World Builder

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World Builder
Developed by	Silicon Beach Software
Latest release	1.2 / 1995
OS	System 3
Genre	Adventure game authoring
License	Freeware
Website	http://we.got.net/~mapman/wb/

World Builder is an authoring system for point-and-click adventure games, probably the first of its kind. It was released in 1986 by Silicon Beach Software and had already been used for creating Enchanted Scepters in 1984. On August 7, 1995 developer William C. Appleton released World Builder as freeware.

The World Builder games are not genuine point-and-click adventures as associated with the MacVenture or LucasArts adventure games: there are no verb-noun combinations, just clicking to perform one predetermined action such as "pick up", "fight" or "open". Any other actions are carried out in written commands.

The map is organized in compass directions and up/down as was common in earlier interactive fiction. Characters can be defined to move around independently and interacted with. There is also a special provision for weapons, which have a stochastic impact just as the dice of role-playing games. One idiosyncratic feature is the "search" verb, which has to be done manually for each location and can reveal several items in a seemingly empty room. This is used to parodic effect in the game Schmoozer, where the player can find a complete band instrumentation by searching the empty garage.

The game system includes QuickDraw vector graphics, a scripting language and digitized sound. A large number of games were made and released in circulation, many after the application was made freeware in 1995.

As of April 2007, the program is no longer hosted on its own page, with the creator citing the discontinuing of "Classic" mode by newest Macintosh computers.

[edit] Version release history

1.0 (1986)
- Initial release

1.1 (1986)
- Fixed possible crash when setting certain attributes of magic objects

1.2 (August 7, 1995)
- 32-bit clean (Ray Dunakin)
- New Finder resources (Ray Dunakin and Marc Khadpe)
- Repackaged with new supporting files (Ray Dunakin and Marc Khadpe)
- Distributed as Freeware (William C. Appleton)