Wizard and the Princess

On-Line Systems

Industry	Video game development and publishing
Founded	1979
Founder	Roberta Williams, Ken Williams
Products	Wizard and the Princess, Mystery House, King's Quest series

Wizard and the Princess, created by On-Line Systems and launched in September 1980 for the Apple II, stands as a groundbreaking graphic adventure title and is the second installment in the Hi-Res Adventures lineup, following Mystery House. Departing from the monochrome visuals of its predecessor, it introduced vibrant color graphics. Later adaptations were made for the Atari 8-bit computers in 1982 and the Commodore 64 in 1984. The 1982 IBM PC compatible release, which was a self-booting disk, was renamed Adventure in Serenia.

As one of the earliest entries in graphical adventure gaming, it established foundational elements that influenced Sierra On-Line's subsequent King's Quest series.

Plot

The narrative unfolds in Serenia, where Princess Priscilla has been abducted by the malevolent wizard Harlin, who confines her within his mountain fortress. King George promises half his realm to anyone capable of defeating Harlin and rescuing his daughter. Players take on the role of a wanderer who accepts this daunting quest.

Further story details found in the Apple II, Atari 8-bit, and C64 manuals expand upon the plot: after initially overcoming Harlin, the wizard retaliates by magically reshaping Serenia’s landscape—transforming deserts, dividing seas, and raising mountains—to prevent any subsequent rescue attempts. He also reverses time, sending the adventurer back outside Serenia, confident that he is invincible. The princess provides guidance along with a computer to assist the hero, revealing that due to a time paradox, the player has become the wanderer. This extended storyline was later included in collections like the Roberta Williams Collection and King's Quest Collection Series.

The introduction to Adventure in Serenia clarifies that with computer assistance, the adventurer is magically transported into Serenia to save Princess Priscilla.

Development

Similar to its predecessor Mystery House, Wizard and the Princess was distributed by Roberta and Ken Williams' company On-Line Systems packaged in plastic bags containing a 5 ¼-inch floppy disk and an instruction sheet listing the title as The Wizard and the Princess.

The storyline was inspired by fairy tales Roberta Williams read during her childhood. This game enhanced upon Mystery House by incorporating color graphics, becoming the first adventure game to feature full-color visuals and achieving sales exceeding 60,000 copies. The Apple II’s six-color limitation was cleverly circumvented through dithering techniques that simulated a broader color palette.

Ports

In 1982, Wizard and the Princess was adapted for IBM PC as Sierra’s inaugural PC release under the new title Adventure in Serenia. Roberta Williams reportedly criticized this version for its "atrocious" color quality. It also served as a launch title for the IBM PCjr at its late 1983 debut.

The Commodore 64 port showcased a greater number of on-screen colors without relying on dithering, presenting more detailed objects and higher-resolution alternate artwork. Japanese versions developed by Starcraft featured completely redrawn visuals with improved color depth and resolution.

Reception

Mark Marlow evaluated Mission: Asteroid, Mystery House, and The Wizard and the Princess for Computer Gaming World, highlighting that The Wizard and the Princess featured the most impressive graphics with its enchanting fairy tale motif and presented the greatest challenge, recommending it primarily for players already acquainted with the gaming platform.

After its release in August 1980, the title sold 25,000 units by June 1982, securing the fourth position on Computer Gaming World's best-selling charts and eventually surpassing sales of 60,000 copies. The Atari edition earned accolades from Creative Computing for its visual presentation and was likened in difficulty to some works by Scott Adams. In The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984, it received an overall grade of B, with suggestions that it could serve as a benchmark for upcoming graphic adventure games.

Ian Chadwick, writing in issue #11 of Ares Magazine, described the game as "one of the most amazing, intriguing, fascinating, frustrating and graphically appealing adventures" suitable for enthusiasts of computer-based adventure games.

Legacy

Wizard and the Princess is recognized for breaking new ground with its use of color graphics, offering richer visual detail that enhanced player engagement and spurred advancements in graphical standards across the gaming industry.

According to Sierra's Interaction magazine, it acts as a forerunner to the King's Quest series, with King's Quest V revisiting the realm of Serenia. The expanded storyline found in the second edition of The King's Quest Companion reveals that after rescuing the princess, the barbarian wanderer refused her hand in marriage and ultimately perished in the desert, leaving behind only his skeleton and a leather shoe—a subtle reference to events in KQ5. Subsequently, Princess Priscilla wed Kenneth the Huge and ascended to become queen of Serenia following King George IV’s demise. The game is also featured as trivia within King's Questions, included in select editions of the King's Quest Collection.

Reissues of the game offer background that clarifies discrepancies in geography between Wizard and the Princess and later entries in the King's Quest series (notably KQ3 and KQ5). In KQ5, Serenia and Daventry exist on the same continent, whereas in KQ3, maps primarily depict Daventry with much of the northern continent absent. The lore from Wizard and the Princess explains that Harlin divided Serenia and manipulated its geography to obstruct adventurers. This accounts for why a desert surrounds the village early on but disappears by KQ5, as well as why the Great Mountains’ location varies between installments. By the time of KQ5, Harlin’s magic has dissipated, restoring the land’s original layout. These events are dated several years prior to KQ5 according to The King's Quest Companion.