Shadowkeep is probably up there with the likes of Murder and Daffy Duck for titles that people desperately want to find. It is a game from way back in 1987 time (or approximately) and was an amazing-looking adventure game according to accounts.
One such person, David Stein, remembers clearly of visiting his local game store and seeing the game running on a Commodore 64. The shop keeper demonstrating would not allow anyone to play as it recorded the actions of the player onto the game disk. Apparently the game looked fantastic.
David saved all his money up to buy the game, but sadly by the time he had enough the store had closed down.
What is particularly odd is that this game should have been a high profile release, but it cannot be found anywhere. It is believed that the game did get a release, and may not quite be a GTW. But its a search we are relishing in the hope of bringing it home.
The game has apparently surfaced a few times, including once back in 2001.. but hasn’t been seen since. An Apple II version was also mistaken to be the C64 version, causing hysteria at first. It seems like this is out there, but we just need to find the little git…
Can you help us preserve it?… do you own it?…
Contributions: David Stein
Hello,
Just read your blog post. Wanted to let you know that the world’s ONLY unopened factory sealed copy of Shadowkeep for the Apple II from 1984 is going up for auction on ebay starting this Thursday August 31, 2017 starting at 6 pm PST. Auction number will be: 263175454180.
Please feel free to share this information with all gamers and game collectors.
Best,
Jaime
from http://www.filfre.net/2013/10/shadowkeep/
Ultrasoft was already in the process of fading quietly away by the time of Shadowkeep’s late 1984 release. They never managed to port the Ultra II engine beyond the Apple II, leaving Shadowkeep without that all-critical Commodore 64 version. Spinnaker toyed with doing the port themselves, even announcing it as coming soon on various occasions, but I see no reason to believe that ever happened. (A Commodore 64 version has been a semi-mythical White Whale in collecting circles for many years now, but, despite some anecdotal claims and remembrances, no one has ever produced an actual working version to my knowledge.) The lack of a Commodore 64 version and the underwhelming nature of the game itself combined to make Shadowkeep the least successful (and, today, rarest) of all the Telarium games. Alan Dean Foster’s book, while no bestseller itself, appears to have sold far more copies on the author’s name recognition and its $3 (as opposed to $35) price tag.
Thanks Max, it seems like nothing will ever see the light of day. Perhaps at least there is something out there still that was started, but due to the amount of time that has passed now – its seeming more and more unlikely.
I used to be sure I owned this game years ago in that I had bought both the “Dragonworld” and “Shadowkeep” books that lay the foundation of both games (I love text adventure games re interactive fiction). I know I had the “Dragonworld” game and also thought I had bought the “Shadowkeep” game. Unfortunately, a large part of my collection was stolen (bastards) and after may years of thought I have become unsure now, as to whether I ever owned it … argh. I still come across the odd old piece of software every now and again so if I ever find it I will be sure to post the info, also, I’d make sure to back the darn thing up and post it online (plus scans re packaging etc). Oh well, maybe …. fingers crossed, cheers 8-)
As far as I know only an Apple II version of this game exists, and even that one does not surface very often (currently there is one copy for sale on eBay). All the collectors I know also can only come up with the Apple II release (the game is from 1984). Back then Telarium’s games were typically released for Apple II and C64. Later the games were released for MS-DOS, and after that came the forth platform, the Atari ST. Most Telarium games (Amazon, Fahrenheit 451, Dragonworld, Rendezvous with Rama, Nine Princes in Amber, Perry Mason and the Case of the Mandarin Murder) can be found on eBay from time to time. The PC and Atari ST versions are rarer, the more common auctions are for the Apple II and C64 versions.
Even the big game databases do not have a cover scan of a C64 or PC version. The C64 version apparently does not exist at all. And if they did not release the C64 version, the PC version is even more unlikely, not to mention an Atari ST release. Telarium ported all their other titles to C64, and later to PC and ST. If they did not release it for C64, they did not release it for PC or ST either.
I honestly think there is only an Apple II version. If an original copy is too difficult or too expensive to come by there is at least the choice of playing it on the Virtual Apple website.
I think I have a working copy of this game that I downloaded maybe 6 or so years ago. (Today is 7/21/13). If I do, its on a ‘retired’ W/XP pc that I’d need to drag out of the closet and resuscitate). Will check back ‘here’ yea or nay in a while. (It wont be “quick”…). Shadow Keep was a great game, and I’d love to be able to maybe actually “finish” it! And also help get it back out there a little bit. I’m also loving the replay of Wizardry V that I’m working on now…Be back when I find Shadow Keep! (hopefully…) – HP