“What on earth is that game?”
I was mixing two of my hobbies:
- working on a side project, my eBay frontend software, AuctionSieve
- testing it by searching for vintage Apple II stuff
I wasn’t really expecting to find anything. I’d just fixed a bug and was doing some testing to make sure everything was working. But an auction came up. It was a ‘lot’ of old Apple II games – original disks! And the bid was still at one dollar.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.oldcomputerstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ebay-apple2-games.jpg?resize=600%2C450)
Let’s see – Ultima 1, Cranston Manor, (Sierra) Online systems Hi-res adventures 1-4, stuff from Broderbund, Muse, etc – around 30 games in all – all originals (no boxes or manuals though). Wait a sec, that’s a California Pacific version of Ultima 1. Some quick googling ensues. Yep, these are worth quite a bit of money.
And some weird game I’d never heard of called Caverns of Mordia.
So I put a bid in and after several days, couldn’t believe my luck. I won the auction for $10.50!
The games arrived a week later and I did a closer examination of what I got. All in good order. Yep, this was definitely a bargain. And what on earth is this Caverns of Mordia thing?
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.oldcomputerstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/caverns-of-mordia-disk.png?resize=478%2C485)
So I did some searching. I actually found a copy of the disk online in the asimov archive. Downloaded it and played it in an emulator. Real old-school stuff but unfortunately it crashes at certain points – perhaps a bad crack?
Did some more searching and found a pdf of the manual. Looked through it and found the authors – H. G. L. Coster and A. L. D’Assumpcao – published in Sydney by Lothlorien Farming copyright 1980.
Hm, I wonder who these guys are? Searched for A L D’Assumpcao – no dice. Did a search for H G L Coster and hit pay dirt – found he’s a professor at Sydney Uni and UNSW – one Hans Coster!
![](https://i0.wp.com/lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4vBxr_r2FQk/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAABE/2dc3KrdEqXY/photo.jpg?resize=338%2C337&ssl=1)
Could it really be the same person? So I sent him an email.
Dear Professor Coster,
I recently bought a bunch of Apple II games off eBay.
Your game, Caverns of Mordia, was included – see attached image.
I’m interested in the digital preservation of items such as this and there’s not a lot of information on the internet about it.
What I did find was a scan of the manual with your name – and a quick google search later, you were easy to find.
I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about it?
Regards,
Neville Ridley-Smith
And the next day, he replied!
Dear Neville,
What a surprise to r of this; a real blast from the past!
I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Actually, I still have the source code etc.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Regards
Hans
Wow, I had made contact with an original Apple II game developer.
…
And then I got to meet him!
By chance, Wozfest /// (a gathering of Apple II enthusiasts in Sydney) was just around the corner and after some Q&A with Hans, I invited him along and he was very enthusiastic.
We had a great time on the night. He brought along some of his original disks, which unfortunately couldn’t be imaged.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.oldcomputerstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/hans-coster-at-wozfest3.jpg?resize=400%2C300)
He also brought along an original manual (printed on orangey-red paper to prevent photocopying)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.oldcomputerstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/caverns-of-mordia-manual-cover.jpg?resize=400%2C533)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.oldcomputerstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/caverns-of-mordia-manual-inside.jpg?resize=400%2C533)
and some of his notes and graphs he drew up when designing the game.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.oldcomputerstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/caverns-of-mordia-graph.jpg?resize=400%2C533)
Much fun was had – there were even some Apple II product announcements on the night. Recap here : http://apple2.europlus.zone/community/wozfest-iii-recap/
So that was that.
Time passed…
Wozfest $04 came and went and I wasn’t able to go.
But unbeknownst to me, the organiser and host of Wozfest, Sean McNamara, planned something a bit more elaborate for Wozfest 5.25” – he hinted at something big in the mailing list.
Fortunately I was able to go along to this one. And what a surprise it was – a new updated re-release of Caverns of Mordia!
Hans had a slightly updated version of the game which was never released.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.oldcomputerstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/caverns-of-mordia-source-disk.jpg?resize=400%2C533)
He deprotected it and had his grandson type up the manual afresh. With Sean’s help they created 20 copies to give away and I was one of those lucky ones to attend in person and receive a copy! Here it is pictured below.
For more detailed info about the re-release, follow these links.
http://apple2.europlus.zone/resources/caverns-of-mordia-re-released-at-wozfest-5-25in/
http://apple2.europlus.zone/community/wozfest-5-25in-recap/
http://apple2.europlus.zone/community/wozfest-5-25in-galleries/
And that’s how a retro game can come back to life and be preserved. I’m glad I was able to play a small part. If you have any interest in digital preservation, now is the time to act.
Read on to Part 2 – a Q&A I did with Hans about the game which contains fascinating historical and technical information.
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