The Apprentice (video game)

The Apprentice is a platform game released in 1994, where the action scrolls vertically. It was created by The Vision Factory and published by Philips Interactive Media for the Philips CD-i in both North America and Europe. The game takes place in a fantasy setting within the castle of a wizard named Gandorf S. Wandburner III. Players control a young apprentice magician called Marvin, who must complete tasks set by his master while dealing with various creatures and mischiefs. At the end of each level, a boss appears, and bonus stages are also included. The development team was largely the same group that had worked on projects at SPC Vision, and some members later joined one of its offshoots before the company went bankrupt in 2002. The project was led by Luke S. Verhulst, an artist known for Steel Machine, and Tim Moss, a longtime programmer on the God of War series. Joost Egmond composed the soundtrack, and Joris de Man created the sound effects. A former team member later described the development techniques used on a personal website. The game was released in 1994 with cover art by Dennis Zopfi for each region. The Apprentice was met with positive reception from critics since its release and has been regarded in recent years to be a standout title for the CD-i. Betty Hallock of VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine highlighted the graphics, sound, and gameplay, while French magazine Joystick gave it an 81% rating. In later years, publications like Retro Gamer have called it one of the best titles for the CD-i. A sequel was planned but never released after several attempts.