Windham Classics
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Windham Classics Corporation was a subsidiary of Spinnaker Software. The corporation was founded in 1984 and went defunct circa 1985/86 or later. The headquarters were in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Adventure games
Windham Classics published five adventure games. The games belonged to the genres of interactive fiction with graphics and point-and-click adventure game. They were based upon books for children. The game development was a part of Spinnakers marketing strategy in the adventure game market in the 1980s: Target groups of Windham Classic adventures were children players and target groups of Telarium, another Spinnaker subsidiary corporation, were grown-up players.[1]
- Below the Root, 1984 (developed in corporation with Zilpha Keatley Snyder, based upon her novel Below the Root)
- Swiss Family Robinson, 1984 (based upon the novel The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss)
- The Wizard of Oz, 1985 (based upon the novels The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum)
- Alice in Wonderland, 1985 (based upon the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll)
- Treasure Island, 1985 (based upon the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson).
The adventure game Robin Hood was announced, but not published.[2]
Reception
The Windham Classics adventures were praised for their text quality and their detailed graphics.[3] The special feature of Windham Classics adventures was the appropriate gameplay for children. The gameplay was easier than the gameplay in other adventures. The combination of text, graphics, a nonviolent storyline and appropriate interactive opportunities assisted the children's involvement and participation in the plot.[4]
Notes
- ^ Marguerite Zientara: Inside Spinnaker Software, InfoWorld volume 6, issue 33, August 1984, ISSN 0199-6649, p.43-48
- ^ Telarium at Adventureland by Hans Persson and Stefan Meier
- ^ e.g. Nick Piazza: Below the Root, Compute!, Issue 64, 9/1985, p.62; Sol Gruber: Treasure Island, Antic Vol. 5 Nr.1, 5/1986, p.81
- ^ e.g. Laurene Krasny Brown: Taking advantage of media. A manual for parents and teachers. Routledge & K. Paul 1986, p. 124; David F. Lancy, Bernard L. Hayes: Interactive Fiction and the Reluctant Reader, English Journal, Nov. 1988, p.42-45
External links
- Windham Classics at MobyGames
- Windham Classics at Museum of Computer Adventure Game History by Howard Feldman
- Telarium – Windham Classics at Adventureland by Hans Persson and Stefan Meier
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