While sorting my files on my hard disk, I came across an archive containing several BASIC adventure games adapted for the Amstrad CPC 464. I couldn’t remember from which website I had downloaded them.
One game caught my eye; Nosferatu by Mike Taylor, which was published and even marketed in 1982. The programme was originally developed for the Commodore VIC-20.
Wait a minute; there is no Applesoft / Apple II port? Indeed, this is lacking, and the purpose of this article is to present a playable version for the Apple II computer.
APPLESOFT VERSION
You can find background and ressources related to Nosferatu on Mike Taylor’s website, such as history of the game, maps, solution, BASIC source code for VIC-20, and the Amstrad CPC464 port I’ve mentionned before.
The port to Applesoft BASIC was not that difficult since there is no graphic instruction. I started from the Amstrad version (Locomotiv BASIC) and made the following changes:
- Rename all instructions and variable names in capital letters (Applesoft doesn’t understand lowercase letters)
- Add a subroutine (
line 20000) to convert strings to lowercase letters, otherwise the programme would not understand the player’s commands - Add an nice introduction with animated ASCII art (
line 21000) - Move parser subroutine to the end of the programme (
line 22000) - Rename variable I to LO (as LOcation) since I is commonly reserved for loops.
You can download the Applesoft port herafter:
The Game
Next thing to do is to start this adventure with your Apple II, or an Apple II emulator. If you find the game too difficult, you can cheat and find a map and the solution on this document.