The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library

CASTLE FRANKENSTEIN

 

 

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

 

Game Alias          : EPIC ADVENTURES #1

Game Type          : Text Adventure

Author             : Melvyn E. Wright & Dave M. Johnson

Standalone Release(s)   : 1984: CASTLE FRANKENSTEIN, Epic, £3.99

Compilation Release(s)   : None

Stated compatibility    : Electron

Actual compatibility    : Electron

Supplier            : EPIC, 10 Gladstone Street, Kibworth Beauchamp, LEICESTER

                    LE8 0HL

Disc compatibility     : ADFS 1D00, CDFS 1D00, DFS 1D00

 

 

Instructions

EPIC adventures are full-scale machine code adventure games. Sophisticated compression techniques have been used to provide a large number of locations and puzzles in each game. The adventures take place in a fantasy world which you must explore in order to find the solution to each game. You will require a combination of cunning, logic and magic, not only to complete your task but even to remain alive.

 

Each game is played by typing ordinary English sentences into the computer, which responds by describing your surroundings and telling you what is happening. Full playing instructions are included in each game.

 

Each adventure has the following features:-

 

Approximately 230 fully described locations, ultra-fast response, fast save of partially completed game on tape, scoring, disk compatible.

 

CASTLE FRANKENSTEIN is a full-scale adventure in which you have to explore the ruins and grounds of Castle Frankenstein in order to find and destroy the Monster which he has created.

 

It is nearly twenty years since the Frankenstein Monster was last seen or heard of. He is thought to have been destroyed in a fire at the Castle, but recently a series of unsolved murders has taken place in the nearby village, and the people fear that the Monster is on the loose again.

 

They have chosen you as the one to put an end to the curse that has plagued them ever since Dr Frankenstein brought his hideous creation to life.

 

Are you brave enough to explore the Castle, with its many dark tunnels and secret passages, and search for the Monster?

 

Playing Instructions

Commands may be entered in the form of complete sentences. It is usually only necessary to enter the first two or three letters of most words, but if this doesn't produce the expected result, retype in full.

 

The program has a vocabulary of approx. 140 words and it is part of the game to discover what these are. However, some words that you will need to know are listed below. Most of them have single letter input.

 

NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, UP, DOWN, IN, OUT

TAKE - To pick up an object

DROP - To drop an object

INVENTORY - To list your possessions

LOOK - To describe your surroundings

SCORE - To obtain your score

SAVE - To save the current game on tape

LOAD - To load back a SAVEd game

QUIT - To end the current game

 

During the game you will need to use a lamp. Use the words ON and OFF to work the lamp.

 

Helpsheet

This is an alphabetical list of all the locations, objects, characters and items referred to in CASTLE FRANKENSTEIN. The location and purpose of each item is given, and the information provided in one entry will usually lead you to other items in the list. If you cannot find the word you are looking for, it probably plays no significant part in the game.

 

It is up to you how you use these clues. You may want to read through them as you play the adventure, or you may prefer to use them only if you get stuck. In this case, a fair amount of will-power will be required to avoid reading entries that you do not wish to see!

 

Due to our policy of continually improving our produces, there may be minor differences in detail between these clues and your version of the game.

 

ALCOVE: Underneath the castle kitchen. See Table.

ALE: See Barrels of Ale.

ANNEX:  Next to the library.

BARRELS OF ALE: In the inn storeroom. You cannot open these.

BATTLEMENTS: On the roof of the castle, above the collapsed wall.

BEER BOTTLE: See Bottles.

BELL: On the back of the shop door. Not used.

BLIND MAN'S CABIN: See Cabin.

BOOK: See Notebook.

BOTTLES: BEER: In the inn storeroom. Use this to carry water. See Waterfall. You may empty this anywhere or drink from it.

        OF CHEMICALS: In the equipment storeroom. Not used.

BOTTOMLESS CHASM: See Chasm.

BOW: See Violin Bow.

BRIDGE: See Rope Bridge.

BUILDING: See Laboratory.

CABIN:  In the clearing south of the narrow path. Enter it.

CAN OF PARAFFIN:  In the cabin. See Lamp.

CASTLE: On top of the mountain.

CAVE: At the bottom of the stone steps underneath the experiments room.

CELL: See Dungeon.

CELLAR:   Underneath the inn.

CHAINS: In the experiments room. Not used, but see Scoring.

CHAIRS: In the library. Not used.

CHAMBERS, STONE: See Stone Chambers.

