But What I am Saying is, I WANT Gurgi to Die - Let's Play The Black Cauldron

(front cover)

(back cover)

Welcome to Let's Play The Black Cauldron by Sierra On-line released in 1986 and based on the 1985 Disney Movie of the same name.

I could probably write a great deal about the movie this game is based on, but then I'd be adding to what is already a glut of commentary on the subject! The TLDR version is that after Walt's death no one quite new how to continue on with the whole animation thing, and mismanagement lead to many senior animators leaving Disney, the Black Cauldron movie bombing, and lots of people saying Disney was dead.

We're not going to talk about there here though! We're going to talk about the PC adventure game that Sierra On-line (well, just Al Lowe really) made based on the movie based on the books.

What? What books you say? Oh, yeah! The movie was based on a series of books called The Chronicles Of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. That's also something I'm not really here to talk about!

Where was I? Oh, yeah Sierra On-line's game, The Black Cauldron! This is an important game! It featured a textless interface years before anyone else was doing it, has branching storylines, multiple endings, it even has hidden hunger and thirst stats! In 1986?! Why is it then that no one talks about it? Well, the movie sucked, the game was designed and marketed to children, and Sierra On-line abandoned almost all the things that make it neat! By the time all things were said and done I think Disney, Sierra, Mr. Alexander, etc. wanted everyone to just sort of forget about it!

Someone who has read the books can pop in if they want and provide some deeper context, I've never read the books though. I haven't even seen the movie! So, you're going in with as much information as I have!

From the manual, which is really quite nice, as far as computer manuals go for the time. Full color, glossy paper:


All clear? All ready? Want to go on a blocky pixel adventure? Me too!

I'll see you next week!

I've still never seen this movie and keep thinking I need to. I really like the long intro in the manual though!

Well, Al Lowe, and a movie I like as the inspiration? I'm interested.

Welcome back! It's sorta still the weekend, right? Close enough! Last time I introduced you to the game and sorta hoped someone else here on Talking Time was going to do the hard work of introducing the movie or maybe the books you, but that doesn't seem to have happened... Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope it does soon! Cause, I don't know anything about any of that!

So, since neither of us knows what's going on lets just jump right in!



Here we are with the Title Screen, pretty impressive considering the limited palette and resolution. Waiting at the title screen won't provide any background after a short credit screen (the majority of the programming was done by Al Lowe (of Leisure Suit Larry Infamy) and Mark Crowe (Space Quest) did all the art for the game.) There is also a short musical track on the title screen, but I'll spare you the pain of the tune.

With the title and credits screen behind us we're dumped immediately dumped into the game. And, as I mentioned earlier Black Cauldron doesn't have a cursor or a parser. Every action is carried out through using one of the function keys:



Not much out of the usual for Sierra games of this time and era. F1 is always help, F5 and F7 are the standard 'save' and 'load' keys, as is F9 to restart. It is in the third screen that things get odd. F3 is used to select items in your inventory and F4 to use them. F6 is to interact with objects in the world, and finally F8 is to look at things in the environment. The rest of the options are fairly standard as well, so no need to go into the details there.

So, here we are in the world of Prydain!



Before, we go inside let's do a little exploring? To the east (remember in these games right is east, left is west, up is north and down is south.)



If I take care of the pig, who watches after the goose and goat? (Both of which are assholes by the way, players of King's Quest would already know that the goat was a bad apple. But, this goose? Who was to know? And decades before Unnamed Goose Game let other people know!)

First things first, lets loot some stuff:



And now back into the cottage:



I mean we could talk to Dallben, but certainly not before looting the cottage:









I tried to get a closer look at Dallben but the game merely informs me about the book the old man is reading.



So, I try talking to him:

Back to work! An assistant pig keepers job is never done!



We grab the gruel and head back to Hen Wen.



Or that's what we should do... First though let's get west and north:



Big hole in a tree like that? Begging to be investigated:



I thought about exploring some of the world now, but decided not to. The game world is only about four screens wide and five high. With the north and south wrapping back to each other. So, I take Taran back to the sty and south one:



No, I also don't know anyone else who keeps food in a wallet. One more thing while we are here:



Pressing F3 I select our water flask and then using F4 I fill it at the stream. With those errands out of the way let's go do our job.





