Text adventures are hard to get into, if you don't know what you're doing. I admit this. You type something, the game says "I don't know how to do that." You type something else, the game says "I don't know how to do that either." You give up.
It's a common problem. The commands are actually very straightforward; but if you're not used to them, you won't figure them out by blind guessing.
So I decided to write a game that would solve that problem.
Of course, you can turn off the hints and the tutorials, and play The Dreamhold as a real game. The puzzles are not extremely difficult, but they should offer some challenge to both experienced players and newcomers. (If the challenge is insufficient, there's an "expert" mode which makes some of the puzzles harder.) There are also many optional bits to explore beyond the main storyline.
I've tried to create a game which rewards many species of adventurer: the inexperienced newcomer, the puzzle-hurdler, the casual tourist, the meticulous explorer, the wild experimenter, the seeker after nuances and implications.
A screenshot of the beginning of The Dreamhold -- running on MacOSX. (70k PNG image)
The Dreamhold is the winner of the 2004 XYZZYnews Awards for Best Puzzles and Best Use of Medium.
Play Dreamhold as a Java applet.
This is the full and complete version of the game. However, there is no way to save your game. (The Java applet does not have the ability to write save files.) Since The Dreamhold is a fairly large game, you probably will not finish it in one sitting.
Therefore, you will want to download the game and play it directly on your computer. Not only will this allow you to save your progress, it will look nicer. You can adjust the window size, customize the text font, and so on.
Download dreamhold-frotz.zip (860k zip file).
This package contains everything you need: the game file (dreamhold.z8) and the interpreter which runs it (WindowsFrotz2002). Extract everything, and then open the "dreamhold.z8" file with the "Frotz" application. (Or run the "Frotz" application, and select "dreamhold.z8" as the game to play.)
If you are interested in playing more interactive fiction, you should keep WindowsFrotz2002 around on your machine. It can run any game in the popular Z-code format, including Infocom's original text games.
Download dreamhold.z8 (387k Z-code file).
Then download the current version of Zoom. This is a Z-code interpreter, which you will need to play the game. Start up Zoom, select "Open...", and open the "dreamhold.z8" file. The game should begin running.
Download dreamhold.z8 (387k Z-code file).
Then download the current version of MaxZip. This is a Z-code interpreter, which you will need to play the game. Start up MaxZip, select "Import Z-code File...", and open the "dreamhold.z8" file. The game should begin running.
Download dreamhold.z8 (387k Z-code file).
Then download the current version of CliFrotz. This is a Z-code interpreter, which you will need to play the game. Start up CliFrotz and open the "dreamhold.z8" file. The game should begin running.
Download dreamhold.z8 (387k Z-code file).
This is the bare Z-code game file. If you already have a Z-code interpreter installed on your machine, use this link to download the "dreamhold.z8" file, and you can begin playing.
If you don't have a Z-code interpreter, you'll have to find one which runs on your computer. Frotz and ZIP have both been ported to many platforms.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, ignore this -- download one of the OS-specific packages above.
This is how it works: you type a simple command, hit the Enter key, and the game tells you what happens.
Since this is an introductory game, there is an extensive help system. Type "help" (and hit Enter) to begin reading it. There are lots of possible commands you can try, but the help system will start you off with the basics. Just follow the suggestions it gives you.
