The Sands of Egypt
The Sands of Egypt is an adventure game written by James Garon, Ralph Burris, and Steve Bjork of Datasoft for the TRS-80 Color Computer.[2] It was licensed to Tandy Corporation and was the first disk-only game for the Color Computer sold by RadioShack.[2] Ports to the Atari 8-bit family in 1982 and Apple II in 1983 were published by Datasoft. Set in 1893, the game follows a British explorer and archaeologist who is lost in the desert. Text commands are entered in the lower half of the screen, while a sometimes animated image of the current location is displayed in the upper half.
| The Sands of Egypt | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Datasoft |
| Publisher(s) | Datasoft Tandy |
| Designer(s) | James Garon |
| Programmer(s) | Color Computer James Garon Ralph Burris Steve Bjork Atari 8-bit Frank Cohen[1] Apple II Brian Mountford |
| Platform(s) | TRS-80 Color Computer, Atari 8-bit, Apple II |
| Release | 1982: CoCo, Atari 1983: Apple |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
The player interacts with the game by typing commands, either in a "VERB NOUN" format or single words such as N for "move north". The number of moves made is tracked as the score. It can be seen with the SCORE command. The player needs to periodically drink water to stay alive.
Reception
Owen Linzmayer, reviewing the Color Computer original for Creative Computing, wrote "In comparison with other adventures, The Sands of Egypt does feel a bit shallow" and "the game relies strongly on perseverence and patience."[3] In Electronic Games, Tracie Forman didn't mention the puzzles, but wrote "By far the most striking thing about The Sands of Egypt is its eye-pleasing animation" and called it "an exceptional gaming experience."[4]
In a walkthrough of part of the game for TRS-80 Microcomputer News, Bruce Elliott discussed the HELP command:
Unfortunately, it is not always helpful in the immediate situation. I was often told that this was a "DRAINING EXPERIENCE." Standing in the middle of the desert, dying of thirst, this was not exactly what I wanted to read. However, the information ultimately proved a valuable clue.[5]
See also
- The Dallas Quest, similarly styled game from Datasoft
References
- "The Sands of Egype". Atari Mania.
- Boyle, L. Curtis. "Sands of Egypt". Tandy Color Computer Games.
- Linzmayer, Owen (September 1983). "Colorful Games for the Color Computer". Creative Computing. 9 (9): 148.
- Forman, Tracie (September 1983). "Computer Gaming: The Sands of Egypt". Electronic Games. 2 (7): 72–73.
- Elliott, Bruce (March 1983). "The Sands of Egypt". TRS-80 Microcomputer News. 5 (3): 45–47.