Games published by Windham Classics
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We provide a complete list of games published by this publisher.
Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland is a platform game based on Lewis Carrol's two Alice books and created with the same engine as Below the Root. However, while that game focused more on role-playing, Alice focuses more on puzzle solving.
The puzzles come in a variety of forms, including many inventory-based and, more appropriately given the theme, riddles. In addition, there are many physical puzzles that consist mainly of how to get from here to there by jumping and using inventory items to change Alice's size.
The plot is inspired more by the Alice books than its strict adaptation. Especially the game tries to adapt Carrol's sense of humor in his rhymes and puns. Interestingly, the ending of Alice's conversations is done by selecting emotions instead of writing words, and it is possible to anger NPCs and make them walk away, leaving you to wait until a pre-set time when they will reappear. The time can be discovered by looking at one of the various clocks in the game. The time is important because the game must be completed before the Red King wakes up, although this is not a big deal, especially since the game can be saved at any time and mistakes can be easily recovered.
Below The Root
Below The Root is based on Zilpha Keatley Snyder's fantasy book series 'The Green-Sky Trilogy'. Following the events of those books, the Kindar and Erdling societies have been united. However, unease and mistrust still linger. An old woman, D'ol Falla, has heard the words 'The Spirit fades, in the Darkness lies'. A quest proclaims, 'The Light is dying. ' Choosing one of five available people (of varying ages and Kindar or Erdling ancestry) who she believes can help, D'ol Falla assigns the quest to discover what these words mean and how to quell the racial and political tensions that are building between the races.
Below The Root is a platform adventure game. Choosing one of five characters (each very different from the other), the player explores the wooded lands of Erdling and the subway lands of the Kindar. As an adventure game, objectives are mainly achieved by talking to people (although each character is treated differently by the others) and finding the right items to use in specific situations, but there are also the challenges of level design in a platformer.
Each character can obtain different objects to help them move, as well as psychic abilities such as pensing (telepathy), kiniporting (telekinesis) and grunspreking (plant manipulation). Violence is abhorred among the Kindar and Erdling and violent actions tend to damage the player's reputation. The Kindar or Erdling factions can kidnap the player character if he wanders into the wrong areas, throwing him into a local 'prison house' from which he must escape. The player must constantly eat to conserve their energy, however Erdling characters do not eat meat.
Swiss Family Robinson
Swiss Family Robinson is a computer game based on the 1812 novel by Johann David Wyss. Players take the role of Fritz, the older brother of a Swiss family shipwrecked in the oceans of the East Indies on their way to Port Jackson, Australia.
As the game begins, your goal is to find a way off the ship, reach the deserted island and build a shelter to survive. Numerous challenges await Fritz, as he has to fend off tropical storms, hostile animals and the antics of his younger brother, Francis, which can sometimes hinder the player's progress.
Swiss Family Robinson is a classic-style text adventure game, in which basic word commands and phrases are used to talk to the family, perform actions, or accomplish objectives. As in most games of the era, you have to explore the details of the setting to find clues and objects to help you survive.
There are some 'help' features in the game to provide the player with additional information, such as a 'Help' key, a mapping/navigation system, and a 'Nature Guide' book containing detailed information about the flora and fauna of the island, as well as basic survival skills.
Treasure Island
Jim Hawkins is a young man working at the 'Admiral Benbow', his parents' inn. One day, a sea captain named Billy Bones takes a room at the inn and stays for several months. A blind man named Pew arrives and shows Billy something that causes him to have a heart attack. Jim witnesses everything and rushes to the captain's aid, who tells him about his sea chest and his relationship with Captain Flint, a famous pirate. After he dies, Jim takes the key hanging from the corpse and opens the dead captain's chest to collect the last payment. He finds a package inside and decides to take it to two aristocratic acquaintances of his, Dr. Livesey and Squire John Trelawney. They discover a diary and a treasure map, and decide to travel to the island in search of the loot.
Treasure Island is a text adventure, an adaptation of the classic 1883 novel of the same name by Robert Louis Stevenson. Unlike the book, the game is written in a second-person perspective. Otherwise, it follows the original storyline to the letter: the player assumes the role of Jim Hawkins, and has to perform the same actions as the character in the novel. This results in a more claustrophobic design, as players who don't know the book have to guess what to do next. To help alleviate that problem, other characters act as a sort of built-in hint system. The player can ask them about anything and they will give clues when available. The parser accepts most of the standard Infocom features, such as pronouns and string commands.
