Der Schatz im Silbersee (DOS)

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Description

Der Schatz im Silbersee is a graphic adventure game with an icon-based point-and-click interface.

Based on the novel Der Schatz im Silbersee by German author Karl May, this game let’s you join the wild west adventurers Old Firehand, chief Winnetou and Tante Droll on their way up the Arkansas River, through Utah to the Rocky Mountains. They’re searching for the famous treasure in Silver Lake, but they’re not the only ones: the unscrupulous Red Colonel and his band of tramps aren’t exactly eager to share...

You take control of Old Firehand, performing actions with a set of only three basic commands and a good deal of inventory management. The game features four episodes: the steamer Dogfish, the rafter’s camp, Butler’s farm, and the treasure hunt at the Silbersee. The Eagle’s Tail and Utah chapters of the novel, roughly one half of the book, are omitted. The cast is greatly reduced, too, with neither Old Shatterhand nor any of the companions appearing at all. Knowledge of the book will not give you any advantages, as all of the puzzles are original and often deviate strongly from the events in the novel.

You can find more information on Karl May and his books in the trivia and links sections.

Screenshots

Promo Images

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Part of the Following Groups

• Inspiration: Literature
• Setting: Western / Old West
• Software 2000 artventures

User Reviews

Someone needs scalping.

-Chris (7563)

Critic Reviews

ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	Jan, 1994	10 out of 12	83
PC Joker	Dec, 1993	74 out of 100	74
PC Joker	Mar, 1996	74 out of 100	74
PC Games (Germany)	Jan, 1994	68 out of 100	68
Play Time	Dec, 1993	68 out of 100	68
PC Player (Germany)	Jan, 1994	41 out of 100	41

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Trivia

Amiga version

An Amiga version was developed, but never released. However, there exists a demo version and at least one review by German gaming magazine Amiga Joker (74%).

Cancelled series

Der Schatz im Silbersee was the first and only game in Software 2000's Karl May Edition, which was planned as a series of Karl May adventures. The next episode, based on May's oriental novel Durch die Wüste, had been announced for spring 1994, but never even made it beyond the initial development stage.

Development

As the manual points out proudly, Der Schatz im Silbersee was created in cooperation with the Karl May Verlag, publisher of the Karl May books. The most obvious effect is that the game box is designed in the same style as the book cover, with the original artwork from the novel and the typical green-black ornaments. According to the manual, the publishing house also supervised the game's script to make sure it stayed true to the novel's spirit.

Karl May

Karl May (1842 - 1912) is Germany's best-known author of adventure novels. Most of his stories, collected in 75 books, take place in either the American wild west or the Near and Middle East. Told mainly from the perspective of his alter egos Old Shatterhand and Kara Ben Nemsi, May's novels also introduced now-famous characters like Winnetou, the noble chief of the Apaches, the westman Old Firehand, and Hadschi Halef Omar, the faithful Muslim.
May is praised for his elaborate, vivid language, a keen sense for situations and dialogue, and his sympathetic characters. Critics disdain his overt Christian moralism and repetitive plots. With his books in 38th edition and over 80 million copies sold, with dozens of movies based on his stories, Karl May remains the most popular German folk author.

Related Web Sites

• Amiga Joker review (A German review of the unreleased Amiga version)
• Karl May Gesellschaft (Read complete novels and secondary literature online. In German.)
• Karl May Museum (Contains biographical information and knowledge on American Indians. Both German and English.)
• Karl May Verlag (Homepage of the publishing house of the Karl May books. In German.)