Uninvited (video game)

Uninvited is a black-and-white horror-themed point-and-click adventure game. It was originally developed for the Macintosh by ICOM Simulations released in 1986 by Mindscape as part of the MacVenture series.

The following year, a color version of the game was released for the Amiga and Atari ST, and in 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Plot
An unseen man regains consciousness from a car crash in front of a tree. The man's sibling (a younger brother in the PC versions but an older sister in the NES version) is missing, and the car is soon destroyed, as it bursts into flames. Within sight from the wreckage lies an old mansion which the man enters out of curiosity. It is not long before the man is greeted by the first undead dweller.

It gradually becomes evident that the house once belonged to a sorcerer with a number of apprentices. Dracan, the most talented apprentice, became corrupt and killed the other inhabitants with his magic, resulting in the house becoming haunted.

Gameplay


The main house consists of two floors and a tower, most parts being in early 20th century style. Some rooms (e.g. the servant's bedroom) have newer decor. No help is to be found, as there is not a single living person inhabiting the house.

Aside from the house, there are three backyard buildings to explore: the observatory, where some of the final events take place; the greenhouse, which is not as infertile as it first seems; and the chapel, which leads into a cemetery maze. Several places are guarded by magical creatures, including apparitions, hellhounds, and zombies, as well as some more unconventional entities; one is a tiny demon that flies by periodically, holding a key.

There is also an art gallery room hidden in the house. To access the room, the player has to collect two lamps from a fireplace, and click on an odd dot on a painting in a study room. The player will then be teleported to a room containing paintings and sculptures. A door in the art gallery room brings the player to the hall of the observatory. Accessing the art gallery is possible in all versions of Uninvited except those on the Commodore 64 and NES.

The quest to find the man’s sibling is mostly a matter of gaining access to the locked or guarded parts of the estate. As in the other MacVenture games, there is a time limit. But unlike a regular time limit that is based on seconds or minutes, the time limit in Uninvited is based on moves (a move is defined as either speaking to a character, entering a room, observing an object, or using an item). If the player runs out of moves, the evil spell of the mansion takes control, and the player eventually ends up as a zombie. This element is partially absent from the NES version, as it is instead caused by a forbidden item when collected. Since the story largely revolves around magic, many of the game's puzzles seem illogical. Hints for these and bits of the background story are unraveled in the various diaries and scrolls found within the grounds. Still, because the gameplay is very non-linear, the ending is somewhat abrupt.

Ports
The game was ported to the Atari ST, Amiga, and MS-DOS in 1987. It was ported to the Apple IIGS in 1988, the Commodore 64 in 1989, and the NES in 1991.

In 1993, an enhanced version of the game was released for Windows 3.1x.

NES version
As with the other NES MacVenture games, Uninvited, known in Japan as Akuma no Shōtaijō (悪魔の招待状), added music, and elements of the written narration and storyline were altered, including:
 * In the NES version, if the player uses the phonograph in the Game room (Rec room in original versions), a broken-record version of the main theme from Shadowgate, another NES-ported game in the MacVenture series, will play. (A similar gag appears in another point-and-click game, Maniac Mansion).
 * The sibling trapped in the mansion is changed from a younger brother to an older sister in the NES version.
 * The NES version has no time limit unless the player picks up the ruby in one of the bedrooms. Even then, the player can drop the ruby to terminate the time limit.
 * As with the other NES ports, the game texts were severely simplified, in some cases also adding hints or elucidations for the gameplay. As an example, a hallway picture reads as follows in the NES version: "It's a small, [sic] painting of a young fellow."
 * In the original game, the address was, "Master Crowley, 666 Blackwell Road, Loch Ness, Scotland". However, at the time the game was released, Nintendo of America had stringent policy necessitating the removal of any remotely offensive material. Rather than create a new address, it was simply shortened to "Master Crowley". This is likely a reference to occultist Aleister Crowley, but Nintendo (perhaps unknowingly) allowed the name to remain in the game. Other changes that may relate to censorship issues are pentagrams turned into stars (or, in one case, a ruby) and a cross into a chalice (while another cross that only served as decoration was removed altogether).
 * Beyond the game texts being simplified for the NES port, some of the death texts were edited or altered due to their rather graphic descriptions.
 * When performing magic, instead of the typing magic words on a keyboard, the player simply has to scroll through his/her inventory before selecting the words.

The NES version was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in a package called "8-Bit Adventure Anthology", also released on PC on Steam

Reception
Macworld reviewed the Macintosh version of Uninvited positively, praising its "delightfully sarcastic commentary", "skillfully drawn and plentiful" graphics, and "intriguing and challenging plot", while noting that the puzzles were at times frustratingly difficult. Macworld felt Univited surpassed the previous MacVentures title Déjà Vu in the use of digitized sounds. The 1987 Macworld Game Hall of Fame noted that Uninvited maintained Déjà Vu's "graphic excellence and attention to detail&mdash;if not plot originality". German magazine Data Welt praised the Amiga version's user-friendliness, good graphics and particularly the atmospheric sound, calling the game (translated): "excellent" and "even better than Deja Vu". Computer Gaming World found the game to be enjoyable and innovative, praising the game's use of graphics and almost exclusive use of the mouse as a way of eliminating frustration. As such, the game was described as "much easier to work with than pure text or text and graphic adventure games." Dragon complimented the game, calling it "a truly horrifying adventure game and mystery that’ll leave you shivering in the dark". Compute! liked Uninvited's "fluid interface, solid logical puzzles, and something's-around-the-corner feel". Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine gave the Windows version 8 out of 10.

Reviews

 * Jeux & Stratégie #47

Trivia

 * Blackwell Road is an existing road in the Scottish village Culloden and approximately 12 mi from Loch Ness.