History VideoGame / Adventure

** And then the bat might pick you up and ''carry you and all three dragons all over the map''.

** Unless you get lucky with the bat picking up said key.

** You can wiggle around after you've been eaten by a dragon. You can also grab items that happen to be very close to the dragon that's eaten you. Such as... ''the bat''. This allows you to see how the bat flies around and even disrupt his route if you need to make sure he doesn't get to a certain item before you reincarnate.
** You can enter the game selection screen by moving the joystick. There's nothing you can ''do'' in the room, however, except move around. The game selection number is an obstacle you can't move through, you can't exit through what looks like an exit at the bottom of the room, and you disappear if you advance the game selection number, though you can then enter the screen again.

* BlackoutBasement: The Catacombs leading to the White Castle and the interior of the Black Castle on difficulty levels 2 and 3. The entire screen is gray except for a yellow circle of light around your character and other sprites.

[=AtariAge=] created ''Epic Adventure'', an Atari 2600 game that [[http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2011/09/epic_adventure_mixes_classic_a.php makes the game more complex.]] There's also an UsefulNotes/Atari5200 homebrew sequel that was released.

* FanSequel: The homebrew ''Adventure II'' for the Atari 5200.

* HardModeMook: ''Adventure'' has three levels of difficulty. On level one, there is a green and a gold dragon. Level 2 introduces a bat who will steal items, though sometimes replacing them with others. Level 3 introduces a red dragon, who is faster, more aggressive, and will pursue for greater distances.

* UnitsNotToScale: Everything except the dot and the keys is bigger than you are, including the sword, chalice, magnet, and bat.

* UnwinnableByMistake: The bridge can get you stuck in walls or above a castle. Hit the Reset button. This is even mentioned in the manual. Also, the random placement of objects in game 3 sometimes places the Golden Key inside the locked Golden Castle, with no way to get to it.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''[[VideoGame/Atari2600Superman Superman]]'' was programmed after but released before ''VideoGame/{{Adventure}}'', so you can interpret either one as the other's successor.

[[quoteright:212:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AdventureDragon_8968.png]]
[[caption-width-right:212:HereThereBeDragons (or maybe ducks)]]

-->--[[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Strong Bad]] has no idea what to do in the game.

An UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} classic from 1979/1980,[[note]]1979, while most commonly cited, isn't actually certain; in fact, [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/history/history6.htm there is major evidence that it was released in 1980]][[/note]] ''Adventure'' is considered the {{Trope Maker|s}} for ActionAdventure games.

An [[EvilSorceror evil magician]] ([[TheGhost who never actually appears in the game]]) has stolen [[MacGuffin the Enchanted Chalice]] and [[ExcusePlot hidden it]] somewhere in the Kingdom. You have to find it and return it to the Golden Castle. Along the way, you will face three [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]], confusing [[TheMaze asymmetric mazes]], and a bat that steals your items. Your one-item inventory can include a sword, a bridge (for short-cutting the mazes), one of the keys to the three castles, a magnet (to attract other items, right through walls), the Chalice, a dot (for unlocking an EasterEgg), and, for short periods of time, the bat. The Kingdom consists of the Golden Castle (where you start), a maze leading to the Black Castle, a catacomb leading to the White Castle, and a few other rooms. Inside the Black and White castles are more mazes and catacombs.

[=AtariAge=] created ''Epic Adventure'', an Atari 2600 game that [[http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2011/09/epic_adventure_mixes_classic_a.php makes the game more complex.]] There's also an UsefulNotes/{{Atari 5200}} homebrew sequel that was released.

* BlackoutBasement: The catacombs leading to the White Castle and the interior of the Black Castle on difficulty levels 2 and 3. The entire screen is gray except for a yellow circle of light around your character and other sprites.

* EasterEgg: The [[TropeMakers Trope Maker]] and Trope Codifier, though ''not'' (as is commonly believed) the [[UrExample first ever]].

[[UsefulNotes/GraphicsRendering Sprite flicker]] plays a big part in the game, and is actually mentioned in the manual as a way to get through dead dragons if they're in the way. Sprite flicker is how you reach the Easter Egg; you bring the dot to one of the rooms with a force field wall, and it makes the force field flicker, so you can pass through it into a hidden room that says "Created by Warren Robinett." Creator/{{Atari}} [[UncreditedRole didn't credit its game developers]] at the time, so Warren snuck that in.

** Likewise, all the area names are in the manual. The blue maze leading to the Black Castle is the Blue Labyrinth, the limited-visibility maze leading to the White Castle is the Catacombs, the maze inside the White Castle is the Red Dungeon, and the maze inside the Black Castle is the Grey Dungeon. And your home castle is the Golden Castle, not the Gold Castle.

* BlackoutBasement: The catacombs.
* ChromaticArrangement: The dragons (if you substitute yellow for blue). Played straight with Indenture for DOS, where you have four coloured beasts after you.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The yellow dragon is called both Yorgle and Yorkle in the manual. (Though the latter only appears once and may be a typo)

* ExcusePlot: Find a MacGuffin and return it to your starting point. But it's what you do along the way that's the adventure.

* ControllableHelplessness: You can wiggle around after you've been eaten by a dragon. You can also grab items that happen to be very close to the dragon that's eaten you. Such as... ''the bat''. This allows you to see how the bat flies around and even disrupt his route if you need to make sure he doesn't get to a certain item before you reincarnate.

* EmptyRoomPsych: Several of them.

* HollywoodMagnetism: The Magnet can attract any object on a screen, regardless of proximity. In addition: if multiple objects are on the screen, the Magnet will only attract a single object (with the Keys getting top priority).

* InventoryManagementPuzzle: Can get pretty tricky with a one item inventory limit.