CHASM:  Out of bounds. As is the large hole leading into a room on the next floor.

CHEMICALS: See Bottles.

CLEARINGS: North of the forest.

           Next to the cabin.

CLOAKROOM: Off the entrance hall.

COBWEBS: In various locations. For atmosphere only.

COFFIN: In the disturbed grave. Use the spade to dig it out. Open it.

COIL OF ROPE: See Rope.

COIN: In the coffin. See Shop.

COLLAPSED WALL: In the castle. You cannot get past here. Climb the rubble.

COOKER: In cabin. Not used.

CORRIDOR: See Tight Corridor.

CRUMBLY ROCKS: See Narrow Ledge.

CRYSTALS: See Flask.

DARK TUNNEL: Underneath the inn. Emerges at the base of the waterfall.

DEEP PIT: See Pit.

DESK: See Writing Desk.

DINING ROOM: Off the entrance hall.

DISTURBED GRAVE:  In the graveyard. Dig here with the spade.

DOORS:  CABIN:  To the east of the cabin. Enter it.

       STONE:  See Rings.

       TRAP: In the inn storeroom. Open it.

       WOODEN:  At the back of the castle. Use the key to unlock it, and the metal rod to prise it free, then open it.

DUBIOUS PASSAGE:  You can negotiate this OK.

DUNGEON: Underneath the castle kitchen.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT:  In the laboratory. For atmosphere only.

ENTRANCE HALL: Behind the ring-stone in the castle wall.

ENTRANCES AT WATERFALL: See Waterfall.

EQUIPMENT STOREROOM: See Storerooms.

EXPERIMENTS ROOM: Off the laboratory. See Rings.

FIREPLACE: In the cabin. Not used.

FLASK:  In the equipment storeroom. This holds the pink crystals. Pour the water from the bottle to form the pink solution. You will need this to revive the monster.

FOOD: In the castle kitchen. You can eat this if you are really hungry! You must place this on the floor before pulling the ring in the sulphur pit.

FOOTHOLES: Behind the waterfall. See Shallow Recess.

FOOTPRINTS: Outside the cabin. These were left by the monster when he visited the blind man.

FOREST: North of the village road, between the village and the mountain.

FRANKENSTEIN'S: LABORATORY: See Laboratory.

               MONSTER: See Monster.

               NOTEBOOK: See Notebook.

FUMES: Wear the gas mask to protect you from the sulphur fumes.

GAS MASK: At the top of the waterfall. Wear it, see Sulphur Pit, Scoring.

GENERATOR: See Wimshurst Generator.

GRAVE:  See Disturbed Grave.

GRAVEYARD: Lies between the mountain path and the castle.

GUN: See Shotgun.

HALL: See Entrance Hall.

HAMMER: In the alcove. Use this to knock the rod into the ground at the top of the steps underneath the experiments room. See Rope, Scoring.

HAT: See Tin Hat.

HOLE IN WALL: See Chasm.

HORN: Ygor blows this to exert power over the monster. It is no use to you.

INN: East end of village. The adventure starts here and you must return here to finish the game.

INSTRUMENTS: See Musical Instruments.

IRON KEY: See Key.

KEY: At the bottom of the waterfall. See Wooden Door, Scoring.

KITCHEN: There are two: One in the cabin, and the other off the entrance hall in the castle.

KITCHEN EQUIPMENT: In cabin. Not used.

KNIFE:  In the dining room. Throw this at Ygor to kill him. Use it to cut the rope bridge.

LABORATORY:  Across the rocks just outside the library. Cross the rope bridge to get to it. See Operating Table.

LAMP: In the forest. Before you can light this, you must be carrying the paraffin and the match. You will need it to see in the dark, although no harm will come to you if you do not have it. The lamp cannot be refilled once it has run out.

LANDING: Above the entrance hall.

LEDGE: See Narrow Ledge.

LEVER: See Rod.

LIBRARY: Off the landing.

LIVING ROOM: In the cabin.

LOOSE STONES: On the mountain path. You will eventually fall into the pit if you proceed, but there is a way out.

LOW PASSAGE: At the top of the narrow steps, inside the mountain. Use the spade to dig your way out of here.

MAN IN CABIN: Attacked by the monster. You cannot do anything with him (except pay your last respects!).

MAP: In the shop. No use, although you can read it. (You didn't think  we'd make it that easy, did you?!) See Scoring.

MASK: See Gas Mask.

MATCH: In the inn. Use this to light the lamp. See Lamp, Scoring.

