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the city's ex-queen Aquana, who desires to find the "Crown of Life" in order to regain her throne. After a brief war between the ex-queen and captain, Herminus sets the twins to duel each other. They then pray to their deities for guidance, which summons
Mentorr who allows them to regain their memories. The twins throw down their swords, causing the crown to be revealed and split in half. The halves are given to the ex-queen and the captain, who then rule as equals. The "Sword of Ultimate Sorcery" then transports the twins to Airworld where they would have to do battle with King Tyrannus and Konjuro.
39:
343:. Traversing between rooms sometimes required the player to complete a "twitch"-style minigame to progress. When the player placed an item in its correct room, they would be presented with numerical clues that referred to a page and panel within the comic that was packaged with the game. There, the player would find a hidden word that was part of the larger
669:, but based on the actual contest around the three games, rather than the story within the games. It was a six-issue series, starting with a special #0 "Preview" book that sold with a cover price of 25¢ and was published in May 2017. The remaining 5 issues, published monthly after the preview, sold at $ 3.99 each. In addition, Dynamite released a
386:
Fireworld. In
Fireworld, the twins split up to look for water, and Torr, with the aid of the talisman, summons Mentorr who shows Torr the "Chalice of Light," which will quench his thirst. The twins reunite eventually and find the chalice. However, Torr drops it after he is startled, and it is revealed that the one they found was not the
527:, Atari received several more entries, with 73 of these being correct. For practicality, Atari required the 73 finalists to write a brief essay of what they liked about the game, selecting the top 50 replies to continue to the final competition, held in January 1984. This was won by Michael Rideout, who was awarded the Chalice.
694:
using his old Atari hardware, but is caught up with a mysterious figure who offers to help him obtain the real "Sword of
Ultimate Sorcery" from its resting place in the World Arcade Museum. As well as being valuable, it may have its own mysterious powers. The man contacts his two childhood friends to
385:
After defeating many beasts of the Zodiac and another thief (Herminus) in
Earthworld, the twins are transported to the "central chamber" where the "Sword of Ultimate Sorcery" and the "Talisman of Penultimate Truth" are kept. Upon reaching them, the sword burns a hole through its altar all the way to
619:
sword. Vendel believes that it is unlikely that
Tramiel would have been able to keep the Stone, Sword, and (if not given away) Crown, as when Atari, Inc was sold, these items were still the property of Warner Communications, and would have been returned to the Franklin Mint. With the Franklin Mint
610:
at the time), keeping the small sword, diamonds, and birthstones; the current fate of these is unknown. The fate of the Crown is unknown; Vendel stated that while Atari was required to hold the contest, they could have simply awarded the winner with a cash prize equivalent as opposed to the Crown.
393:
Upon reaching
Waterworld, the twins become separated. Konjuro casts a spell that causes the twins to lose their memories. Tarra travels to a ship made of ice and meets Cap'n Frost, who desires to find the "Crown of Life" and rule Waterworld. Meanwhile, Torr travels to an undersea kingdom and meets
614:
Since they were never part of any contest, the
Philosopher's Stone and the Sword have seemingly disappeared. Some sources have claimed that Tramiel took possession of the prizes himself, based on rumoured observations that Atari staff or associates of Tramiel had made of seeing a similar looking
427:
drew more interest once the Easter egg was found and documented, leading Atari to come up with a type of sequel where "marketing thought it would be a great idea to create a series of games where players would have to find clues both in the game ", as described by Atari historian Curt Vendel. As
578:
contest. Vendel stated that Atari did secretly invite those with correct entries to hold the final round, and the Crown was awarded to a person, their name remaining anonymous due to legal requirements. Because they could not hold the ultimate final round, Bell and
Rideout were both awarded an
381:
summoned to kill them, but it appears that a jewel they stole attracts it. After smashing the stone to avoid the demon, two of
Tyrannus's old advisers appear and tell the two about the "Sword of Ultimate Sorcery" and the "Talisman of Penultimate Truth." They are then transported to Earthworld.
