Sorcerer of Siva - Automated Simulations / Epyx, 1981 - Apple II (4K)

A quick presentation of Sorcerer of Siva, published by Automated Simulations / Epyx, for the Apple II in 1981. By 1981, sweeping changes were on their way inside the Mountain View, California, offices of Automated Simulations. The company, which would soon abandon its nerdy, academic name for the slicker, more commercial branding of Epyx, found itself trapped in a bitter, existential tug-of-war. For the previous two years, its legendary Dunjonquest series, anchored by the massive commercial success of its 1979 flagship title, Temple of Apshai, had served as the undisputed gold standard for dungeon crawl role-playing games on early home computers. Co-founders Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman had successfully miniaturized the complex mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons, squeezing exploratory grid movement into something that could run reliably inside a modest household machine. Yet, as the industry entered the new decade, the early hacker summer-camp charm was rapidly wearing off, replaced by a cutthroat era of commercial competition. The small company was desperately trying to act like a serious corporate entity, all while the ground was quickly shifting. Sleek, advanced competitors like Ultima and Wizardry were about to burst onto the scene, utilizing fast machine code to render worlds that made Automated Simulations look dangerously obsolete.... Read the story on my blog: Dunjonquest: Sorcerer of Siva, the Thanksgiving walkout of 1981 https://retro365.blog/2026/07/05/dunj... Sorcerer of Siva presented players with a brutal challenge, imposing an uncompromising race against the clock. The exit door of the mines will close permanently at sunset, leaving players with exactly four in-game hours of real-time exploration to ascend through the chambers, locate the evil sorcerer, and escape. A repertoire of up to seven major spells, ranging from offensive fireballs and lightning bolts to teleportation and a command specifically designed to locate stairways. Actions like movement and casting deplete your energy, forcing players to monitor status indicators tracking health and fatigue. Enjoy, and for more retro gaming history, please visit my blog at https://www.retro365.blog, where I post new articles every month.