Uninvited (game)

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Uninvited
Uninvited box art for MS-DOS version.
Developer(s)	ICOM Simulations, Inc.
Publisher(s)	MindScape
Engine	MacVenture
Release date(s)	1986 (Mac) 1991 (NES) 1993 (Windows)
Genre(s)	Adventure game
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	Apple IIGS Commodore Amiga Atari ST Commodore 64 Apple Macintosh NES Famicom PC PocketPC
Input	Mouse Keyboard Joystick (C64)

Uninvited is a haunted house "point and click" adventure game originally for the Macintosh, released in 1986 by ICOM Simulations. The unnamed hero must find the way through an abandoned house in order to rescue a younger brother (older sister in the NES game). The quest involves magic and solving logical puzzles while discovering sinister secrets of the house's former inhabitants.

The game uses the MacVenture engine that was introduced in ICOM's previous game Deja Vu: a Nightmare Comes True. It is notable as the only MacVenture that takes place in the present day.

1 History
2 Gameplay
3 Trivia
4 NES alterations
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] History

A number of ports were made, including a version for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. Two years later a complete rewrite for Microsoft Windows was released. For some time it was claimed that there would be a sequel on the NES, but it never materialized. Employees at Infinite Ventures (maintainers of the MacVenture game series) indicate that no such game was ever planned.

[edit] Gameplay

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The player regains consciousness from a car crash in front of a large, old mansion. The younger brother is gone and the car is soon lost as it bursts into flames. The only option is to enter the house looking for the brother – and for help.

The main house consists of two floors (and a tower), most parts in early 20th-century style. Some rooms (e.g. the servant's bedroom) have newer decoration suggesting that a younger person lived in that particular place. No help is to be found, as there is not a single living soul inhabiting the house. It doesn't take long before one is greeted by the first undead dweller, however.

It gradually becomes evident that the house has served as a sorcerer's school of sorts, and that Dracan, the most talented student, turned to the evil side killing the other inhabitants and left behind a haunted house.

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

The quest to rescue the player's brother is mostly a question of gaining access to the locked-up or guarded parts of the estate. As in the other MacVenture games there is a time limit: in this case the evil presence of the mansion gradually takes control and the player may eventually end up a zombie. Since the story revolves largely around magic, many of the game puzzles seem illogical. Hints for these and bits of the background story is unraveled in the various diaries and scrolls found around the house. Still, because the gameplay is very non-linear its ending comes somewhat abruptly.

[edit] Trivia

The address on the envelope that contains the amulet indicates that the house is in Loch Ness, Scotland. However, a domestic car would have its steering wheel on the other side.

Self-reference: Examining the photograph in the hallway gives the following text: It looks like a still reproduced from F.W. Murnau's film, "Nosferatu." There seems to be a familiar face in the background. On closer examination it appears to be Dave Feldman, whose wit and insight was a valuable asset in the creation of "Uninvited."

In the original version the record player in the Rec room plays a digitized excerpt of Winchester Cathedral allegedly performed by Rudy Vallée, a song by The New Vaudeville Band referencing the early 20th century-theme of the game's environment. This however is an anachronism, as that song is in a 1920s style but recorded in 1966. The record is also mentioned to have a "MacNifty label", which is a reference to the audio recorder SoundCap marketed by MacNifty used to put the song sample in the game.

The peculiar (but common to adventure games) absence of toilets is noted in Dracan's bathroom: This bathroom is cold and dark. There is no toilet. Whoever lived here really did have a mysterious way of doing things.

In the maze behind the estate, one of the tombstones belongs to "Ace Harding", the hero of Deja Vu.

[edit] NES alterations

The hallway from the NES port of Uninvited.

As with the other NES MacVenture games, Uninvited had elements of the written narration and storyline altered. including these:

In the NES version, if you use the phonograph in the Game room (Rec room in original versions), you'll hear a broken-record version of the main theme from Shadowgate, another NES-ported game in the MacVenture series (A similar gag appears in another point and click game, Maniac Mansion).

As mentioned above, in the Nintendo version the sibling trapped in the mansion is changed from brother to sister.

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, the hallway picture mentioned above 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 had stringent policy nescessitating the removal of any remotely offensive material.^[1]^[2] Rather than create a new address, it was simply shortened to 'Master Crowley.' (This, in and of itself, was a Satanic reference, referring to black magic practitioner Aleister Crowley. Nintendo was unaware of this and allowed the name to remain in the game).