I mean, she's a pig. What do you expect?



For someone who has been doing this job his entire life Taran is terrible at it!



Better do what the game suggests and follow her back to Dallben.

I mean just from the name 'Horned King' things don't sound good. And, I mean if he has a skull for a face he must be evil, right?



And something in there about the titular Black Cauldron, which is evil or maybe just used for evil? Dallben isn't quite clear on that subject. He was clear that it was now our job to get Hen Wen to safety with the Fairy Folk. But, he hasn't bothered to tell us where to go or how to do that either. I mean he's the Pig Keeper! We're just the assistant!

Turn in next week when we go sight seeing the tiny realm of Prydain with an ocular pig!

I know this is 'cuz of the dev company and the computer technology of the time and because it's medieval fantasy, but boy does this look like a King's Quest game.

Sometimes I miss the days when limited technology could resort in a tie-in game that looks significantly different from its source material. If The Black Cauldron had an adventure game made today it'd probably just emulate the Disney film's look directly.

EDIT: Also I will be looking forward to you showing off all the ways that Taran can lose/die because this is a Sierra On-Line games.

Welcome back! As you may recall last time we met our hero, Taran, assistant pig keeper in the land of Prydain. Our guardian Dallben had just finished telling Taran that the pig he assist keeps, Hen Wen, was a magic pig and that the local no-good-nik, the Horned King, was out looking for Hen Wen. Dallben then tasked Taran with safely delivering the oracular swine to the fair folk. Unfortunately, Dallben did not bother letting Taran know just where the Fair Folk could be found...

We take up the story from there, with Hen Wen now following Taran:



I believe that the secret Fairy Lair is northwest of Caer Dallben. So we head that way. I keep Taran close to the edge of the screen for reasons that will soon become apparant.



Yup! That thing will home in on Hen Wen and grab the little piggie if given the chance. They don't follow you across screens though. So, ducking into one screen and then back clears the threat.



This is the place! We just got to get through the hedges here:



Here you see the thirst game mechanic. You can ignore it for awhile but if you don't drink before the third warning you die. I think your flask holds five sips. You deal with this by selecting 'water' in your inventory and then 'using' it with the F4 key.



It's a neat idea, and lots of other later games do more with the mechanic, here though it's just a nuisance. We'll be seeing the hunger one soon enough.



Here we are! I know it is supposed to be a secret that no the Horned King couldn't find. But, I'd have thought his FLYING gwythaints would have been able to spot the smoke and chimney easily enough.









I'm sorry but I have to think that even in Welsh pronouncing 'bmmpxf' can't be easy!

With Hen Wen ssfely delivered and the Fairy Folk retiring to their hidden underground lair with her. Taran takes this opportunity to loot the place:





And here it is! If we hadn't found the Food Wallet, the hunger mechanic would place a hard cap on the time we have to figure out what to do to complete the game. There are only so many edible items in the game and once their gone Taran's hunger will eventually kill him. The wallet eliminates that possibility though. Leaving us with only this minor inconvenience ever few minutes or so.



With the cookies in his pockets Taran takes his leave. The game hints that we are supposed to seek out the Fair Folk right now, but instead, we're going to head to the Horned King's castle and clear some things out there.

We go west and north from the fairy home:



We'll need this dagger to get into the castle though. From here we go north and west:



A rock maze! This one is a little more difficult than the bush one we just did. Start in the lower right corner and work your way up and to the left and you'll quickly find your way through it:



The rope can go either to the left or the right. It is random but it doesn't matter. The challenges on each side are identical in every way, the screens only vary slightly from each other.



Now Taran has to scale across and up this rock face. As long as he doesn't take any shortcuts he'll be fine:







Spoopy.

This is a cool screen. A few ominous notes play. Well, as ominous as PC speaker can make. Lighting flashes on the screen, accompanied by a short flash of the entire screen and two gwythaints endless circle the towers. Imagine seeing this as a little kid in 1986?!

