Dracula (1986 video game)

Dracula
Dracula
Publisher	CRL Group
Designers	Rod Pike; Ian Ellery
Platforms	Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
Release	31st October 1986
Genre	Interactive fiction
Mode	Single-player

Dracula is a text adventure game by CRL released in 1986 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum home computers. The game is based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It was the first video game to be rated by the BBFC. The game received a 15 certificate.^[2]

Plot

An English lawyer travels to Carpathia to meet Count Dracula regarding a routine property transaction, but soon learns that his client has sinister ulterior intentions.

Gameplay

The game is a standard text adventure with static graphics in some locations. It is divided into three parts:

"First Night" - The young solicitor arrives in Count Dracula's country, staying at the Golden Krone Hotel; strange events are observed
"The Arrival" - After an eventful journey, he arrives at Dracula's castle, and soon learns the real nature of his host's intentions; he realizes that he must escape if he is to survive...
"The Hunt" - A psychiatrist at an insane asylum in England receives a strange letter from a friend on business overseas, warning of "boxes of earth" and the "undead"; meanwhile a patient at the asylum grows increasingly disturbed...^[3]

Certification

CRL's Clement Chambers stated that upon seeing the finished game he felt the "only responsible action was to seek legal advice".^[1] Dracula became the first game to be rated by the British Board of Film Censors, primarily for the text rather than the images, and received a "15" certificate.^[1]^[4] CRL expressed disappointment with this as they had hoped for an "18" certificate.^[5]

Legacy

CRL followed Dracula with three further adventures of a similar style, Frankenstein, Jack the Ripper and Wolfman, all of which also received BBFC ratings.^[6]

References

1 2 3 Greaney, Shaun (3 November 1986). "The software censor". South Wales Post. p. 13. Based on the book by Bram Stoker, Dracula was released on Hallowe'en. Although both a graphics and text adventure, it was primarily the horrific language of the text which caused the Board to make this unprecedented move. Mr Rod Pike, writer and programmer of Dracula, and, also a parent, alerted CRL to the fact that the program may be unsuitable for younger children. CRL's managing director Mr. Clement Chambers said: After seeing the finished game myself, I thought the only responsible action was to seek legal advice.
↑ Reed, Kristan (26 October 2007). "Bram Stoker's Dracula Review • Reviews • Retro •". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
↑ Game manual
↑ BBFC rating of Dracula Archived 6 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
↑ "Censored", Sinclair User, December 1986
↑ "Dracula unbound: The story behind the first 18 certificated video game". Eurogamer. March 2015.

External links

Dracula at MobyGames
Dracula at SpectrumComputing.co.uk
Dracula at Lemon 64
Dracula in the Interactive Fiction Database

[southwalespost-1] 1 2 3 Greaney, Shaun (3 November 1986). "The software censor". South Wales Post. p. 13. Based on the book by Bram Stoker, Dracula was released on Hallowe'en. Although both a graphics and text adventure, it was primarily the horrific language of the text which caused the Board to make this unprecedented move. Mr Rod Pike, writer and programmer of Dracula, and, also a parent, alerted CRL to the fact that the program may be unsuitable for younger children. CRL's managing director Mr. Clement Chambers said: After seeing the finished game myself, I thought the only responsible action was to seek legal advice.

[2] Reed, Kristan (26 October 2007). "Bram Stoker's Dracula Review • Reviews • Retro •". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 10 March 2014.

[3] Game manual

[4] BBFC rating of Dracula Archived 6 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine

[Sinclair_User_News-5] "Censored", Sinclair User, December 1986

[6] "Dracula unbound: The story behind the first 18 certificated video game". Eurogamer. March 2015.

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