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Adventure in Serenia

Last updated: January 9, 2026

Overview

Adventure in Serenia stands as a pivotal title in adventure gaming history, representing “the first of On-Line Systems’ pictorial adventures for the IBM Personal Computer”1. Originally released as “Hi-Res Adventure #2: The Wizard and the Princess” for the Apple II in September 19802, the game was later ported to the IBM PC in 1982 under the new title “Adventure in Serenia”3. This groundbreaking adventure game combined text-based commands with color graphics, making it “one of the first adventure games to feature color graphics”2 and establishing it as a precursor to Sierra’s legendary King’s Quest series4.

The game tells the fairy tale story of a brave wanderer who must rescue Princess Priscilla from the evil wizard Harlin. As one review colorfully described it: “Before heroes had inventory screens and voice acting, there was Adventure in Serenia, the lovechild of a text parser and a fever dream”5. Despite its historical significance as “one of the earliest graphical adventure games”6, the title is often overshadowed by its successors, earning the assessment that “It’s history, with a side of headache”5 from modern players encountering its challenging text parser interface.

Story Summary

The game’s plot centers on a classic fairy tale rescue mission. “King George’s daughter Priscilla has been kidnapped by an evil wizard named Harlin, who holds her in his castle. The King offers half of his kingdom to anyone who would venture into the faraway mountain land, enter the castle, defeat Harlin, and bring back the princess”3. The quest takes players across diverse landscapes as they “must do battle against an evil wizard in order to save the life of the princess. To find the wizard and his castle, you must first cross deserts, oceans, mountains, travel to an island and encounter many strange beasts. You will be forced to learn magic, navigate at sea and dig for treasure”7.

The IBM PC version, released as Adventure in Serenia, featured a unique plot twist that distinguished it from earlier versions. In this iteration, “Harlin uses the sands of time to undo his demise by the brave wanderer, and the player has to defeat him once again”3, effectively making the game a sequel to The Wizard and the Princess despite being essentially the same adventure with modified framing.

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Adventure in Serenia employed the classic text adventure interface of its era, requiring players to type commands to interact with the game world. The game utilized Sierra’s Adventure Development Language (ADL) engine2, which processed two-word commands like “GET SWORD” or “GO NORTH.” Players navigating the game today should note that “Access to Scroll Lock key absolutely essential for text display” as the “Display freezes until player hits Scroll Lock when more than four lines of text appear”8.

The game’s technical specifications required “48K of user memory” and “One diskette drive minimum”1. Players could “save up to twenty games on one save diskette,” though importantly, the “Save game diskette must be formatted by the game, not by DOS”1. The IBM PC version utilized a “320x200” resolution with a “4-color CGA palette”9, though Roberta Williams famously found these graphics “atrocious”2 upon seeing the completed port.

Structure and Progression

The game world was structured around approximately 200 location illustrations8, creating an expansive environment for its time. The adventure was notably non-linear, as noted in later analysis: “it’s more or less non-linear. You can go in every direction and search for any of the treasures in any order you want. It’s probably the beginning of the open-world mechanic we know nowadays”10. This open structure contributed to both the game’s appeal and its notorious difficulty.

Puzzles and Mechanics

Adventure in Serenia’s puzzle design reflected the experimental nature of early adventure games. As one retrospective analysis noted: “There are lots of interesting elements drawn from fairy tales and fantasy, but the plotting is almost non-existent, few meaningful clues are provided, and many of the puzzles depend on trying random actions until something works”8. The game’s designer approach meant that “Williams’ games tend to be imaginative and colorful but loosely, even randomly, structured”8, creating challenges that often frustrated players but also contributed to the game’s memorable difficulty.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Adventure in Serenia and its predecessor The Wizard and the Princess received generally positive reviews from the gaming press of the early 1980s. The game earned praise for its groundbreaking visual approach, with one reviewer stating it “may well set a standard by which future graphic adventure games will be judged”2. The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984 awarded the game a “B rating overall”2, recognizing its technical achievements despite some shortcomings.

PublicationScoreNotes
Abandonware DOS3.50/5.00Based on 40 user votes5
The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984B ratingPraised as setting future standards2

Computer Gaming World’s Mark Marlow noted that “The Wizard and the Princess has the best graphics and has a beautiful fairy tale setting as its theme. Of the three it was the most challenging and should be attempted only after you are familiar with the gaming system”2. Meanwhile, Ares Magazine’s Ian Chadwick declared that “if you’re any fan of computer adventures, then this is one of the most amazing, intriguing, fascinating, frustrating and graphically appealing adventures around”2.

Modern Assessment

Modern retrospectives have been more critical of the game’s design choices while acknowledging its historical importance. Gaming After 40’s reviewer observed that “Roberta Williams may be regarded in the long term as the George Lucas of interactive fiction. She (with husband Ken) pioneered a lot of creative technology and released at least a couple of certifiable classics, but her storytelling has been superseded by others following in her footsteps”8.

