Anyone played "Hunt the Wumpus?"

Jenny100

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Jun 21, 2004, 3:34:28 PM6/21/04

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I started a thread on "what's the oldest adventure game
you've ever played" over at Gameboomers and one person
mentioned "Hunt the Wumpus," which supposedly dates
from 1972 and predates even "Colossal Cave."

There's a little about it here
http://www.wurb.com/if/game/442

Anyone here play it?
Is it too primitive to be considered an adventure game?
Or should "adventure games" really have been called
"hunt the wumpus games" instead?

Andrew Plotkin

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Jun 21, 2004, 4:39:04 PM6/21/04

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It's a precursor to adventure games, in the sense that the people who
created Zork and Dungeon must have played it. (Zork contains a Wumpus
in-joke.)

However:

* The room descriptions are autogenerated, and have no individual
character. "Room 17: exits to room 5, 13, 19. I feel a draft. I smell
a Wumpus!" They're all like that.

* The only game elements are pits (which you feel as a draft), vampire
bats (which you can hear), and the Wumpus (which you can smell).
The game isn't about *discovering* these things, but finding out where
they appear on the (randomly-generated) map.

* There is no text parser. Your only possible actions are move to room
X, or fire an arrow at room Y. (The versions of Wumpus that I've seen,
the input prompt asks you "(M)ove or (S)hoot?", and you hit M or S,
and then it asks for for a room number.)

So the range of action isn't large enough for you to feel like you're
acting in a natural way. And you don't encounter naturalistic
descriptions. It's a turn-based puzzle game set in a cave, but not an
adventure game.

--Z

"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
* Make your vote count. Get your vote counted.

Robert Norton

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Jun 21, 2004, 8:51:32 PM6/21/04

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On Mon, 21 Jun 2004 20:39:04 +0000, Andrew Plotkin wrote:

>> Anyone here play it?

Andrew got it right.
I think you too can enjoy the "Wumpus Experience"
<http://www.wurb.com/if/game/442>

>> Is it too primitive to be considered an adventure game?
>> Or should "adventure games" really have been called
>> "hunt the wumpus games" instead?

I would agree with Andrew (again) it doesn't smell like an adventure game.
There is a small role for logic to play in the single puzzle, no story
line, it is more like playing tic-tac-toe.

Jenny100

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Jun 21, 2004, 11:29:14 PM6/21/04

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What makes Colossal Cave an adventure game and Wumpus not?

Andrew Plotkin

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Jun 22, 2004, 12:18:28 AM6/22/04

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Here, Jenny100 <nos...@nospam.com> wrote:

> Andrew Plotkin wrote:
> >
> > It's a precursor to adventure games, in the sense that the people who
> > created Zork and Dungeon must have played it. (Zork contains a Wumpus
> > in-joke.)
> >
> > However:
> >
> > * The room descriptions are autogenerated, and have no individual
> > character. "Room 17: exits to room 5, 13, 19. I feel a draft. I smell
> > a Wumpus!" They're all like that.
> >
> > * The only game elements are pits (which you feel as a draft), vampire
> > bats (which you can hear), and the Wumpus (which you can smell).
> > The game isn't about *discovering* these things, but finding out where
> > they appear on the (randomly-generated) map.
> >
> > * There is no text parser. Your only possible actions are move to room
> > X, or fire an arrow at room Y. (The versions of Wumpus that I've seen,
> > the input prompt asks you "(M)ove or (S)hoot?", and you hit M or S,
> > and then it asks for for a room number.)
> >
> > So the range of action isn't large enough for you to feel like you're
> > acting in a natural way. And you don't encounter naturalistic
> > descriptions. It's a turn-based puzzle game set in a cave, but not an
> > adventure game.
>
> What makes Colossal Cave an adventure game and Wumpus not?

I tried to make my definition of "adventure game" clear in the
description above.

To sum it up:

A game with a story, set in a simulated world; a game where the
important responses are unique and interesting (not mechanically-
generated); a game where your important actions come from a large and
indefinite range (not a brief menu, or even a sequence of brief
menus).

The Qurqirish Dragon

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Jun 22, 2004, 9:37:07 AM6/22/04

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>* The only game elements are pits (which you feel as a draft), vampire
>bats (which you can hear), and the Wumpus (which you can smell).
>The game isn't about *discovering* these things, but finding out where
>they appear on the (randomly-generated) map.
>
>* There is no text parser. Your only possible actions are move to room
>X, or fire an arrow at room Y. (The versions of Wumpus that I've seen,
>the input prompt asks you "(M)ove or (S)hoot?", and you hit M or S,
>and then it asks for for a room number.)

Does anyone here remember a hand-held version of this (I forget the name), but
I remember playing it in the early-to-mid 80s.

IIRC, it was a dragon, not a wumpus in the handheld, but otherwise it was the
identical games.
--
The Qurqirish Dragon, posting from his home somewhere in Ohlam.
--==<<{{ UDIC }}>>=--

Remember- my address is no laughing matter

Knight37

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Jun 23, 2004, 11:02:31 AM6/23/04

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Jenny100 <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in news:8LGBc.21643$Y3.11403
@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net:

I don't consider it to be an adventure game. It's far too simplistic. I
consider "Adventure" aka "Colossal Cave" to be the first adventure.

Dave Marron

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Jun 23, 2004, 12:23:40 PM6/23/04

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>Does anyone here remember a hand-held version of this (I forget the name),
>but
>I remember playing it in the early-to-mid 80s.
>

Well, there was a tabletop "Dungeons & Dragons" from Mattel Electronics, which
was vaguely Wumpus-like. I still have mine somewhere.

Dave Marron
(Remove name of my favorite band to reply - check them out at
http://www.blackvinyl.com/3shoes.htm)

"If at first you don't succeed...you're about normal."
- Alfred E. Neuman