Timeline of Eamon history

This article is about the history of the game series. For the history of the fictional planet, see History of Eamon.

This article is a timeline of events in (or related to) the history of the Eamon text adventure series.

20th century

1938

• July 27 – Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, born.

1947

• October 1 – Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, born.
• December 26 – Bill Fesselmeyer, the "grandfather of Eamon", born.

1953

• Richard Skeie, founder of the Computer Emporium and CE Software, born.

1954

• July 29 – The first volume of The Lord of the Rings published.

1959

• Eamon creator Donald Brown born.

1966

• May 1 – The Society for Creative Anachronism founded in Berkeley, California.

1973

• October – TSR founded in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

1974

• January – Dungeons & Dragons first published.

1976

• Colossal Cave Adventure released.
• April 1 – Apple Computer founded in Cupertino, California.

1977

• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) published.
• June 10 – The first Apple II computer sold.

1978

• Bill and Sherry Fesselmeyer found the Des Moines chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism.
• early – Richard Skeie founds the Computer Emporium in Des Moines, Iowa.
• February 21 – Val Golding founds the Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange (A.P.P.L.E.).
• June – Disk II floppy disk drive introduced.
• July 20 – Apple DOS 3.1 released.

1979

• February 16 – Apple DOS 3.2 released.
• June – Apple introduces the Apple II Plus computer.
• November – Atari introduces the Atari 800 home computer.
• c. late 1979 – Donald Brown releases The Wonderful World of Eamon.
  The Beginners Cave and The Lair of the Minotaur released.

1980

• January – The Cave of the Mind released.
• Odyssey: The Compleat Apventure by Robert Clardy published.
• June – Commodore introduces the VIC-20 computer.
• July – Recreational Computing publishes "The Wonderful World of Eamon", an article by Donald Brown.
• August 25 – Apple DOS 3.3 released.
• late – Ron Maleika founds the Apple Avocation Alliance.

1981

• early – CE Software, the software development arm of the Computer Emporium, begins operation.
• May – CE Software publishes SwordThrust.
• August 12 – IBM introduces the IBM Personal Computer.
• September – Softdisk begins publication.

1982

• August – Commodore introduces the Commodore 64 computer.

1983

• January – Apple introduces the Apple IIe and Apple Lisa computers.

1984

• January 24 – Apple introduces the Macintosh computer.
• March – Eamon Adventurers Log first published (full text).
  The City in the Clouds, Museum of Unnatural History, Daemon's Playground, Caverns of Lanst, Alternate Beginners Cave, Priests of Xim!, Escape from the Orc Lair, SwordQuest, Lifequest, FutureQuest, and Picnic in Paradise released.
• April 24 – Apple introduces the Apple IIc computer.
• May – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  The Castle Kophinos, Behind the Sealed Door, The Caves of Eamon Bluff, The Devil's Dungeon, Feast of Carroll, Crystal Mountain, The Master's Dungeon, The Lost Adventure, The Manxome Foe, The Land of Death, The Jungles of Vietnam, The Sewers of Chicago, The Harpy Cloud, The Caverns of Doom, Valkenburg Castle, Modern Problems, The School of Death, Dungeons of Xenon, Chaosium Caves, and The Smith's Stronghold released.
• August – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  The Black Castle of NaGog, The Tomb of Y'Golonac, Operation Crab Key, House on Eamon Ridge, The Deep Canyon, DharmaQuest, Temple of the Guild, and The Search for Yourself released.
• September 14 – Bill Fesselmeyer and four others die in an automobile accident.
• October – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  Temple of the Trolls and The Prince's Tavern released.

1985

• Little Green Software publishes Super Eamon.
• Mark Welch creates the Generic Adventure Game System (GAGS), predecessor to the Adventure Game Toolkit.
• January – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  The Castle of Count Fuey, The Search for the Key, The Rescue Mission, Escape from Mansi Island, The Twin Castles, Castle of Riveneta, The Time Portal, Castle Mantru, Caves of Hollow Mountain, The Shopping Mall, Superfortress of Lin Wang, and FutureQuest II released.
• January – Commodore introduces the Commodore 128 computer.
• March – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  The Fugitive released.
• May – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  John Nelson and Bob Davis announce an "un-contest" to create new Eamon adventures.
  Flying Circus, Blood Feud, The Maze of Quasequeton, The Chamber of the Dragons, The House of Secrets, Slave Pits of Kzorland, In the Clutches of Torrik, and Sorceror's Spire released.
• June – Atari Corporation released the Atari ST home computer.
• July – Commodore introduces the Amiga home computer.
• August – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  Ground Zero, Eamon Railroad, Top Secret, The Lost World, The Strange Resort, Camp Eamon, The Last Dragon, The Mines of Moria, and The Forest of Fear released.
• October – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  Fire Island, A Vacation in Europe, Hills of History, The Life-Orb of Mevtrelek, and Thror's Ring released.
• November 5 – Green Valley Publishing releases version 3.5 (the last known version) of its pirated Adventure series.

