This is a collection of maps to the interactive fiction game Philosopher's Quest.  It was originally created under the alternate title Brand X by Jonathan Mestel and Peter Killworth in 1979 on the Phoenix mainframe at Cambridge University, then commercially released by Acornsoft in 1982, and later by Topologika in 1987.  These maps are specific to the Topologika version, available on the Interactive Fiction Archive at www.ifarchive.org.  This version is much larger than the Acornsoft version, but also different from the original Brand X, whose source code is available on the IF Archive.  For example, Brand X has messages breaking the fourth wall by referring to the mainframe users, extra rooms off the Danger Room, and so on.

These maps were made with Microsoft Powerpoint, then converted to PNG images.  There are two very annoying mazes in Philosopher's Quest:  the M.E. Passages and the Whale's Stomach.  Both mazes are complicated far out of proportion to their small room counts.  In particular, I must apologize for my map of the whale's stomach.  By the time I realized that the map was going to be intricate to the point of utter uselessness, I had already invested so much time and effort into it that I did not want to just toss the whole thing away.  Fortunately (or unfortunately), the map is irrelevant, since the player is frequently tossed around to a random room in the maze, and there is a simple trick to navigating through it anyway.  So, for what it's worth, I present you a map of the whale's stomach in all its bewildering glory.  Incidentally, if you find a mistake in it, this would be the one time I do NOT want to know about it!  (just kidding)

For my next project, I will be mapping either Kingdom of Hamil, Cranston Manor, or The Curse of Crowley Manor.  I am currently taking a little break from the gigantic, complicated interactive fiction games I have mapped in the past.

Marco Cavagna
30 May 2007

cavagna.mg@gmail.com


Archive Contents:

Readme.TXT              this file
Notes.DOC               notes on specific maps
0_Legend.PNG            map legend
1_Circus.PNG            main regions around Piccadilly Circus
2_Beach.PNG             beach, cliff, bungalow, undersea locations
3_Eden.PNG              Tower of Babel, Garden of Eden
4_Escher.PNG            M.E. Passages maze
5_Whale.PNG             Whale's Stomach maze

version 1   5/30/2007

version 2   1/23/2020
	color coded different types of danger rooms
	changed east/up exit from Plank Above the Pivot to transient exit
	changed notation around Danger Room
	added extra rooms from Phoenix mainframe version of game (Brand X)
	minor cosmetic changes
	changed fonts after realizing sans serif looks much better after conversion to image files
	clarified things in "Notes.DOC" file

