Swordquest: Земля, Огонь и Вода

Video game series

Swordquest is a series of video games originally produced by Atari, Inc. in the 1980s as part of a contest, consisting of three finished games, Earthworld, Fireworld and Waterworld (with these titles occasionally appearing on cartridge labels and boxes with capitalized central Ws, e. g. EarthWorld), and a planned fourth game, Airworld.

Each of the games came with a comic book that explained the plot, as well as containing part of the solution to a major puzzle that had to be solved to win the contest, with a series of prizes whose total value was $150,000. The series had its genesis as a possible sequel to Atari's groundbreaking 1979 title Adventure, but it developed mythology and a system of play that was unique. The comic books were produced by DC Comics, written by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, and drawn and inked by George Pérez and Dick Giordano. All three game box covers were illustrated by an Atari in house illustrator, Warren Chang. A special fan club offer was provided, allowing those who wanted the game to also get a T shirt and poster for each game. The discovered words would form a relevant phrase towards the larger contest. In at least two cases, for Earthworld and Fireworld, there were more clues indicated by the game than required to be submitted. Players also had to identify a second clue in the game's instruction manual (for Earthworld, indicating prime numbers to use only clues on prime numbered pages) to know which clues to send in. After defeating many beasts of the Zodiac and another thief (Herminus) in Earthworld, the twins are transported to the "central chamber" where the "Sword of Ultimate Sorcery" and the "Talisman of Penultimate Truth" are kept. Upon reaching them, the sword burns a hole through its altar all the way to Fireworld. In Fireworld, the twins split up to look for water, and Torr, with the aid of the talisman, summons Mentorr who shows Torr the "Chalice of Light," which will quench his thirst. The twins reunite eventually and find the chalice. However, Torr drops it after he is startled, and it is revealed that the one they found was not the true chalice. Herminus then gives them the chalice, and it grows until it becomes large enough to swallow the twins and transports them to Waterworld. Upon reaching Waterworld, the twins become separated. Konjuro casts a spell that causes the twins to lose their memories. Tarra travels to a ship made of ice and meets Cap'n Frost, who desires to find the "Crown of Life" and rule Waterworld. Meanwhile, Torr travels to an undersea kingdom and meets the city's ex queen Aquana, who desires to find the "Crown of Life" in order to regain her throne. After a brief war between the ex queen and captain, Herminus sets the twins to duel each other. They then pray to their deities for guidance, which summons Mentorr who allows them to regain their memories. The twins throw down their swords, causing the crown to be revealed and split in half. The halves are given to the ex queen and the captain, who then rule as equals. The "Sword of Ultimate Sorcery" then transports the twins to Airworld where they would have to do battle with King Tyrannus and Konjuro. While the comic for Airworld was started, the cancellation of the series left the comic unfinished. As Atari was owned by Warner Communications at this point, they were able to use two of Warner's subsidiaries to help with this contest. The games themselves were programmed by Tod Frye. To limit the number of entries, Waterworld was only made available to members of the Atari Club. During the contest period, in mid 1984, Atari was sold to Jack Tramiel, the owner of Commodore International. Tramiel, who had been more focused on the success of home computers than gaming consoles, placed the Atari divisions in a new company, Tramel Technology, and reviewed the state of all divisions, furthering the troubles in completing the Waterworld contest. Most who did enter the Waterworld contest were told they did not qualify for the final, but according to Vendel, Atari was legally required to follow through as advertised on the Waterworld contest. Vendel stated that Atari did secretly invite those with correct entries to hold the final round, and the Crown was awarded to a person, their name remaining anonymous due to legal requirements.

Each of the three released games shipped with a comic book, published jointly by Atari and DC Comics. The books included clues to solve the puzzles within each of the games.

In February 2017, Dynamite Entertainment announced a new comic book series, called Swordquest, but based on the actual contest around the three games, rather than the story within the games. It was a six issue series, starting with a special #0 "Preview" book that sold with a cover price of 25¢ and was published in May 2017. The remaining 5 issues, published monthly after the preview, sold at $3.99 each. In addition, Dynamite released a trade paperback that reprinted the three mini comics along with the mini comic for the game Yars' Revenge. As with the originals, the TPB is sized as a mini comic. The series featured the story of a person who had played the three Swordquest games (with help from two friends who were brother and sister) when he was younger and was anticipating Airworld. Now as an adult, he continues his efforts to play Airworld using his old Atari hardware, but is caught up with a mysterious figure who offers to help him obtain the real "Sword of Ultimate Sorcery" from its resting place in the World Arcade Museum. As well as being valuable, it may have its own mysterious powers. The man contacts his two childhood friends to accompany him on his new "Swordquest". The comic was written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims and had art by Scott Kowalchuk under the pseudonym "Ghostwriter X". A trade paperback reprint of all six issues, titled Swordquest: Realworld was released in February 2018.

Richard A. Edwards reviewed Swordquest: Earthworld in The Space Gamer No. 61. Edwards commented that "The only reason to purchase a copy of Swordquest: Earthworld is to try and solve the puzzle and win the prize. Gamers not interested in spending the time required should pass this one."

Both the novel Ready Player One and the film adaptation reference the Swordquest series.