The game’s walkthrough author Tyler Wright cautioned players: “I reccomend you only use this for certain solutions to the game, as this would probably ruin the whole purpose of solving puzzles if you use this guide throughout the whole quest”11, highlighting the game’s reputation for obtuse puzzle design that often required external assistance.

Development

Origins

Adventure in Serenia emerged from the creative partnership of Ken and Roberta Williams at On-Line Systems, the company that would later become Sierra On-Line. The game’s story was “based on fairy tales Roberta Williams read as a child”2, reflecting her interest in creating interactive versions of classic storytelling. The original Apple II version was “Distributed in plastic bags with floppy disk and instruction sheet”2, typical of the early personal computer software market.

The IBM PC port came about through a business relationship with IBM, as “IBM needed a game to promote their new computer, the PCjr, and approached Sierra to finance it”10. This collaboration was significant as it represented IBM’s early recognition of games as important software for personal computers, and “IBM’s relationship with On-Line Systems helped foster development of 3-D AGI adventure game engine”8 that would later power the King’s Quest series.

Production

The development team for Adventure in Serenia included key figures who would shape Sierra’s future. Ken Williams served as lead programmer9, while the IBM PC version was “Implemented by Jeff Stephenson”1. Roberta Williams designed the game’s story and puzzles, establishing the creative foundation that would characterize her later work.

The game was marketed as “Welcome to Adventure in Serenia, the first of On-Line Systems’ pictorial adventures for the IBM Personal Computer”1, emphasizing its pioneering role in bringing graphical adventures to the IBM platform. The manual promised players that “When you load this game on your computer, you are magically transported to the land of Serenia, where the evil Wizard Harlin has made off with the beautiful Princess Priscilla”1.

Technical Achievements

Adventure in Serenia was groundbreaking as the “First adventure game to have full-color graphics”2 and the “Second installment in Hi-Res Adventures series after Mystery House”2. The Apple II version employed innovative techniques, using “6 colors simultaneously on Apple II, used dithering for illusion of more colors”2 to create more visually appealing graphics than the hardware would normally support.

However, the IBM PC port faced technical challenges. The CGA graphics mode used resulted in what Roberta Williams considered “atrocious” visuals2, and the version had compatibility issues that meant it “Will not work on today’s fast computers”9. This led to its exclusion from later Sierra collections, with the explanation that “That version will not work on today’s fast computers, so we have included the Apple version instead”9.

Legacy

Adventure in Serenia’s influence extends far beyond its modest commercial success. The game “Paves the way for Williams’ later King’s Quest series”8 and can be “considered the ‘prequel’ to King’s Quest I”12 according to Interaction Magazine. The land of Serenia itself became part of Sierra’s expanded universe, as “King Graham returns to Serenia in King’s Quest V”12, creating a direct narrative connection between Williams’ early and later works.

The game’s technical innovations helped establish Sierra as a major force in adventure gaming. As one retrospective noted, it was “the first graphic adventure ever made for the IBM PC and Sierra’s first big hit”10, setting the stage for the company’s domination of the adventure game market throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The development experience also contributed to Sierra’s technical evolution, as the “IBM’s relationship with On-Line Systems helped foster development of 3-D AGI adventure game engine”8 that would power future classics.

From a design perspective, Adventure in Serenia helped pioneer open-world concepts in adventure gaming. Its non-linear structure where players could “go in every direction and search for any of the treasures in any order you want. It’s probably the beginning of the open-world mechanic we know nowadays”10 influenced how later adventure games would approach player agency and exploration.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

  • Currently not available on modern digital platforms
  • GOG Dreamlist - Community wishlist

Download / Preservation

References

Footnotes

  1. King’s Quest Wiki - Game Manual – - Official manual content and technical requirements ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  2. Wikipedia - Wizard and the Princess – - Comprehensive development history, reviews, and technical details ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16

  3. Internet Archive - Adventure in Serenia 1982 – - Preservation entry with game metadata and plot details ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  4. Sierra Help Walkthroughs – - Navigation page showing alternate title reference ↩

  5. Abandonware DOS - Adventure in Serenia – - User ratings, historical context, and game description ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. Sierra Wiki - Wizard and Princess – - Plot details and King’s Quest connections ↩

  7. Adventure Gamers - Adventure in Serenia – - Basic game information and plot description ↩

  8. Gaming After 40 Blog – - Retrospective review with gameplay analysis ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  9. King’s Quest Wiki - Adventure in Serenia – - Technical specifications and developer opinions ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  10. Indie Retro News – - Technical analysis and historical context ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  11. GameFAQs Walkthrough – - Complete walkthrough guide by Tyler Wright ↩

  12. King’s Quest Wiki - Wizard and Princess – - Comprehensive game information and series connections ↩ ↩2

  13. Internet Archive - Adventure in Serenia Floppy – - IBM PC floppy disk preservation record ↩

  14. Classic Reload - Adventure in Serenia – - Game listing with basic platform and year information ↩

  15. RetroGames.cz – - Game information and Wikipedia summary ↩

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