.gif)
Valhalla (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Valhalla was a ZX Spectrum
and Commodore 64
adventure game
published in 1983 by Legend
.
and Midgard
, though when your character died you would reappear in Hell
(Niflheim
under another name) and be able to walk out.
Within its limits, the text parser would understand multi-part sentences, so long as they were written using the words it understood, which (unlike in many other games) were helpfully listed in the manual.
The aim was to collect six mythical objects, for which you needed the help of other characters, who were taken from Norse mythology
and would wander around randomly. To help with this, your character had an alignment (between good and evil) that would change depending on which other characters you helped. Thus, the more you helped good characters, the more other good characters would help you.
Within the game world, characters would move about and interact independently without any action required from you. If you do nothing, the game will 'play' itself, with the characters moving about whilst you decide what to do.
Typing in a swear word would generate the message "Mary is not amused..." and a dwarf would dash onto the screen to punch the player. Mary could be found in El Vinos but killing her achieved little as she would return within a minute.
The game engine had a limit of eight objects that could be left in any one location, whether on the ground, in a chest, or in a cupboard. If the player dropped an object when the limit had been reached, a character called Klepto appeared to "Steal" the item, removing it from the game.
featured a drawing of a ceremonial helmet
from the 7th century found in an Anglo-Saxon
burial site at Sutton Hoo
, Suffolk
, UK
.
The second quest object (a ring) was called 'Drapnir', a reference to Odin
's ring Draupnir
.
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
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,...
published in 1983 by Legend
Legend (game publisher)
Legend was a video game publishing house also known as Microl/Legend, and earlier as simply Microl. Legend's chairman and founder was John Peel.- Partial list of published games :* 1983 Valhalla* 1984 The Great Space Race...
.
History
The publishing house Legend had earlier published titles under the Microl label. Legend's chairman and founder was John Peel. The developers were Richard Edwards, Graham Asher, Charles Goodwin, James Learmont and Andrew Owen. The original game was released in English for the Sinclair Spectrum 48K. The Movisoft graphics engine occupied 4K of the game footprint and used machine code, the rest of the game engine and parser was written in Sinclair BASIC. After its successful launch in the UK, it was then ported to the Commodore 64, with pirate editions appearing in Spanish.Gameplay
Valhalla is mostly text-based with some graphics showing the location and the characters there. It was set mainly in AsgardAsgard
In Norse religion, Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds and is the country or capital city of the Norse Gods surrounded by an incomplete wall attributed to a Hrimthurs riding the stallion Svadilfari, according to Gylfaginning. Valhalla is located within Asgard...
and Midgard
Midgard
Midgard is one of the Nine Worlds and is an old Germanic name for our world and is the home of Humans, with the literal meaning "middle enclosure".-Etymology:...
, though when your character died you would reappear in Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
(Niflheim
Niflheim
Niflheim is one of the Nine Worlds and is a location in Norse mythology which overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel...
under another name) and be able to walk out.
Within its limits, the text parser would understand multi-part sentences, so long as they were written using the words it understood, which (unlike in many other games) were helpfully listed in the manual.
The aim was to collect six mythical objects, for which you needed the help of other characters, who were taken from Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
and would wander around randomly. To help with this, your character had an alignment (between good and evil) that would change depending on which other characters you helped. Thus, the more you helped good characters, the more other good characters would help you.
Within the game world, characters would move about and interact independently without any action required from you. If you do nothing, the game will 'play' itself, with the characters moving about whilst you decide what to do.
Typing in a swear word would generate the message "Mary is not amused..." and a dwarf would dash onto the screen to punch the player. Mary could be found in El Vinos but killing her achieved little as she would return within a minute.
The game engine had a limit of eight objects that could be left in any one location, whether on the ground, in a chest, or in a cupboard. If the player dropped an object when the limit had been reached, a character called Klepto appeared to "Steal" the item, removing it from the game.
Cultural references
The cover of the game as well as the loading screenLoading screen
A loading screen is a picture shown by a computer program, often a video game, while the program is loading or initializing.-Loading times:Loading screens that disguise the length of time that a program takes to load were common when computer games were loaded from cassette tape, a process which...
featured a drawing of a ceremonial helmet
Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...
from the 7th century found in an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
burial site at Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo, near to Woodbridge, in the English county of Suffolk, is the site of two 6th and early 7th century cemeteries. One contained an undisturbed ship burial including a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance, now held in the British...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, UK
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...
.
The second quest object (a ring) was called 'Drapnir', a reference to Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
's ring Draupnir
Draupnir
In Norse mythology, Draupnir is a gold ring possessed by the god Odin with the ability to multiply itself: Every ninth night eight new rings 'drip' from Draupnir, each one of the same size and weight as the original....
.
External links
- Review from Sinclair User issue 23, February 1984; at Sinclair User Magazine Online