376:
Konjuro that the twins would slay
Tyrannus. The twins were then raised as commoners by thieves to avoid being slain by the king. When they go to plunder Konjuro's sea keep, they accidentally reveal their identities to him. The twins then start running from a
601:
in the gaming community since the cancellation of the project. Of the five treasures, Rideout has claimed, as recently as 2017, that he still has the Chalice in his possession, stored in a safe deposit box. Bell fell out of contact following the
512:
The four winners would then have competed in a final contest to win the ultimate prize, "The Sword of Ultimate Sorcery" with a silver blade and an 18-carat gold handle covered with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies, that was valued at
347:
contest, as by submitting all the correct words in the correct order to Atari, they would be entered into the next phase of the project. The discovered words would form a relevant phrase towards the larger contest. In at least two cases, for
566:. Tramiel, who had been more focused on the success of home computers than gaming consoles, placed the Atari divisions in a new company, Tramel Technology, and reviewed the state of all divisions, furthering the troubles in completing the
472:, to race to complete a specially-programmed version of that game to be the first to finish it. The person with the fastest completion would be named the winner and be awarded a "treasure", produced by Franklin Mint, each valued at around
620:
later being sold in 1985 to American Protective Services, and the original Atari business no longer existing, the prizes were most likely melted back down to their base components for reuse elsewhere, according to Vendel.
309:: earth, fire, water, and air. Each game required the player to move through a maze of rooms, collecting objects from one and placing them in other rooms. The arrangement or theme of the rooms varied with each game:
242:. All three game box covers were illustrated by an Atari in-house illustrator, Warren Chang. A special fan club offer was provided, allowing those who wanted the game to also get a T-shirt and poster for each game.
490:: The "Talisman of Penultimate Truth", an 18-karat solid gold disc studded with 12 diamonds, the birthstones of the 12 Zodiac signs and a miniature white gold sword set atop it.
1011:
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sword mounted in Tramiel's office or on his home mantel. However, Vendel believes that the persons who started this rumor may have mistaken a Tramiel family heirloom for the
1243:
890:
356:, there were more clues indicated by the game than required to be submitted. Players also had to identify a second clue in the game's instruction manual (for
523:, about 5000 entries were received, but only eight answered correctly. The contest was held in May 1983, with Stephen Bell winning the Talisman. For
1238:
390:
chalice. Herminus then gives them the chalice, and it grows until it becomes large enough to swallow the twins and transports them to Waterworld.
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contest were told they did not qualify for the final, but according to Vendel, Atari was legally required to follow through as advertised on the
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209:
that had to be solved to win the contest, with a series of prizes whose total value was $ 150,000. The series had its genesis as a possible
247:
468:
contest to award a winner for each of the four games. For each game, they had planned to bring all winners to the Atari headquarters in
736:
is to try and solve the puzzle and win the prize. Gamers not interested in spending the time required should pass this one." In 1995,
508:: The "Philosopher's Stone", a large piece of white jade encased in an 18-karat gold box encrusted with emeralds, rubies, and diamonds.
1208:
372:
The games follow twins named Tarra and Torr. Their parents were slain by King Tyrannus's guards, prompted by a prophecy by the king's
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event, but according to Vendel and Rideout, Bell appeared to have had the disc part of the Talisman melted down for its value (about
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496:: The "Chalice of Light", a goblet made of platinum and gold studded with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, and green jade.
267:
was not released. As such the contest was never completed and the current unknown fate of some of the prizes has become an
1218:
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436:
was used to create the comic book that would help creating the setting where the word clues would be hidden, written by
251:) were some of the earliest attempts to combine the narrative and logic elements of the adventure game genre with the
215:
20:
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collection, that the Digital Eclipse team had created the fourth and final entry in the Swordquest series, Airworld.
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was only made available to members of the Atari Club. During the contest period, in mid-1984, Atari was sold to
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was released on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Windows in November 2022.
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181:(with these titles occasionally appearing on cartridge labels and boxes with capitalized central Ws, e.g.
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263:, the last contest along with the grand finale contest were never held and the final game in the series,
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games (with help from two friends who were brother and sister) when he was younger and was anticipating
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contest, Atari's lawyers required the company to continue the contest. To limit the number of entries,
531:
469:
429:
256:
132:
534:. Atari was further in the midst of dealing with fallout from an insider trading scandal by former CEO
502:: The "Crown of Life", a solid gold crown decorated with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and aquamarines.