1986

• June – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  Ring of Doom, The Iron Prison, Dungeon of Doom, Pittfall, Grunewalde, Orb of My Life, and Wrenhold's Secret Vigil released.
• September 15 – Apple introduces the Apple IIGS computer.

1987

• David Malmberg creates the Adventure Game Toolkit.
• Philippe Houdry creates Connall.
• January 1 – Dr. Evil Laboratories opens.
• January – CE Software incorporates.
• January – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  The Valley of Death, The Wizard of the Spheres, Assault on Dolni Keep, The Mattimoe Palace, The Pyramid of Anharos, The Hunt for the Ring, Quest of Erebor, Return to Moria, Haradwaith, Nucleus of the Ruby, Rhadshur Warrior, The Final Frontier, Pyramid of the Ancients, The Tomb of Evron, The Mountain Fortress, The Ruins of Ivory Castle, Starfire, Peg's Place, Beginner's Forest, The Infested Fortress, The Beermeister's Brewery, The Alternate Zone, and Gartin Manor released.
• October – Eamon Adventurers Log published (full text).
  Buccaneer!, The House of Horrors, The Dark Brotherhood, Journey to Jotunheim, and Elemental Apocalypse released.
• October – Eamon Gazetteer published.

1988

• Eamon Adventurers Log interim letter published (full text).
• The Star Portal released as an AGT adventure.
• TADS interactive fiction authoring system released.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter first published (full text).
  Walled City of Darkness, Eamon S.A.R.-1, The Computer Club of Fear, Lost!, A Trip to Fort Scott, and Tomb of the Vampire released.
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  The Lake, The Pathetic Hideout of Mr. R., The Lair of Mr. Ed, The Bridge of Catzad-Dum, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Operation Endgame released.
• September 16 – Apple introduces the Apple IIc Plus computer.
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Gartin Manor, Eamon 7.0 Demo Adventure, The Sands of Mars, A Real Cliffhanger, and Animal Farm released.

1989

• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Storm Breaker released.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Expedition to the Darkwoods, The High School of Horrors, The Black Phoenix, Ragnarok Revisited, The Pyramid of Cheops, The Mountain of the Master, The House That Jack Built, Escape from Granite Hall, Anatomy of the Body, Dirtie Trix's Mad Maze, Shippe of Fooles, and The Alien Intruder released.
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  The Wizard's Tower, Gamma 1, The Eamon Sewer System, Farmer Brown's Woods, and The Boy and the Bard released.
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Quest for Orion, The Body Revisited, Beginner's Cave II, and Batman!! released.

1990

• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Encounter: The Bookworm, The Ruins of Belfast, Shift Change at Grimmwax, Enhanced Beginners Cave, Mean Streets, The Creature of Rhyl, Attack of the Kretons, and The Training Ground released.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  The Cat House, Star Wars - Tempest One, Revenge of the Bookworm, Quest of the Crystal Wand, The Lost Isle, and The Caverns of Vanavara released.
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  The Plain of Srevi, Lotto's Masterpiece, and Sanctuary released.
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).

1991

• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Utterly Outrageous and Curse of the Hellsblade released.
  HyperCard Eamon, an Apple IIGS version by Whit Crowley, released.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Eamon Renegade Club released.
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Assault on Helstar, Apocalypse 2021, Return of Ngurct, Lair of the Marauders, Haunted Keep, and Demongate released.

1992

• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Deathstalker's Castle, Treasure Island, and The Pirate's Cave released.
• May – CE Software ranked #42 in Inc. magazine's annual list of the top 100 fastest-growing small public corporations.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Eye of Agamon released.
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Return to Pendrama and The City of Sorcerers released.
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Catacombs of Terror released.

1993

• CE Software lays off employees as it downsizes.
• CE Software creates spin-off organization Prairie Group, which acquires various software titles from CE including SwordThrust.
• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Count Dracula's Castle and The Halls of the Adept released.
• April – Richard Skeie resigns as president of CE Software and is succeeded by Ford Goodman.
• May – Redemption published by Softdisk.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Time-Shift released.
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Eamon Dungeon Designer version 7.1 released.
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Eamon Dungeon Designer version 7.1 Multi-Disk Supplement released.

1994

• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Prisoner of Darkness released.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Adventure in Interzone released.
• August – The initial release of AppleWin created by Mike O'Brien.[1]
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Bookworm 3-D, B I Z A R R O, and Shipwreck Island released.
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Banana Republic released.

1995

• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Firestorm, Well of the Great Ones, and Keep of Skull Gorge released.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  The Curse of Talon, Jewel of Yara, The Domain of Zenoqq, and The Forbidden City released.
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Vaalpa's Plight and Search for Mack released.

1996

• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Fiends of Eamon released.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Sagamore released.
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).

1997

• TSR, creator of Dungeons & Dragons, becomes defunct.
• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Idol of the Incas released.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  Heart of Gold released.
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  The Shrunken Adventurer and The Dungeon of Traps release.
  Work begins on an MS-DOS port of Eamon later known as Eamon Deluxe.

