Topologika Software Ltd is a still-independent British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 publisher of educational software. Based in Brighton, the company was founded in 1983.

Many of its early products were interactive fiction

Interactive fiction

Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...

 adventure game

Adventure game

An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...

s taken on after Acornsoft

Acornsoft

Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers Ltd, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, they also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and utility packages - these included ROM-based word...

 was sold to Superior Software

Superior Software

Superior Software is a video game publisher. It was established in 1982 by Richard Hanson and John Dyson, two graduates of the University of Leeds, England...

 who only continued to release their arcade games. Two of its first releases were Countdown to Doom

Countdown to Doom

Countdown to Doom is a text adventure computer game, more recently termed interactive fiction, written in 1982 by Peter Killworth. Its setting is the planet Doomawangara, which is coyly said to be shortened to "Doom". There are two sequels, Return to Doom and Last Days of Doom.The game was first...

 and Philosopher's Quest, written by Peter Killworth

Peter Killworth

Professor Peter D. Killworth was an English scientist known for both his work on oceanography and the study of social networks. A prodigious writer, his published output exceeded 160 scientific papers over the course of his career...

. The versions produced by Topologika were large scale improvements upon the originals.

The complete list of adventure games produced by Topologika (excluding GiantKIller, Sellardore Tales and Stig of the Dump - see External links) was as follows:

• Acheton
• Avon
• Countdown to Doom
• Kingdom of Hamil
• Hezarin
• MURDAC
• Phillospher's Quest
• Return to Doom
• Spy Snatcher
• The Last Days of Doom

Topologika has itself now ceased publishing interactive fiction other than as an element of its ongoing and growing range of educational software which now includes Marshal Anderson's interactive fiction on CD and for VLEs (Sellardore Tales and Stig of the Dump) and Peter Killworth's maths adventure GiantKiller which is now available as a free download - see below.

External links

• Topologika's website
• List Of Topologika Adventures For The PC
• The classic (Maths-based) adventure GIANTKILLER by Peter Killworth - FREE download
• Info on Sellardore Tales
• Info on Stig of the Dump
• Stig and Sellardore's author

Topologika