Below the Root (video game)
A 1984 open-world platformer based on the Green Sky Trilogy.
Below the Root is a 1984 video game developed by Dale DeSharone and published by Windham Classics for Commodore 64, IBM PC, and Apple II. It continues the narrative of Zilpha Keatley Snyder's Green Sky Trilogy, serving as the fourth story in the series. The game is noted for its open-world platforming and puzzle-solving, with retrospective commentary describing its mechanics as ahead of their time.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Dale DeSharone
- Artist
- William Groetzinger
- Publisher
- Windham Classics
- Released
- 1984
- Genre
- Adventure, platformer
- Platforms
- Commodore 64
- Apple II
- IBM PC
- Writer
- Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Facts from the source article.
Plot and gameplay
The story takes place in Green-Sky, a world of enormous trees and wildlife, where the player must prevent a disaster. The ancient leader D'ol Falla received words in a dream about a paling green light and a spirit fading in darkness that must be sought. Players explore Green-Sky and interact with two estranged civilizations, Kindar and Erdlings, who were reunited by a boy named Raamo who has vanished. Through interactions with characters such as the Wise Child and D'ol Nesh-om, the player gains visions about Raamo and expanded abilities to traverse the world and find clues to his whereabouts. These clues lead to Raamo's location; upon finding and rescuing him, he declares the prophecy fulfilled and Green-Sky saved. The goal is to complete the quest within the in-game 50-cycle time limit. The game is described as a free-roaming, open-world platforming adventure with light role-playing game overtones, requiring platforming alongside exploration. Players choose from five characters—Neric, Genaa, Pomma, Charn, and Herd—each with different spirit and stamina levels. Spirit skills include "pense" (telepathic reading of emotions and thoughts), healing, "grunspreke" (influencing tree limbs to grow), and "kiniport" (telekinetic movement). Stamina affects rest and food energy storage, jumping distance, and item capacity. Rest energy is used for jumping, climbing, and collisions, restored by resting in a "nid"; food drops periodically and is restored by eating; spirit energy is restored over time.
Development
Dale DeSharone, a former elementary school teacher, began programming after attending TRS-80 workshops and purchased an Atari 8-bit computer. He created educational games for his students and submitted them to the Atari Program Exchange, winning thousands of dollars in equipment in 1980. He left teaching to form Dale Disharoon Inc., a California studio that developed educational games for publishers like The Learning Company and Spinnaker Software. DeSharone also wrote books for Prentice Hall and introduced computer games to author Zilpha Keatley Snyder, who lived near him. Snyder, a Newbery Honor-winning author, wrote the Green Sky Trilogy between 1975 and 1978, about a world of humans living in enormous trees who fear creatures "below the root."
Release
Windham Classics released Below the Root in 1984 for the Commodore 64, Apple II, and IBM PC. Artist William Groetzinger recalled that all three versions launched around the same time, but the Apple II and IBM PC ports suffered from fewer colors compared to the Commodore 64. Specific sales figures are unknown; Groetzinger presumed the game was "probably successful" as it led to similar projects like Alice in Wonderland (1985). The game allows open exploration with actions such as walking, running, jumping, climbing vines and ladders, entering and exiting doorways, crawling, and gliding. Developer Justin Stahlman approached Snyder about an iOS remake, but Snyder's death in 2014 halted the project; as of 2024, no licensed re-release has occurred.
Reception and legacy
Contemporary reviews were positive. Nick Piazza, Jr. of Compute! called the game a "superb" adaptation, praising its scope and graphics with over 100 screens. Manfred Kohlen of Happy Computer described it as a beautiful and interesting role-playing game, highlighting the fantasy atmosphere, graphics, and mind-reading mechanics. Computer Entertainer praised it as "delightfully different," noting the beautifully formed and animated main character and the lush world. DeSharone moved to Boston in 1987 to work for Spinnaker, founded Animation Magic in 1992, and developed games such as Link: The Faces of Evil (1993) and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon (1993). He died in 2008. Retrospectively, Earl Green of AllGame complimented the graphics and found the puzzles and vertical world captivating, noting the lack of combat but deeming exploration worthwhile. John Szczepaniak in Retro Gamer (2006) called Below the Root a highlight of DeSharone's career, praising its ambition and sense of discovery.
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