Avalon (with the tagline The 3D Adventure Movie on the box cover) is an action-adventure game written by Steve Turner for the ZX Spectrum and published by Hewson Consultants in 1984.[1] Avalon was followed by a sequel in 1985, Dragontorc.[1]

Avalon
Cover art
Developer(s)Steve Turner
Publisher(s)Hewson Consultants
Designer(s)Steve Turner[1]
Platform(s)ZX Spectrum
Release
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

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Avalon is set in Britain in the year 408, during the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The player controls Maroc, a "lore-seeker" who has been given a staff and map by a strange old woman and pointed in the direction of a place called Glass Hill on the isle of Avalon, where a quest to defeat the Lord of Chaos begins.

The name "Avalon" is taken from King Arthur's legendary resting place, the isle of Avalon, while a figure named Avallach features in Welsh mythology. Other than this and the time period the game is set in, there is little connection to the Arthurian legend.

Gameplay

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Avalon involves controlling Maroc the mage in his quest to destroy Avelach, Lord of Chaos. The player's character cannot be killed. The game world is explored by an astral projection of Maroc; if Maroc's energy is depleted the projection returns to Maroc's "physical" body, from which the game can be continued.[2]

Reception

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The game was well received and attained numerous awards from critics.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. ^ a b "CRASH 10 – Avalon". www.crashonline.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  3. ^ Game review, Crash magazine, issue 10, November 1984, page 50
  4. ^ Game review, C+VG magazine, issue 37, November 1984, page 83
  5. ^ "Home Computing Weekly Magazine Issue 088". Retrieved 9 April 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Sinclair User Magazine Issue 032". 9 November 1984. Retrieved 9 April 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "Computer & Video Games - Issue 037 (1984-11)(EMAP Publishing)(GB)". 9 November 1984. Retrieved 9 April 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "Avalon". Eurogamer.net. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Personal Computer Games issue 83, page 12". archive.org. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  10. ^ "MicroHobby Magazine Issue 005" (PDF). Retrieved 9 April 2023 – via Internet Archive.
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  • Avalon at SpectrumComputing.co.uk