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at this point, they were able to use two of Warner's subsidiaries to help with this contest.
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Each of the three released games shipped with a comic book, published jointly by Atari and
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under the pseudonym "Ghostwriter X". A trade paperback reprint of all six issues, titled
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1012:"Real Otaku Gamer Providing You With The Best Otaku News, Reviews and Entertainment"
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that explained the plot, as well as containing part of the solution to a major
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550:. However, because the company had already advertised the availability of the
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At this point in time, Atari had suffered major financial setbacks due to the
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that reprinted the three mini-comics along with the mini-comic for the game
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in mid-1983, and looking to cut financial losses, eventually cancelled the
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to use only clues on prime numbered pages) to know which clues to send in.
650:. The books included clues to solve the puzzles within each of the games.
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was started, the cancellation of the series left the comic unfinished.
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No. 61. Edwards commented that "The only reason to purchase a copy of
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Parr, Andrew (October 2018). "The $ 378,870.10 Contest That Wasn't".
967:
314:
210:
206:
1034:"Atari 50 is an incredible playable tour through video game history"
682:
The series featured the story of a person who had played the three
452:
crafted the game's prizes. The games themselves were programmed by
219:, but it developed mythology and a system of play that was unique.
378:
281:, a collection of Atari games for its 50th anniversary in 2022,
864:"The Quest for the Real-Life Treasures of Atari's Swordquest"
820:"The Quest for the Real-Life Treasures of Atari's Swordquest"
794:"The Quest for the Real-Life Treasures of Atari's Swordquest"
419:
video game, which is notable for one of the first documented
259:. However, due to Atari's financial problems related to the
679:. As with the originals, the TPB is sized as a mini-comic.
587:
as a compensation prize, and granting the ten finalists of
245:
The games of the Swordquest series (along with Atari 2600
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On June 29, 2022, Atari announced that as part of the
690:. Now as an adult, he continues his efforts to play
255:of the action genre, making them some of the first
138:
126:
93:
81:
67:
57:
45:
31:
941:"The 35-year hunt for Swordquest's lost treasures"
155:is a series of video games originally produced by
546:project, despite work having already started on
1062:"Atari's bringing back its Swordquest comics"
8:
120:: August, 2022 (original version unreleased)
857:
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843:
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1249:Video games developed in the United States
665:announced a new comic book series, called
37:
28:
1163:Swordquest Interview With Michael Rideout
1123:(4). Harris Publications: 31. April 1995.
1244:Video game franchises introduced in 1982
1060:McWhertor, Michael (February 20, 2017).
989:
987:
777:
695:accompany him on his new "Swordquest".
163:, consisting of three finished games,
1086:
1084:
1032:Webster, Andrew (November 11, 2022).
934:
625:Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration
597:The fate of the prizes has become an
213:to Atari's groundbreaking 1979 title
7:
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891:"The Players Guide to Fantasy Games"
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1153:Atari Protos SwordQuest: WaterWorld
1143:Atari Protos SwordQuest: EarthWorld
862:Grundhauser, Eric (March 8, 2016).
746:71st on their Top 100 Video Games.
337:was to have been modeled after the
1148:Atari Protos SwordQuest: FireWorld
1091:Edwards, Richard A. (March 1983).
792:GRUNDHAUSER, Eric (8 March 2016).
114:: February, 1984 (limited release)
14:
1158:The SwordQuest Comic Book Archive
1138:Atari Protos SwordQuest: AirWorld
413:originated from Atari's previous
222:The comic books were produced by
939:Iwaniuk, Phil (August 6, 2017).
818:Grundhauser, Eric (2016-03-08).
570:contest. Most who did enter the
1239:Video games adapted into comics
714:was released in February 2018.
201:Each of the games came with a
187:), and a planned fourth game,
1:
279:: The Anniversary Celebration
1234:Defunct esports competitions
722:Richard A. Edwards reviewed
483:s release. The prizes were:
305:series was themed after the
21:Swordquest (disambiguation)
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159:in the 1980s as part of a
18:
698:The comic was written by
538:; Kassar was replaced by
271:in the gaming community.