1998

• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• May – Eamon Deluxe version 1.0 is released.
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• August 15 – Apple introduces the first iMac computer.
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• December – Eamon Deluxe version 2.0 released.

1999

• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• summer – Work begins on Eamon Deluxe version 3; it is decided to include all classic Eamon adventures in the system, now made available by the Eamon CD and MD-DOS emulation.
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).

2000

• Donald Brown launches the website gadgetdon.com.
• March – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• June – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• September – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• December – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  The Dragon of Aldaar released.

21st century

2001

• January – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• October – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  The Caverns of the Sphinx and Dracula's Chateau released.
• Autumn – Eamon Deluxe version 4.2 released.

2002

• March – First edition of the Eamon Deluxe Adventure Design Manual published.

2003

• February – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
• June – The Caverns of the Sphinx. Dracula's Chateau, and The Sword of Inari released.
• July – Adora Entertainment announces plans to develop The Eamon Guild of Free Adventurers.
• November – Matthew Clark establishes the Eamon Adventurers Guild Online website at eamonag.org.
• December – Matthew Clark releases Eamon on Java.

2004

• Journey Across the Muerte Sea becomes the first Eamon Deluxe adventure.
• January – Eamon Adventurer's Guild Newsletter published (full text).
  The incomplete Hammer's Slammers released.
• February – Amateur Alley and Quest for the Fire Dragon released.
• March – The Hindenburg Ogre released.
• April – A group of CE Software employees form Startly Technologies, acquiring the operating assets of CE Software and taking the company private.
• August – Matthew Clark writes the essay "Eamon and Interactive Fiction".

2005

• January – The Tomb of Razaak released.
• February – Eamon Deluxe Newsletter first published (full text).
• March 29 – Red Varnum dies.
• Journey Across the Muerte Sea released.
• May – The Pixy Oak released.
• August – Adora Entertainment ceases operation; Draconis Entertainment is formed.

2006

• November 18 – Realm of Fantasy released.
• Development of Eamon Deluxe suspended, beginning a long hiatus.

2007

• June 29 – Apple introduces the first iPhone.

2008

• March 4 – Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax dies.
• December – The Vi gaming community discover Eamon Deluxe as an accessible way of playing Eamon.

2009

• March – Cliffs of Fire, The Prism of Shadows, and Dawn of the Warlock released.
• April 7 – Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson dies.
• August – Pathfinder Roleplaying Game first published.
• September 30 – AkeySoft Group releases the iBASIC app for Apple iOS.
• December 5 – AkeySoft adds Eamon and eight adventures to its iBASIC app.

2010

• February 15 – Chester Bolingbroke launches The CRPG Addict blog.
• Leadlight released.
• August – The text adventure documentary Get Lamp is released.

2011

• April 3 – The Eamon Museum established at EAG Online
  The Eamon Adventurer's Guild Facebook group (@EamonGuild) makes its first post.
• November – Eamon Deluxe version 5.0 publicly announced.

2012

• The Adventurer's General Store released.
• January – Beta testing begins on Eamon Deluxe version 5.0 with Beginners Adventures.
• February – Eamon Deluxe Demo Adventure is released as a public beta.
  Beta testing begins on Jim Jacobson Adventures Deluxe and some of The Thomas Zuchowski Adventures.
  Frank Black writes The Waiting Room as a place-holder adventure.
• March – Development begins on Eamon Wiki.
  Eamon Deluxe Newsletter published (full text).
  A Runcible Cargo released.
• May – Beta testing begins on The Sam Ruby Adventures and The Nathan Segerlind Adventures.
• June – Realm of Fantasy is published in a newly upgraded form.
  A Runcible Cargo released.
• July – Eamon Deluxe Newsletter published (full text).
  Stronghold of Kahr-Dur released.
• October – Eamon Deluxe version 5.0 released as a public beta.

2013

• January 26 – Gary Flanagan dies.
• March – Stronghold of Kahr-Dur released.
• March 17 – Eamon Wiki opens to the public at eamononline.com.
• March 22 – The CRPG Addict publishes its review of Eamon.
• April – A Runcible Cargo nominated for the XYZZY Award.
• May – The Treachery of Zorag released.
• July – At KansasFest Margaret Anderson wins first place in the "Hackfest" programming competition with her Eamon mapper.
• September – Margaret Anderson's article "Mapping the Unknown" is published in the September issue of Juiced.GS.

2015

• Eamon Adventure Browser created by Derek Jeter

2016

• Donald Browns's website eamontales.com closes.

2017

• February 4 - Eamon Remastered launches at eamon-remastered.com with seven ported adventures: The Beginners Cave, The Training Ground, Eamon Deluxe 5.0 Demo Adventure, The Devil's Dungeon, The Magic Kingdom, Furioso, and The Caves of Treasure Island
• August 27 – Eamon Wiki relaunches at eamon.wiki.
• October 21 – William Trent dies.

2018

• Michael Penner releases Eamon CS, a C#-based version of Eamon

2019

• April – The CRPG Book published.