WITCH TRIAL for the Apple II

Introduction

Somewhere in medieval Middle England lies the small parish of Woodford. It's the year of the Lord 1641 and you have been accused of witchcraft. Can you prove your innocence to save you from the gallows?

Your mission is to explore the parish and collect items which are needed by the inhabitants of the village and return the items to them. If you solve all quests the hangman will let you go in peace.

System Requirements

  • Apple //e, //c, //c+ or //gs

  • 65C02 CPU

  • 128k RAM

  • Joystick or Mouse

  • Optional: Mockingboard (game soundtrack will play if available)

NOTE: On the Apple //gs, there is a conflict between the mouse port and Mockingboard for music. So, the music can only be enjoyed when the mouse is disabled and the Mockingboard is enabled on the //gs.

Thank you for supporting this software project! We hope you enjoy our game! However, if you do run into any problems or issues playing the game, please reach out and let us know!

A write-up about the game inspiration and the thought process when designing the game as well as a map can be found in the Shack members section.

Key Features

  • Apple ][ Double LORES adventure game with joystick/mouse and MockingBoard support

  • Point and click adventure with

    • Steerable pointer for interfacing with the navigation menu

    • Over 40 places to visit and fulfill quests, several NPCs to talk to

    • Changing quest goals during the course of the game after solving a certain amount of puzzles.

    • Hidden Easter Egg

    • Mockingboard soundtrack (if Mockingboard is available)

Game Control

The game requires a mouse or joystick to interact with the on-screen controls. 
When the game starts up a screen appears to choose Mouse or Joystick control. Type “M” or “J” to make your selection.

Joystick/Mouse

  • The cursor/pointer is controlled with joystick or mouse movement.  
    Hoover to the right of the screen to see the navigation menu.

  • Use button 0 (fire) on the joystick or the mouse button to select items (in navigation or in the scene)

Navigation Menu

  • Appears on the right when the cursor is moved to the right edge of the screen.
    Possible directions are denoted by blue blocks “N, S, E, W”.
    Click on the desired direction to move through the Parish of Woodford.

  • Within the scene, there exist items that are either visible or hidden that can be picked up.
    Note: you can only carry one item at a time. If you have picked up an item, you cannot drop it, you have to finish the task with that item first!

  • Inventory (“I” block)
    Click the block to see your current inventory or items currently being carried.

  • Talk (“T” block)

    • The block will appear when it is possible to talk to a villager or person in the scene (NPC).  It is encouraged that you speak to all NPCs when possible, as they will provide you with hints and tasks.

    • If have an item in your inventory that you want to give to a villager (to complete a task), click the “T” block to complete this action.  If the villager takes the item, then you inventory will be empty and you can not pick up another item.

Keyboard Commands

Key Action

S

 Toggle the soundtrack playback ON / OFF

Q

 Quit to the menu screen.  Restart or quit the game from the menu.

 

Known Limitations

  • Toggling the soundplayer with key <S> can freeze a IIc/IIc+!

  • Mockingboard music on an Apple IIc/IIc+ is only available when activating the Mockingboard first before you run the game. This is due to the fact that initially another function is bound to Slot #4 by the IIc/IIc+when the computer is turned on and the Mockingboard needs to be activated.

    • Power on your //c and press CTRL-RESET, and you should be brought to a “]” prompt

    • Issue the command (no-quote): CALL -151

    • At the “＊” prompt, type C403: FF FF and press RETURN

    • This will activate the Mockingboard.  Now press CTRL-B and hit return.

    • At the “]” prompt, issue the command “PR#6”. This will start (“boot”) the game.
      DO NOT POWER-OFF your computer, as that will undo your above work.

  • The mouse port interrupt conflicts with the Mockingboard interrupt on the Apple //gs hence music playback via the Mockingboard is only possible on the Apple //gs when choosing joystick control. If you choose mouse control then the game may hang at the first start. In that case please press RESET and restart the game via typing RUN from the command prompt. The game can then be played with mouse control and no soundtrack.

Need more help?

There is a book — that has been published and is sold on Amazon — the provides a complete walkthrough of the game. It is called “Witch Trial” written by Dan Henderson, Marc A. Golombeck, and Roby Sherman.

LINK: https://a.co/d/1qmXmiv