History VideoGame / TheBlackCauldron

In order to make the game more accessible to children, Sierra used an innovative idea that would not re-appear in the genre for the next 10 years: The text parser that was used in the company's earlier graphic adventure games was removed in favor of the function keys that performed various actions: F3 would choose an inventory item, F4 would use it, F6 would perform "Use" near the character's location, and F8 would "look." The simplification of the two actions "Look" and "Use" was not reused in Sierra's later games. However, it somewhat resembles the control system of other later, simpler point and click adventure games, such as the ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVIIThePrincelessBride'' or ''VideoGame/TheDig'' whose interfaces only consisted of "Look" and "Use." Being based on a Disney film, the graphics present some relative "flexibility," compared to the monolithic and straight backgrounds of previous and later games.

* TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf: TheFairFolk give you a magic mirror that shows the true nature of anyone who looks into it, and has a different message if used when the party members from the movie are around. One way to defeat the Horned King is to show him a magic mirror. He will be so horrified at his own evil that he'll jump into the Cauldron and kill himself!

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the movie Eilonwy's dress was pink, while on the cover art it's blue.

[[caption-width-right:261:The quintessential example of SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames.]]

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the movie Eilonwy's dress was greyish-purple, while on the cover art it's blue.

!! This {{Video Game|s}} contains examples of:

* GoldenPath: The best ending is achieved by doing everything Taran did wrong in the movie: [[spoiler: Getting Hen-Wen to safety and not letting the Horned King get ahold of him (but not before getting a magic pouch that ensures you will never run out of food from under the bridge. Something that will disappear if you don't get it before this), not using the magic mirror on the witches, and not attempting to throw yourself into the cauldron. Instead, you must find a hidden path to the bellows behind one of the wine barrels, then use the magic mirror on the king to cause him to [[DrivenToSuicide commit suicide]] by running into the cauldron and throwing HIMSELF into it. You will then be able to get the magic sword back and become the warrior Taran always wanted to be.]]

NeedsWikiMagicLove.

The player character is a young assistant pig keeper, Taran, undertaking a quest to stop the evil Horned King, who seeks for Hen Wen, the magical pig of the wizard Dallben, for her visionary abilities. With these abilities, the King would be able to discover the Black Cauldron and rule the land. Taran is tasked with taking her to safety, but the game differs from the film in the first of several ways in that Taran is able to succeed in doing so. The game actually featured plot branches and MultipleEndings depending on many variables, such as whether Hen Wen the pig was saved, how the cauldron was destroyed, and what reward was chosen afterwards. This use of multiple endings predated the more famous use in ''VideoGame/ManiacMansion'' by a year.

A video game adaptation of Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Disney/TheBlackCauldron'' was designed by Creator/AlLowe and released in 1986 by Creator/{{Sierra}}, which was designed to be similar to Sierra's ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' series. Along with ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'', it remains one of only a few adventure games by Sierra (prior to the Vivendi buyout) to be based on a film.

The player character is a young assistant pig keeper, Taran, undertaking a quest to stop the evil Horned King, who seeks for Hen Wen, the magical pig of the wizard Dallben, for her visionary abilities. With these abilities, the King would be able to discover the Black Cauldron and rule the land. Taran is tasked with taking her to safety, but the game differs from the film in the first of several ways in that Taran is able to succeed in doing so. The game actually featured plot branches and multiple endings depending on many variables, such as whether Hen Wen the pig was saved, how the cauldron was destroyed, and what reward was chosen afterwards. This use of multiple endings predated the more famous use in ''VideoGame/ManiacMansion'' by a year.

* MultipleEndings: There are a lot of ways the game can end. You could have Gurgi die and be brought back to life. You could end up getting the magic sword back.

* [[WizardNeedsFoodBadly Pig Boy Needs Food Badly]]: Regular eating (and drinking) is a requirement. (Something repeated only once in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder,'' and even there, only at a certain point.) Luckily there's a fair amount of food: 3 meals worth of bread, some gruel, an apple, and cookies. Water can be filled almost anywhere (except at the Horned King's castle. You can fill the water in the moat there, but it will kill you if you drink it.) However, once you run out of food it's only a matter of time until you starve to death. [[spoiler: Unless you happen across a certain magic pouch under the bridge just to the south of Dallben's cottage. This pouch will produce food for you forever. However, you can only acquire it while escorting Hen-Wen to the hidden cottage. If you return to the bridge after you either succeed or fail in this task, it's gone forever.)]]

* TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf: One way to defeat the Horned King is to show him a magic mirror. He will be so horrified at his own evil that he'll jump into the Cauldron and kill himself!

In order to make the game more accessible to children, Sierra used an innovative idea that would not re-appear in the genre for the next 10 years: The text parser was removed in favor of the function keys that performed various actions: F3 would choose an inventory item, F4 would use it, F6 would perform "Use" near the character's location, and F8 would "look." The simplification of the two actions "Look" and "Use" was not reused in Sierra's later games. However, it somewhat resembles the control system of other later, simpler point and click adventure games, such as the ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVIIThePrincelessBride'' or ''VideoGame/TheDig'' whose interfaces only consisted of "Look" and "Use." Being based on a Disney film, the graphics present some relative "flexibility," compared to the monolithic and straight backgrounds of previous and later games.

The player character is a young assistant pig keeper, Taran, undertaking a quest to stop the evil Horned King, who seeks for Hen Wen, the magical pig of the wizard Dallben, for her visionary abilities. With these abilities, the King would be able to discover the Black Cauldron and rule the land. Taran's first mission is to lead her to the Fair Folk while the King's dragons are looking for them. Should the pig be captured (the game allows either possibility), Taran can go to the King's castle and rescue her. Once inside, Taran will meet and rescue Eilonwy with her magic bauble and Fflewddur Fflam, as well as discover a Magic Sword. The Cauldron is in the possession of three witches of Morva who will trade it for the Sword. Unfortunately, a dragon grasps the cauldron and Taran goes back to encounter the evil man himself. The game actually featured plot branches and multiple endings depending on many variables, such as whether Hen Wen the pig was saved, how the cauldron was destroyed, and what reward was chosen afterwards. This use of multiple endings predated the more famous use in ''VideoGame/ManiacMansion'' by a year.

A video game adaptation of Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Disney/TheBlackCauldron'' was designed by Creator/AlLowe and released in 1986 by Creator/{{Sierra}}, which was designed to be similar to Sierra's ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' series. Along with ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'', it remains one of only a few adventure games by Sierra to be based on a film.

[[caption-width-right:261:The quintessential example of NoProblemWithLicensedGames.]]