Feasibility Experiment

The Good
In the Seventies, Willie Crowther wrote a game called Colossal Cave Adventure (a.k.a. Adventure) which requires the player to go on a treasure hunt inside a cave system and bring those treasures back to a certain spot in the game. Future adventure games took the same concept and built upon it, and one such example of this is Feasibility Experiment. This is game number five in the “Mysterious Adventures” series from Channel 8, which sees the player placed on an artificial world designed by an alien race, which is counting on you to bring treasures back to a certain location to ensure its survival.

To progress through the game, commands in the form of a verb-noun sequence must be entered, and movement between screens is done by entering the direction you want (eg: S for south). Besides collecting treasures, you also have to deal with many obstacles such as gladiators, lions, and dragons; and venture through an abandoned coal mine and an ice cave. A maximum of six treasures can be stored in your inventory; any more, and the game won’t let you take them.

Feasibility Experiment offers two modes. In Graphic mode, you see an impressive picture being drawn and colored in (similar to the original 1984 version of King’s Quest), then the prompt underneath that. For players who want a bit of nostalgia, a Text mode is available with a brief description of the scene, what objects and dangers are present, and the available exits. Out of these modes, I prefer Text not only because I am forced to use my imagination, but because I can navigate between a lot of scenes non-stop without seeing the game redraw each graphic (which can take up to ten seconds). However, I occasionally switch to Graphic mode so that I can check what each screen looks like if my imagination is wrong.

The Bad
At some point during the game, you have to kill a living thing before you progress. When users are in Graphic mode, it won’t be seen within the illustration, so unless they change to Text mode, they will have no idea of its presence and they will get frustrated when they find out that their way is blocked.

The Bottom Line
Feasibility Experiment is an early adventure game that mimics the style of Adventure from Willie Crowther. You are trying to find treasures and bring them back to a certain spot to ensure the survival of an alien race, while fending off several obstacles that block your progress. As usual, two-word commands are required to get through the game. It offers Graphic and Text modes, both having disadvantages. If you are into early adventure games, then Feasibility Experiment should be added to your collection.