Game History

The First Adventure

Colossal Cave 3D is a reimagining of the original text-based adventure game first introduced in 1976 by Will Crowther and expanded the following year by Don Woods. Widely regarded as the very first text adventure, it inspired an entire genre of interactive fiction and adventure gaming that followed.

The original game is already well known to tens of millions of gamers worldwide. Several elements — such as the famous magic codewords “Xyzzy” and “Plugh” — are recognized instantly by adventurers everywhere.

A Classic, Reimagined

This new version brings that landmark adventure to life as a fully immersive, first-person, real-time 3D experience with VR support. Players explore a vast, extensive cave in search of treasures. Along the way they encounter a variety of characters — some who attack, and some who entertain: a Troll guarding his bridge, a bear, a snake, seven dwarves (of course), and a pirate.

The quest is to find all the treasure. The challenge is not easy, with a wide variety of puzzles to overcome along the way.

Brought to Life by Roberta Williams

Adventure-game pioneer Roberta Williams adapted the game for the VR world and brought its many characters to life. Developed by Cygnus Entertainment, Colossal Cave 3D has been released across Meta Quest, Steam and SteamVR, PlayStation, GOG, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, iOS, and Android, with boxed collector’s editions also produced.

Learn more about Roberta’s remarkable career on her website.