Taran heads in





That doesn't look that difficult but if you were a clumsy kid and/or didn't have a keypad on your keyboard you could be in real trouble! Some of those corners are hard to naviagate without falling!

Speaking of difficult, I forgot to mention that the rope climbing earlier is nearly impossible without a keypad. Pushing the '9' key will get you through it simple as anything. If you have to use the arrow keys though? Rest in Peace my friend! Rest in peace! (or turn the games speed down to the slowest and rythmically tap out > and ^ saving often! You just might make it.)

If we head west instead of North:



We see the mirror image of what we'd have face if our rope had gone up the other side. Back to where we were:



Now unlike other Sierra adventure games the mere existence of crocodiles in this green water doesn't mean Taran will instantly die if he enters the water. It is just most likely that he will. As soon as our little hero enters the water all four of those hunger crocodilians will beeline it towards him. Good news! As long as Taran moves on a diagonal he can outswim them. Just like in real life! Save first.



More climbing. Taran has to avoid the light colored stones and the rocks that are going to soon be falling down upon him. Touch either of those and its a tumbling death.





We're aiming for that yellow rectangle right there above Taran.



And he's in!



Nothing out here.

Mark Crowe is a seriously talented background artist. It takes some serious skill to make backgrounds that pop like this, especially when you have a very limited color palette to draw from.

I can definitely see how he went from this to being one of the two big names behind the Space Quest series.

Good stuff, but False - did you forget your usual sign-off spiel or forget to post some more screens for this update?

OMG! My last post didn't post!

So, what exactly is Taran doing here? Well, if Hen Wen had been captured we'd be here to rescue her, but since we got her to safety we're here to collect some items, rescue some other folks and then get out.



Double Spoopy!





Now let's get captured!





How did he know we keep pigs?!





"Nobody knows the troubles I've seen. Nobody knows my sorrows."



And then it pops back down the hall. Taran follows:





A princess?! In a dungeon?! AND a magic bauble?! Find out what all of this means next time!

Welcome back Prydainians! As you may recall, last time we had left our Assistant Pig Keeper beneath the Horned King's castle wherein he had just been rescued and by a mysterious girl with a myserious glowing bauble.

Let's see how that's going!



Oh, well, uh... I guess it could be worse... best not to dwell on all the things Taran isn't! Let's get back to adventuring. From here Taran heads west with Princess Eilonway following.



Then north:



Observant players will note that the Princess' bauble seems to disappear and reappear right at the spot you see it at now. If Taran investigates:





Definitely feeling like we've found something here.



(I want you to appreciate that the above sequence involves nothing more than alternating between pressing 'F6' and 'enter' five times.)



Like all adventurers Taran is attracted to glints and other shiny objects.





And as suddenly as she came into our lives she exited them. Get used to it! And, no you can't escape the way she did. And, no the game doesn't justify it.

Now, back to that shiny thing!



Now people will have to respect this Assistant Pig Keeper!

With the Princess Eilonway safely away and Taran armed, we head back out into the labyrinth below the Horned King's Castle searching for a way out:



The ladder is a pretty dead give away I must say. Taran twists the nearby gargoyle an ascends back into the castle's halls:







And now all shall know, and fear, Taran the Assistant Pig Keeper!



Apparently, Taran doesn't believe in killing people even with the most magical of swords. We move North:





Again, we have to brain the goon. They hardly stay stunned at all. Our goal is the the door against the north wall:





I guess that was Fflewddur? He seemed nice. I guess? Who can know.



And with that there is nothing more to do in this hellish place. We'll be back though. Now, to get out.

It'd be a lot quicker if Taran was killing these idiots...









And, with one swing Taran is free. Free at least of the castle and the servants of the Horned King. The mission Dalben originally set him still remains. We must find the Black Cauldron. And, there are only two places we haven't been to.

First to back track back to Caer Dalben:






As soon as we are back we stumble upon something odd:



(Gurgi moves around so quickly and randomly, it is hard to get a decent screenshot of him.)



Now we head towards the waterfall just south, or north, of Dalben's home:

This seems like an important place. And, I'm not sure how you're supposed to know what to do here. Outside of process of elimination.







