Level 9 Computing - A-code

A-code

Level 9 devised their own interpretation language, A-code, around 1979. It was very memory efficient, mainly due to the advanced text compression routines which could compress texts to about 50%. The game data, which were identical for all platforms, were incorporated into the executable file for specific machines, together with the interpreter part. A-code underwent a couple of revisions: there are three distinct versions in all, plus a couple of extensions which form new A-code versions of their own.

(Level 9 A-code should not be confused with the A-code language developed by Dave Platt in 1979 for the purpose of writing the highly popular 550 points extension of the original Adventure game.)

Andrew Deeley, who worked for Level 9 on Software Development, recalls how the use of the A-Code interpreter enabled L9 to produce hundreds of cross platform versions of their entire catalogue in the space of 18 months, "with so many 8 bit computers on the markets and the introduction of Macs, Amigas and Atari STs, developing for cross platform versions of a game was becoming prohibitive in cost back in the late 1980s / early 1990s. Level 9 were able to hold their own as a small developer because they were able to optimise cross platform production of their games".

The first game to use this system was Colossal Adventure, a faithful conversion of Adventure by Will Crowther and Don Woods, yet with 70 extra locations to the end game. This game was followed up by two sequels, Adventure Quest and Dungeon Adventure, both of which featured the Demon Lord Agaliarept. The three titles became known as the Middle-earth trilogy, with a reference in the instructions to Dungeon Adventure to the city of Minas Tirith, which features in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. When enhanced versions of the three games were published by Rainbird Software, the reference to Middle-earth was quietly deleted; the series became known as Jewels of Darkness; and Minas Tirith became Valaii.

Snowball was the first adventure in the Silicon Dreams trilogy, followed by Return to Eden and The Worm in Paradise. Red Moon and its sequel The Price of Magik were bundled together with Lords of Time by Mandarin Software to create yet another trilogy: Time and Magik.

"Lancelot" was published by Mandarin Software, a division of Europress Software in 1988. The first person to solve the puzzle in the game won a replica of the Holy Grail, made of solid silver, encrusted with semi-precious stones (amethysts, garnets and opals), with the inside plated in 22-carat gold.