MEDICAL SUPPLIES: In the equipment storeroom. Not used.

METAL: RINGS: See Rings.

       ROD: See Rod.

       MONSTER: He is initially at the bottom of the sulphur pit (See Rings). He follows you when you meet him. You must revive him during the game, using the pink solution and the winhurst generator (Read the Notebook). See Rope Bridge for how to kill him. See also Ygor, Food, Stone with Ring, Reviving the Monster.

MOUNTAIN: North of the forest.

          PATH: Winds up the mountain side. Half-way up, it split into two. Up leads to the pit. East leads to the graveyard.

          TRACK:  Runs east-west at the base of the mountain. You cannot pass the vegetation at the east end.

MUSIC ROOM: Off the landing.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: In the music room. Not used.

NARROW:   LEDGE: Above the sulphur pit. Be careful here, a wrong move could be fatal. The ridge is only passable from east to west.

        PATH: Leads from the base of the mountain to the cabin.

        TUNNELS: These lead to the waterfall.

NOTEBOOK: In the library. Read it for information.

OPERATING TABLE: See Tables.

PARAFFIN: See Can.

PASSAGE: See Long, Winding or Dubious.

PATH: MOUNTAIN: See Mountain Path.

      NARROW: See Narrow Path.

PINK: CRYSTALS: See Flask.

      SOLUTION: See Flask.

PIT: Up the mountain path. You can get out of here along the narrow tunnel leading to the top of the waterfall. See also Sulphur Pit.

RATS: In the dungeon. For atmosphere only.

RECESS: See Shallow Recess.

RESURRECTION: If you get killed, you can choose to be resurrected up to a maximum of three times. You will lose points for this which you cannot regain, so you are advised to load back a saved position whenever possible, instead of opting for  resurrection.

REVIVING THE MONSTER:  During the game you will need to revive the monster in order to enable him to assist you. Do this in the laboratory. The notebook gives more  information. See also Monster, Ring near the Experiments Room, Wimshurst Generator, Flask.

RINGS:  IN THE ANNEX: Pull it.

       NEAR THE EXPERIMENTS ROOM:   You must lift this stone but will need the assistance of the revived monster to do it.

       AT THE TOP OF THE PILE OF STONES: Pull it.

       IN NARROW TUNNEL: Don't pull it!

       ON THE STEEP SLOPE: Pull it.

       IN STONE CHAMBER: Pull it.

       ON THE STONE STEPS: Tie the rope to it.

       AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SULPHUR PIT: Pull it. (But see Food and Ygor.)

ROAD: Runs east-west through the village.

ROD: In the small storeroom. See Wooden Door, Hammer, Rope, Scoring.

ROOM, SMALL:  See Small Room.

ROPE: In the cloakroom. Tie this to the metal rod to descend the steps underneath the experiments room. See Scoring.

ROPE BRIDGE: This spans the rocks leading from the library to the laboratory. Cross it. You can cut it with the knife. If you do this whilst the monster is still standing on it he will fall to the rocks.

SCORING: Apart from scoring points for solving the various puzzles etc, you will also score points for picking up the following objects: Violin, bow, key, gas mask, rod, rope, hammer, generator, chains, match, spade, map, sword, shotgun, tin hat. Note that you do not need all of these objects in order to complete the game.

SERIES OF TUNNELS: These lead from the cave to the waterfall.

SHALLOW RECESS: You end up here after jumping into the water at the top of the waterfall. Go down to the footholes.

SHOP: On the village road. Enter it. You will need a coin to buy anything.

SHOPKEEPER: In the shop. You cannot do anything with him.

SHOTGUN: In the shop. Not used, but see Scoring.

SLOPE: See Steep Slope.

SMALL ROOM: Around the back of the castle, at the top of the pile of stones.

SPADE: In the graveyard, north of the disturbed grave. See Disturbed Grave, Coffin, Low Passage, Scoring.

SPOON: In the dining room. Not used.

STAIRCASE: See Steps.

STEEP SLOPE: Leads up the side of the castle. If Ygor is alive, he will throw rocks on your head! Wear the tin hat.

STEPS:  NARROW: Lead up from the opening tunnel.

       PIT: Lead down from the narrow ledge into the sulphur pit.

       STONE:  1) Underneath the inn storeroom.

              2) Underneath the experiments room. See Rope. The monster will kill you if you try to descend these with him present. You must kill him first. See Monster.

       WOODEN: Off the entrance hall.

