Venture (video game)
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 |
| Headquarters | United States |
Venture is a fantasy-themed action game initially released as an arcade video game by Exidy in August 1981. The gameplay centers on an overhead map where players guide Winky, a circular smiley-faced character, to gather treasures scattered across multiple rooms. Upon entering a room, the view zooms in to occupy the entire screen, each room featuring distinct designs, adversaries, and unique elements such as shifting walls. Winky wields a bow and arrow to eliminate foes, which then transform into dangerous corpses after being defeated.
Subsequent ports appeared as a ColecoVision version in 1982, followed by adaptations for the Atari 2600 in 1982 and Intellivision in 1983.
Gameplay
Winky navigates through dungeons composed of interconnected rooms and corridors. The hallways are guarded by invincible Hallmonsters with tentacles that kill Winky instantly upon contact. Within the rooms, players must collect treasures while avoiding or dispatching monsters. Lingering too long causes Hallmonsters to invade the room, adding urgency to complete objectives swiftly to maximize scores.
The primary goal in each room is acquiring its treasure; some rooms permit treasure retrieval without defeating every monster present. Certain chambers trigger traps once the treasure is taken—for instance, the "Two-Headed Room" summons two ettins after the prize is collected.
Any collision with monsters or Hallmonsters results in Winky’s demise. When enemies are defeated, they leave behind corpses that gradually decay but can obstruct exits, potentially allowing Hallmonsters to enter. Shooting these corpses halts or reverses their decay. Each enemy type exhibits unique movement patterns and varying levels of intelligence in dodging arrows—snakes found in "The Serpent Room" are slow to evade, while trolls inhabiting "The Troll Room" display sophisticated dodging tactics.
The game features three dungeon levels, each containing different rooms. Successfully clearing all rooms advances the player to the next level; after completing three levels, the cycle restarts with increased speed and new treasure items.
Dungeon layouts by level:
- Wall Room, Serpent Room, Skeleton Room, Goblin Room
- Two-Headed Room, Dragon Room, Spider Room, Troll Room
- Genie Room, Demon Room, Cyclops Room, Bat Room
Reception
The ColecoVision adaptation of Venture earned favorable reviews in Video magazine’s "Arcade Alley" column, where its graphics and background music received commendation. Critics highlighted the game’s "complex play routine and strategies," noting that these aspects made it feel somewhat "out of place" in arcade settings but predicted strong success for the home console version. It was awarded a Certificate of Merit for "Best Arcade-to-Home Video Game Translation" at the 4th annual Arkie Awards.Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games (1983) remarked on some repetition after completing three levels but affirmed that the ColecoVision port remained "just as enjoyable as the arcade version."
Jan Yarnot’s review of the Coleco version in The Space Gamer No. 58 praised the title and suggested that credit should be given to its designer.
High score
In 1982, Randy Kuntz, a 15-year-old from Fairview, Alberta, set the highest score recorded on the original game.