234:, and drawn and inked by
36:
261:video game crash of 1983
899:. June 1983. p. 47
564:Commodore International
464:Atari had designed the
248:Raiders of the Lost Ark
1214:Comics by Gerry Conway
1209:Comics by George Pérez
1199:Action-adventure games
1169:SwordQuest: EarthWorld
997:Games World of Puzzles
744:Swordquest: Earthworld
734:Swordquest: Earthworld
724:Swordquest: Earthworld
663:Dynamite Entertainment
655:Dynamite Entertainment
257:action-adventure games
1117:"Top 100 Video Games"
712:Swordquest: Realworld
532:1983 video game crash
470:Sunnyvale, California
430:Warner Communications
323:Kabbalah tree of life
313:was themed after the
285:created a version of
133:Action-adventure game
1219:Comics by Roy Thomas
642:Original mini-comics
397:While the comic for
19:For other uses, see
1229:Puzzle competitions
1103:Steve Jackson Games
444:and illustrated by
428:Atari was owned by
289:that completes the
750:In popular culture
661:In February 2017,
307:classical elements
1093:"Capsule Reviews"
1000:. pp. 38–39.
301:Each game of the
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968:"Swordquest"
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244:
236:George Pérez
232:Gerry Conway
221:
214:
200:
189:
188:
183:
182:
177:
176:
171:
170:
165:
164:
151:
150:
149:
117:
111:
105:
99:
73:Dan Hitchens
59:Publisher(s)
47:Developer(s)
700:Chad Bowers
657:mini-series
637:Comic books
579:additional
421:Easter eggs
405:Development
274:As part of
157:Atari, Inc.
83:Platform(s)
69:Designer(s)
63:Atari, Inc.
52:Atari, Inc.
1183:Categories
1018:2022-06-29
977:2023-09-07
829:2023-09-07
772:References
766:Swordquest
704:Chris Sims
684:Swordquest
667:Swordquest
617:Swordquest
608:US$ 15,000
604:Swordquest
589:Waterworld
585:Atari 7800
581:US$ 15,000
576:Waterworld
572:Waterworld
568:Waterworld
556:Waterworld
552:Waterworld
544:Swordquest
536:Ray Kassar
521:Earthworld
515:US$ 50,000
500:Waterworld
488:Earthworld
478:Swordquest
474:US$ 25,000
466:Swordquest
442:Roy Thomas
411:Swordquest
358:Earthworld
350:Earthworld
345:Swordquest
329:after the
327:Waterworld
321:after the
311:Earthworld
303:Swordquest
291:Swordquest
228:Roy Thomas
203:comic book
184:EarthWorld
178:Waterworld
166:Earthworld
152:Swordquest
112:Waterworld
100:Earthworld
88:Atari 2600
32:Swordquest
1174:MobyGames
1105:: 42, 44.
1039:The Verge
946:Eurogamer
903:6 January
718:Reception
648:DC Comics
592:US$ 2,000
525:Fireworld
494:Fireworld
434:DC Comics
425:Adventure
416:Adventure
354:Fireworld
319:Fireworld
224:DC Comics
216:Adventure
172:Fireworld
106:Fireworld
768:series.
760:and the
692:Airworld
688:Airworld
630:Atari 50
548:Airworld
506:Airworld
454:Tod Frye
399:Airworld
335:Airworld
297:Gameplay
293:series.
287:Airworld
277:Atari 50
265:Airworld
190:Airworld
128:Genre(s)
118:Airworld
76:Tod Frye
1067:Polygon
803:10 July
460:Contest
340:I Ching
331:chakras
161:contest
139:Mode(s)
94:Release
1101:(61).
594:each.
448:. The
374:wizard
333:, and
211:sequel
207:puzzle
481:'
379:demon
197:About
1121:Flux
1075:2017
1047:2022
954:2018
905:2015
877:2018
805:2023
739:Flux
702:and
519:For
440:and
388:true
368:Plot
352:and
238:and
230:and
175:and
1172:at
726:in
1185::
1119:.
1095:.
1083:^
1064:.
1036:.
986:^
970:.
943:.
913:^
893:.
866:.
838:^
822:.
796:.
780:^
456:.
423:.
325:,
317:,
193:.
169:,
1077:.
1049:.
1021:.
980:.
956:.
907:.
879:.
832:.
807:.
23:.
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