STONE:  CHAMBERS: There are two: One next to the cellar, the other next to the pit.

       DUNGEON: See Dungeon.

       STEPS: See Steps.

STONE WITH RING: Near the experiments room. See Rings.

STONES:   LOOSE: See Loose Stones.

        PILE OF: Round the back of the castle. Climb these.

STOREROOMS:  EQUIPMENT: Off the laboratory.

            INN: Inside the inn.

            SMALL: Off the small room.

STRANGE NOISE: At the bottom of the sulphur pit. See Ygor.

STUDY:  Off the landing.

SULPHUR PIT: You will need the gas mask to protect you from the fumes. See also Rings.

TABLES:   IN THE CASTLE KITCHEN: Move or push it.

        IN THE DINING ROOM: Not used.

        IN THE LIBRARY: Not used.

        OPERATING:  In the laboratory. Although you do not need to do anything with it, it is used to revive then monster.

TIGHT CORRIDOR: On the ground floor of the castle, leading to the winding passage.

TIN HAT: In the shop. See Steep Slope, Shop, Scoring.

TOMBSTONES: In the graveyard. For atmosphere only.

TRACK, MOUNTAIN: See Mountain Track.

TRAP DOOR: See Doors.

TREES: In the forest. You do not need to climb them.

TUNNELS: DARK: See Dark Tunnel.

        ENTRANCES: See Waterfall.

        NARROW: See Narrow Tunnels.

        SERIES OF: See Series of Tunnels.

VEGETATION: At the east end of the mountain track. You cannot get past this.

VILLAGE: You start the game here.

VIOLIN: In the cabin. Not used, but see Scoring.

VIOLIN BOW: In the music room. Not used, but see Scoring.

WATER: You will need this to make a solution from the pink crystals. See Bottle, Flask.

WATERFALL: There are three tunnels which emerge here. Two at the top and one at the bottom. Access to one of the top tunnels is gained by falling down the pit. You cannot pass directly between any of the tunnel entrances, although you may jump into the water at one of them. You may drink or fill the bottle at two of these entrances.

WIMSHURST GENERATOR: In the equipment storeroom. This is an early device consisting of two spinning disks, for generating very large voltages. Operate it to revive the monster. See Scoring.

WINDING PASSAGE: Leads down to the sulphur pit.

WOODEN:   DOOR: See Doors.

        STAIRCASE: See Steps.

WRITING DESK: In the study. Not used.

YGOR: He stands guard on the castle battlements, and will throw rocks at you (see Steep Slope). He also controls the monster, (see Horn). You must kill him (see Knife) before pulling the ring in the sulphur pit. If the monster sees Ygor dead, he turns nasty!

 

 

Instructions' Source       :  CASTLE FRANKENSTEIN (Epic) Inlay and Hint Sheet

 

Review (Electron User)

CASTLE FRANKENSTEIN is a text adventure originally written for the BBC Micro and has now been converted to run on the Electron. The plot centres around Frankenstein's monster. Originally he was thought to have perished in a fire 20 years ago. But now, because of unsolved murders in the area, there's a growing suspicion that he's alive and well and intent on vengeance. The villagers have elected you to be their champion, and your task is to find and destroy the monster.

To help you the cassette comes with an insert which gives general information about the game. Something I found rather strange about this insert was a claim that the tape was disc compatible. I suspect this was intended for the BBC rather than the Electron. However it probably won't be long before the Electron has discs, so curiosity made me try putting the tape onto a friends BBC Micro with discs. I found you could not use it on disc without using a routine to move it down in memory. Even then the save-game option would only work with cassette. I would be interested to know if the same is true of the BBC version.

On loading the program presents instructions and background information. Then begins one of the best all-round adventures I have ever seen for the Electron.

I will not reveal anything about the actual playing of the game. That's a pleasure I'll let you experience for yourself. Whoever wrote this program has an extremely devious mind, and makes you work very hard for each piece of progress. Yet, at the same time, he allows you to roam quite a distance before presenting you with puzzles to solve. This, I feel, is the proper way to write an adventure.

The beginner has lots of locations to explore to get the feel of the game, but the more experienced adventurer can go through them rapidly to reach the puzzles.

There were a few minor things I wasn't happy with. For instance, there's no on-screen indication of exits. But I've probably just got into lazy habits with other adventures. The program itself responds very quickly to keyboard input, and the save-game facility - which is an absolute necessity - is very fast.

Overall, an extremely good adventure and excellent value for money.

Merlin, ELECTRON USER 1. 7