* LogicBomb: Easiest way to get rid of the bat? Give him the Golden Key, then drop him inside the Golden Castle, flying upwards and/or sideways, with no other items inside. The WrapAround walls and ceiling won't let him escape unless he moves downward, and with no items to distract him, he won't change direction on his own.

* MacGuffinGuardian: When the dragons aren't roaming around looking for you, they're usually guarding their favourite item.

* PacifistRun: Probably the [[TropeMakers first game where this was possible]].

* SoftReset: Used as an infinite lives feature.

** Or the bat can drop critical items where you can't reach them.

[[caption-width-right:212:HereThereBeDragons]]

* InsistantTerminology: In the manual, all the item and area names are ''always'' capitalized and very specific. For example, it's never just "the chalice", but "The Enchanted Chalice".

An [[EvilSorceror evil magician]] ([[TheGhost who never actually appears in the game]]) has stolen [[MacGuffin the Enchanted Chalice]] and [[ExcusePlot hidden it]] somewhere in the Kingdom. You have to find it and return it to the Gold Castle. Along the way, you will face three [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]], confusing [[TheMaze asymmetric mazes]], and a bat that steals your items. Your one-item inventory can include a sword, a bridge (for short-cutting the mazes), one of the keys to the three castles, a magnet (to attract other items, right through walls), the Chalice, a dot (for unlocking an EasterEgg), and, for short periods of time, the bat. The Kingdom consists of the Gold Castle (where you start), a maze leading to the Black Castle, a catacomb leading to the White Castle, and a few other rooms. Inside the Black and White castles are more mazes and catacombs.

The three dragons have different behaviors. Yorgle, the Yellow Dragon, is slow (moving half the speed of the player), and guards the Chalice. He's afraid of the Gold Key. ([[FridgeLogic Don't ask why.]]) Grundle, the Green Dragon moves at the same speed as Yorgle, and guards the Magnet, the Bridge, the Black Key, and the Chalice. Rhindle, the Red Dragon, is fast (moving at the same speed as the player, or twice as fast as Yorgle or Grundle), and guards the White Key and the Chalice. The Bat flies around the whole kingdom grabbing stuff. He has a one-item inventory too, so he's always exchanging what he has for what he wants, and he's especially interested in what you have. He can even grab your sword and hand you a dragon!

* HundredPercentCompletion: Of a sort. Winning is purely binary, but one can get the effect of a 100% run by collecting every item in the game, ''including the dragons and the bat'', and sticking them all in the Gold Castle. This is easiest with Dragon corpses, but it can be done with live ones.

* AllThereInTheManual: The plot, as well as the names of the dragons. And it's not entirely accurate or complete. The Green Dragon may have originally been named Grindle but was misspelled as Grundle, and it stuck. The bat would have been named Knubberrub, but this was left out and the bat is just called the Black Bat.
* ArtificialBrilliance: The three dragons are all very well programmed for their time, their AI which switch between either 'roaming' or 'guarding' depending on what items are, or are not present, and what you do, or do not decide to steal.

* ChromaticArrangement: The dragons (if you substitute yellow for blue). Played straight with Indenture for DOS where you have four coloured beasts after you.

* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: If you get stuck or eaten by a dragon, you can hit Reset and return to the Gold Castle. Everything will be right where you left it, but the dragons will be alive again.

* TheKeyIsBehindTheLock: On the hardest difficulty, the items are distributed in a kind-of-random manner, which occasionally results in the gold key being locked in the gold castle.
* LogicBomb: Easiest way to get rid of the bat? Give him the Gold Key, then drop him inside the Gold Castle, flying upwards and/or sideways, with no other items inside. The WrapAround walls and ceiling won't let him escape unless he moves downward, and with no items to distract him, he won't change direction on his own.

* TheMaze: Four very confusing asymmetrical mazes. Worse, two of them are darkened, only letting you see a small area around your character!

* SafeZoneHopeSpot: The Gold Castle (when unlocked) can be a sanctuary when you can't shake off the pursuing dragons. Though due to the unpredictable nature of the game's mode 3, one of the dragons [[UnsafeHaven may already be in there.]]

* SuperPersistentPredator: Rhindle the red dragon can be this when he's after you, especially if he spawns right outside the Gold Castle in mode 3, with you having no means to fight back or hide.

* UnwinnableByMistake: The bridge can get you stuck in walls or above a castle. Hit the Reset button. This is even mentioned in the manual. Also, the random placement of objects in game 3 sometimes places the gold key inside the locked gold castle, with no way to get to it.

* WideOpenSandbox: Possibly the {{Trope Maker|s}}. Starting from the Gold Castle, you can either go left towards the Black Castle or right towards the Catacombs and the White Castle. The game is about exploring the world, finding out what's where, and then figuring out what to do.

** Amusingly, the three of them will fight over ''who gets to eat you'' if more than one shows up after you lose to them.

[[UsefulNotes/GraphicsRendering Sprite flicker]] plays a big part in the game, and is actually mentioned in the manual as a way to get through dead dragons if they're in the way. Sprite flicker is how you reach the Easter Egg; you bring the dot to one of the rooms with a force field wall, and it makes the force field flicker, so you can pass through it into a hidden room that says "Created by Warren Robinett." Creator/{{Atari}} didn't credit its game developers at the time, so Warren snuck that in.

[=AtariAge=] created ''Epic Adventure'', an Atari 2600 game that [[http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2011/09/epic_adventure_mixes_classic_a.php makes the game more complex]]. There's also an UsefulNotes/{{Atari 5200}} homebrew sequel that was released.

An UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} classic from 1979/1980[[note]]1979, while most commonly cited, isn't actually certain; in fact, [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/history/history6.htm there is major evidence that it was released in 1980]][[/note]], ''Adventure'' is considered the {{Trope Maker|s}} for ActionAdventure games.