Looks like we found the rest of the fair folk.



No one seems to have any respect for the important work of animal husbandry...





I suppose it is too much to ask them to help me out of this hole?





And now there is only one place we haven't been. The swamp.



Welp, by the process of elimination the Cauldron has got to be in this shabby swamp hut!

We'll find out for sure next time!

Neat perspective trick with the gargoyle there! Even if it's perhaps a bit oversized, but it's cool to see it in full detail.

Oh my goodness! I completely forgot about this LP! Global pandemic will do that! Where was I even?

...

Ah, that's right! We'd saved Henwen, Princess Eilonwy, and Fflewddur Fflam. I think we even encountered a small creature known as 'Gurgi.' There was also some fair folk in there... All we hadn't done is find the Black Cauldron or go into the swamp. Which is exactly where I left things way back in the before times!

Well, here Taran is in the swamps. And what is in the middle of the swamps? This decrepit hovel:



Not really much going on in here, is there?



Taran moves into the rear room:



How does he know?

What are we supposed to do now? The only other thing in this place was that chest in the front room:



Let's open it!:





That is a lot of frogs?!







Yes, they did. Pay attention Taran. No wonder you're still just an assistant pig-keeper!



Not much to look at are they? Don't need looks to turn a mere assistant pigkeeper into a frog though. Taran offers him the most precious thing he owns:



I know this is a Sierra game but even so that's a lot to cram into a pocket!

Damn, you don't have to rub it in!



And then things got worse.



Come on! I traded for that cauldron fair and square! Guess, we don't have any choice but to go back to the Horned King's Castle and figure out how to get the cauldron back or disable it somehow...



We still have some powder to use (yes, you can misuse this and be stuck on the island. I mean while being an easier Sierra game it is still a Sierra game!)

I'll spare you all the rigor morale of getting back to the castle.



It seems like only just now Taran was here...



Taran walks right in, but has to run from guards because he no longers has his sword. That being the case he slowly wends his way through the castle's halls.



It's hard to see here but the Horned King is dragging skeletons from the pile in the corner and throwing them into the cauldron. How do we get into the basement though?



Obviously behind one of these casks! Where you have to randomly keeping 'looking' until you see something!



Now, this seems familiar!



Are you ready, reader? Are you ready, Taran? Through that door lies the Horned King who is using the eldritch power of the Black Cauldron to bring the dead back to life to serve as an army to conquer the world? That's sort of a big deal.



The baddie makes a beeline for our hero as soon as he steps through the door. Barely giving us enough time to whip out the mirror we obtained earlier in the game (apparently he did have enough time to admire himself though?!):







Uh-oh.

Enjoy a scenic boatride down the waterways of western Prydain!

Finally our little trip comes to an end:



Conveniently right next to the object of our search!



Not these three again!



How "generous" of you... But fighting turns out not be all that great...



But, I'd have to wear full plate armor until I die? That seems not ideal...



Yes! My sword, and by mine, I mean the one I obtained by looted sacred burial grounds! (This is the choice you need to make to get a perfect score.)



*Screen wipes to black*




Convenient for them to show up now that all the hard work is over...






And there you have Sierra On-line's Disney's Adoption of Lloyd Alexander's The Black Cauldron.

It's about what you'd expect from a bastardization of a bastardization. The typingless interface is interesting but clunky and really limited the way you can interact with the world.

I used to do all the death screens for these types of games. But, I just don't have that kind of time. If there is a great deal of interest. I can go back and show the alternative ways to defeat the Horned King. Thank you for reading.

I'd love to hear about the alternate ways to win. If nothing else, I'd settle for a description.

This LP made me want to watch the movie, but I've heard the movie is not so good.

You defeated the Horned King and kept your magic sword, huh? Didn't expect that.

Thanks for the LP, it was fun. And interesting to see how they changed the book.

What happens if you don't agree to trade the cauldrons back? Do you get turned into a frog?

Just so you know, there are a couple of videos detailing the various deaths in The Black Cauldron, Flawgic. I can post them here if you want.