It makes fun of Star Wars, Star Trek, and other popular science fiction stories. The puzzles require logical thinking but often have silly solutions. For example, players must use a piece of reflective glass to trick a deadly spider robot.

Space Quest became a huge success and led to five sequels. It helped establish Sierra On-Line as a major game company and proved that adventure games could be funny instead of just serious. The game's combination of humor, challenging puzzles, and science fiction setting influenced many later adventure games. Today, Space Quest remains an important example of 1980s computer gaming and shows how creative developers could be even with limited technology.