Legend of Swordquest podcast

[stirrell]

I did some searching here and didn’t come up with a result so hopefully I am not opening a new thread on an already-discussed topic. Anyway, I stumbled onto a podcast about Swordquest, The Legend of Swordquest, and have really been enjoying it. It contains interviews with Todd Fry and other Atari employees and contestants of the Swordquest contest. 
 

https://omny.fm/shows/the-legend-of-swordquest/placeholder

 

[Rom Hunter]

Many thanks for sharing.

Very interesting to finally hear Steven Bells commentary.

Edited October 14 by Rom Hunter

[Tempest]

Any info on who programmed WaterWorld?

[Rom Hunter]

2 hours ago, Tempest said:

Any info on who programmed WaterWorld?

Nope.

But I'm glad they more or less popped the Curt Vendel 'secret held Waterworld contest' bullshit bubble.

 

BTW: Clive's picture found wasn't the only source that could show confirmation about the Sword's existence.

Michael Rideout also saw all treasures on display during the FireWorld contest (the Philosopher's stone even with the cover off, showing the jade stone itself).

Edited October 14 by Rom Hunter

[+wavemotion]

This was a fantastic listen - thanks for posting the link!

[Rom Hunter]

I'm curious about that second picture of the sword.

Edit: found it.

Edited October 14 by Rom Hunter

[+jeremiahjt]

22 hours ago, Rom Hunter said:

But I'm glad they more or less popped the Curt Vendel 'secret held Waterworld contest' bullshit bubble.

I have not listened yet, but did they give hard evidence that it never happened? Marty, and I guess Curt too, was very adamant that the contest was held and the prize was awarded.

[Rom Hunter]

18 hours ago, jeremiahjt said:

I have not listened yet, but did they give hard evidence that it never happened? Marty, and I guess Curt too, was very adamant that the contest was held and the prize was awarded.

It's the other way around: Curt never gave any hard evidence that it ever happened.

Like Scott Stilphen says on his excellent SwordQuest Revisited page:

"Atari cancelled the contest before a winner was declared, although Curt Vendel believes Atari held a "non-public, semi-secret" playoff, but offered no proof to back up this claim, other than saying that, by law, Atari had to follow through with the WaterWorld contest because the game was publicly sold and players had submitted correct answers.

If someone won a $25,000 crown, we would have heard about it before now, either from the person who won it or someone who knows them. 
Also, the SwordQuest Challenge was a nationally-advertised contest. 
Vendel's claim that the WaterWorld contest had to be completed for the sole reason the game was released and people submitted entries for it doesn't ring true because the contest was comprised of FOUR games. 
Each game's contest was part of reaching the overall contest- to win the sword! 
Why else would Atari have paid off the winners of the EarthWorld and FireWorld contests if they legally didn't have to (because AirWorld was never released)?
 

From Michael Rideout:
 

"When Atari discontinued the contests, Steven and I each received compensatory checks for $15,000, and the 15(?) WaterWorld qualifiers each received compensatory checks for $2,000(?). I'm not positive about the number of WaterWorld qualifiers, but I believe it was 15. I'm also not sure if the $2,000 figure is correct; it may have been $3,000 or even $5,000. All of my notes and documents related to Swordquest are stashed in a box somewhere, and it was over ten years ago, so my memory is a bit hazy."

If Atari indeed had some 'super secret' playoff, what of Rideout's claim of Atari paying off the WaterWorld finalists? 

If Atari paid off the 10 finalists at least $2,000 each, that would be nearly as much as what the Crown was valued at! 

But no WaterWorld finalists (or anyone else associated with the SwordQuest) contest have come forward to corroborate Vendel's version of events, and until someone does, this is just another unfounded rumor of his."

 

I full agree with this.

 

SwordQuest Revisited:
https://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/articles/swordquest_revisited/swordquest_revisited.html

Edited October 16 by Rom Hunter

[jmoore34]

Here's a better photo of the sword in question. 

[Lostdragon]

On 10/13/2024 at 7:11 PM, stirrell said:

I did some searching here and didn’t come up with a result so hopefully I am not opening a new thread on an already-discussed topic. Anyway, I stumbled onto a podcast about Swordquest, The Legend of Swordquest, and have really been enjoying it. It contains interviews with Todd Fry and other Atari employees and contestants of the Swordquest contest. 
 

https://omny.fm/shows/the-legend-of-swordquest/placeholder

 

Huge thanks for the heads up on this one, will be listening to these in the bath and after nightshifts.