Labyrinth (1984 video game)

Labyrinth is a text adventure game released in 1984, based on the Jim Henson film of the same name. It was developed by Lucasfilm Games (then known as Lucasfilm Computer Division Games Group) and published by Activision.

The game puts the player in the role of a person who must rescue a girl named Melanie from Jareth, the Goblin King, within 13 hours. Gameplay is driven by typed text commands, allowing the player to interact with the game world and solve puzzles.

Unlike many text adventure games of the era, Labyrinth is notable for its implementation of a parser that understands more complex sentence structures, allowing for a more natural language input from the player. It also employs a real-time clock, adding a sense of urgency to the gameplay as the deadline approaches.

The game features many of the characters and locations familiar from the movie, and successful completion of the game requires the player to navigate the labyrinth and overcome various challenges. The story and puzzles are based on events and themes presented in the film. Labyrinth was available for several home computer platforms, including the Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, and IBM PC.

While a text adventure at its core, Labyrinth also features brief, animated cutscenes to illustrate key moments and actions within the game. These animations were a relatively advanced feature for the time and helped to enhance the player's immersion in the Labyrinth's world.