The Coveted Mirror: Difference between revisions

The Coveted Mirror
The Coveted Mirror
Developer(s)	Eagle Berns; Holly Thomason
Publisher(s)	Penguin Software
Platform(s)	Apple II
Release	1983
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

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The Coveted Mirror is a graphic adventure for the Apple II published in 1983 by Penguin Software. It was created by Eagle Berns and Holly Thomason. A version with a more advanced text parser was released in 1986 and ported to additional systems.

Plot

The land of Starbury was taken over by Voar the evil. During his grasp for power, Voar tried to seize the magic mirror but broke it into five pieces; luckily, he was only able to grab four of the pieces. it is up to you, the hero, to find the fifth and final piece in order to break Voar's rule and save the people of Starbury.^[1]

Gameplay

The player types textual commands at the bottom of the screen below an image of the current location.^[2]

The Coveted Mirror involves frequent, timed escapes from the jail tower. Within a limited timeframe, indicated by an hourglass, the player must search the castle, find objects, and talk to people, and return to the cell by the time the jailer makes his rounds. This timed element adds another dimension to the exploration and puzzle solving.^[3]

The original release includes action sequences such as a jousting game and a fishing game. The later Comprehend version,^[4] released in 1986, replaces the two-word parser with a full-sentence parser, but replaced the action elements with puzzles.^[5]

Reception

Softline called The Coveted Mirror "a great balance of magic and mystery". The magazine liked the "intelligent" parser with built-in hints and the "remarkably well done yet nonviolent" arcade sequences, and concluded that it "is probably the best graphic adventure of the year".^[6]

Reviews

Games #51^[7]

References

^ "Penguin Software Inc".
^ "Adventure Games". Polarware Archive site. Polarware. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
^ Shapiro, Neil (April 1984). "The Evil King". Popular Mechanics magazine. p. 52. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
^ Maher, Jimmy. "Comprehend". The Digital Antiquarian. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
^ "The Comprehend Adventures". Polarware Archive site. Polarware. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
^ Pape, Jerry Jr. (Jan–Feb 1984). "The Coveted Mirror". Softline magazine. p. 53. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
^ "GAMES Magazine #51". May 1984.

External links

[1] "Penguin Software Inc".

[2] "Adventure Games". Polarware Archive site. Polarware. Retrieved July 27, 2017.

[3] Shapiro, Neil (April 1984). "The Evil King". Popular Mechanics magazine. p. 52. Retrieved July 27, 2017.

[4] Maher, Jimmy. "Comprehend". The Digital Antiquarian. Retrieved July 27, 2017.

[5] "The Comprehend Adventures". Polarware Archive site. Polarware. Retrieved July 27, 2017.

[pape19840102-6] Pape, Jerry Jr. (Jan–Feb 1984). "The Coveted Mirror". Softline magazine. p. 53. Retrieved July 27, 2017.

[7] "GAMES Magazine #51". May 1984.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|1983 video game}}
 {{Infobox video game
 | title = The Coveted Mirror
 | image = The Coveted Mirror Cover Art Apple II.jpg
 | alt = Coveted Mirror
-| caption = Apple II cover art
+| caption =
 | developer = Eagle Berns<br>Holly Thomason
 | publisher = [[Penguin Software]]
 | released = 1983
 | genre = [[Adventure game|Adventure]]
-| modes = [[Single player]]
+| modes = [[Single-player]]
-| platforms = [[Apple II series|Apple II]]
+| platforms = [[Apple II]]
 }}
-'''''The Coveted Mirror''''' was a [[Graphic adventure game|graphical text-based adventure game]] published for the [[Apple II series|Apple II]]. It was created by Eagle Berns and Holly Thomason and released by [[Penguin Software]] in 1983.<ref>Title Screen, ''The Coveted Mirror''</ref>
+'''''The Coveted Mirror''''' is a [[graphic adventure]] for the [[Apple II]] published in 1983 by [[Penguin Software]]. It was created by Eagle Berns and Holly Thomason.  A version with a more advanced text parser was released in 1986 and ported to additional systems.
 ==Plot==
@@ Line 18: / Line 19: @@
 ==Gameplay==
-[[File:Coveted mirror.jpg|left|thumb|163x163px|Screenshot of gameplay]]
+[[File:Coveted mirror.jpg|left|thumb|The interior of the prison tower with the command prompt below it.]]
-''The Coveted Mirror'' utilizes a [[text parser]], in which the player types commands to perform actions in the game.<ref>{{cite web
+The player types textual commands at the bottom of the screen below an image of the current location.<ref>{{cite web
  |url=http://graphicsmagician.com/polarware/adventures.htm
  |title=Adventure Games
@@ Line 25: / Line 27: @@
  |publisher=Polarware
  |access-date=July 27, 2017}}</ref>
-Additionally, part of the challenge of ''The Coveted Mirror'' involves frequent, timed escapes from the jail tower.  Within a limited timeframe, indicated by an hourglass, the player must search the castle, find objects, and talk to people and return to the cell by the time the jailer makes his rounds.  This timed element adds another dimension to the exploration and puzzle solving.<ref>{{cite web
+''The Coveted Mirror'' involves frequent, timed escapes from the jail tower.  Within a limited timeframe, indicated by an hourglass, the player must search the castle, find objects, and talk to people, and return to the cell by the time the jailer makes his rounds. This timed element adds another dimension to the exploration and puzzle solving.<ref>{{cite web
  |url=https://archive.org/stream/PopularMechanics1984/Popular_Mechanics_04_1984#page/n51/mode/2up
  |title=The Evil King
@@ Line 34: / Line 37: @@
  |page=52
  |access-date=July 27, 2017
+}}</ref>
-}}</ref> The original version also worked several arcade style scenes into the solution of the adventure, such as a jousting game and a fishing game. The later ''Comprehend'' version<ref>{{cite web
+The original release includes action sequences such as a jousting game and a fishing game. The later ''Comprehend'' version,<ref>{{cite web
  |url=http://www.filfre.net/2014/06/comprehend/
  |title=Comprehend
@@ Line 41: / Line 46: @@
  |publisher=The Digital Antiquarian
  |access-date=July 27, 2017
-}}</ref> released in 1986 replaced the two-word parser with a full-sentence parser and was released for more computer systems than the original Apple II version, but omitted the arcade-style scenes and replaced them with other puzzles.<ref>{{cite web
+}}</ref> released in 1986, replaces the two-word parser with a full-sentence parser, but replaced the action elements with puzzles.<ref>{{cite web
  |url=http://graphicsmagician.com/polarware/comprehend.htm
  |title=The Comprehend Adventures
@@ Line 62: / Line 67: @@
 ==Reviews==
-*''[[Games (magazine)|Games]]'' #51<ref>https://archive.org/details/games511984may/page/n57/mode/2up</ref>
+*''[[Games (magazine)|Games]]'' #51<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/games511984may/page/n57/mode/2up | title=GAMES Magazine #51 | date=May 1984 }}</ref>
 ==See also==
@@ Line 82: / Line 87: @@
 [[Category:Apple II games]]
 [[Category:Apple II-only games]]
-[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
 [[Category:Penguin Software games]]
 [[Category:Single-player video games]]
+[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]