Castle Explorer

Castle Explorer is an educational historical adventure game, set within a castle in 14th Century Europe. Its target age range is 8-12.

Gameplay

There are two main modes of play. The first is where you can enter the castle honestly as a page, which allows the castle to be explored for purely educational reasons, without any additional gameplay. The castle is represented mainly by hand-drawn, cutaway illustrations (from the book "Castle" by Stephen Biesty), with accompanying sound effects and music. Clicking on the pictures will reveal more detail and educational information about the make-up of the castle, how castles were constructed, medieval warfare waged and so on.

The main game mode involves accepting the King's mission and entering the castle in disguise. The King does not trust Baron Mortimer, who rules over the castle. The King wants you to recover five pieces of a map, which have been hidden around the castle, as well as discover the information listed on the King's scroll. You can enter the castle disguised as either a maid or a knight. Entering the castle disguised allows you to meet and talk to several important figures within the castle, including the cook, the alchemist, the blacksmith and the Baron himself. These conversations are represented via QuickTime FMV videos, with actors digitally inserted into the scenes. Sometimes characters may leave their assigned rooms, meaning a potentially easier opportunity to steal pieces of the map.

Castle characters may give you some tasks to accomplish in order to gain information, such as helping the armourer quench a blade or helping the cook to make bread. You may also explore their 3D-rendered castle rooms, in a manner similar to the original Myst. If the player fails to answer the Baron's questions correctly, or is caught stealing pieces of the missing map, they are sent to the dungeon. If they've collected enough coins (found via pixel-hunting through the illustrations of the castle) the jailer (who is also in league with the King) will smuggle you out. Otherwise you're left to rot, and will need to start the game over.

At the end of the game, by successfully finding all pieces of the map and uncovering the Baron's treachery, players are presented with a certificate of accomplishment by the King, which can then be printed out.