Connoiseur, The

Synapse Software 1984

Aka:: Connoisseur, The
Language:: English
Authors:: Erol Otus, Paul Reiche
Systems:: BTZ
Platforms:: Atari 400/800
Genres:: (unreleased game)
Entered by:: Garry
Added:: 27-08-2023

Synopsis

Plot

It is 10:00, and the Inn of the Elvish Dogs is closed for the night, another busy day come to an end. You are the old innkeeper and tonight you have decided to relax with a bottle of your finest wine.

As you enter the wine cellar, the door swings shut and locks behind you. No matter, you carry the key in your pocket... Or do you? Alas, you have left it on the table outside the door! Such an inconvenience. The door is stout and could not be broken down by a man in his prime, let alone a feeble oldster like yourself. The servants have gone for the night, but in the morning you should be able to attract their attention by banging on the door. It appears that a night in the wine cellar is unavoidable. Well, things are not so bad, your lantern will burn all night and fine vintages are plentiful! Without further ado you look over your collection. Strange, the bottle you had in mind is present on the east rack, but it is empty. So are all the bottles on the rack! How can this be? Some of your servants are scoundrels to be sure. They would gulp down your whole collection given the chance, but only you have access to the key. You look around the cellar: a small square room with wine racks on the east and west walls, a pile of rubbish against the south wall and the door on the north. No explanation seems obvious. Something very peculiar is going on...

Notes

The misspelling of the title occurs in the game and on the disk labels.

This is a prototype of a game that was retrieved from the archives of Synapse Software programmer Bill Darrah and archived for the National Videogame Museum by John Hardie on 21 August 2023. It was an early work by Paul Reiche and Erol Otus that was being developed for Synapse Software. The game would have been in the vein of Synapse Software's Electronic Novels, namely Mindwheel, Essex and Brimstone. For further info, including interviews with the developers, see Atarimania.