Posted April 06, 2023
Howdy, Colossal Cavers!
Over 300,000,000 years ago, water started tricking through some limestone, eventually carving what is currently known to be the longest known, connected cave system on the planet: Mammoth Cave
, in Kentucky, USA.
Did you know that the woman who made this discovery was a tiny programming caver, named Patricia Crowther? This tiny, but colossal discovery is known as being the speleological equivalent of summiting Mount Everest, for the first time.
Did you know that her husband, Will Crowther, also a programming caver, had an integral role in programming the packet switching between the first 4 connected “routers” (Interface Message Processors) making up the ARPANET
(the precursor to today’s internet)? Will played a pivotal role in the invention of the Internet. Yes, that
internet.
Did you know that Will Crowther built the first text-adventure game around muddy little maps he’d made with his wife? Inspired by 60’s style AI (known as ELIZA) and made as a bonding exercise with his young daughters, ADVENT (as it was known at the time) would be one of the first viral games, as it spread across the ARPANET, shutting down entire departments for weeks at a time, as people were so entranced with the depth, light whimsy, and whisps of Dungeons & Dragons style fantasy.
There is so much more to this story. And you can learn all about it, in today’s update!
Behind the scenes, fanciful little elves are endlessly hard at work polishing the experience of playing and navigating Colossal Cave
. The most recent addition is that of a dilapidated, fuzzy, old television set. We’ve added some fun and informative goodies to this TV, like a look back at the history of ADVENT
and Colossal Cave
. We’ve included a fully realized documentary to the game, narrated by Roberta Williams. We’ve set it up for more programs in the future. Grab a TV dinner and stay tuned!
While we’re thrilled to include this little nugget of history directly to the game, for ease of access, we’ve also
added it to YouTube, for those who may prefer to watch it, online.
https://youtu.be/VJhxVTvyxIA
Take a historic plunge into the darkness. Don’t forget your lamp!
Also, in this update:
Fix to Fee-Fie-Foe-Foo (FFFF) not causing eggs to show up on map when used in Giant Room.
Fix to maze hint popping up at higher frequency than intended.
Updates to Russian Localization.
Removed unused pickaxe hotspot in Y2 mirror room.
Over 300,000,000 years ago, water started tricking through some limestone, eventually carving what is currently known to be the longest known, connected cave system on the planet: Mammoth Cave
, in Kentucky, USA.
Did you know that the woman who made this discovery was a tiny programming caver, named Patricia Crowther? This tiny, but colossal discovery is known as being the speleological equivalent of summiting Mount Everest, for the first time.
Did you know that her husband, Will Crowther, also a programming caver, had an integral role in programming the packet switching between the first 4 connected “routers” (Interface Message Processors) making up the ARPANET
(the precursor to today’s internet)? Will played a pivotal role in the invention of the Internet. Yes, that
internet.
Did you know that Will Crowther built the first text-adventure game around muddy little maps he’d made with his wife? Inspired by 60’s style AI (known as ELIZA) and made as a bonding exercise with his young daughters, ADVENT (as it was known at the time) would be one of the first viral games, as it spread across the ARPANET, shutting down entire departments for weeks at a time, as people were so entranced with the depth, light whimsy, and whisps of Dungeons & Dragons style fantasy.
There is so much more to this story. And you can learn all about it, in today’s update!
Behind the scenes, fanciful little elves are endlessly hard at work polishing the experience of playing and navigating Colossal Cave
. The most recent addition is that of a dilapidated, fuzzy, old television set. We’ve added some fun and informative goodies to this TV, like a look back at the history of ADVENT
and Colossal Cave
. We’ve included a fully realized documentary to the game, narrated by Roberta Williams. We’ve set it up for more programs in the future. Grab a TV dinner and stay tuned!
While we’re thrilled to include this little nugget of history directly to the game, for ease of access, we’ve also
added it to YouTube, for those who may prefer to watch it, online.
https://youtu.be/VJhxVTvyxIA
Take a historic plunge into the darkness. Don’t forget your lamp!
Also, in this update:
Fix to Fee-Fie-Foe-Foo (FFFF) not causing eggs to show up on map when used in Giant Room.
Fix to maze hint popping up at higher frequency than intended.
Updates to Russian Localization.
Removed unused pickaxe hotspot in Y2 mirror room.
