Colossal Cave Adventure - La Aventura Original

Following the layout work for La aventura colosal, a book by Jesús Martínez del Vas —published by Dolmen Editorial in a limited edition with exclusive content— and inspired by one of his drawings that particularly struck me, I felt compelled to create a new cover illustration that would more faithfully capture the spirit of the game and its characters.

The original cover illustration, created by Luis Royo, while visually striking, didn’t reflect the atmosphere or story of this interactive fiction created by Aventuras AD and published by Dinamic. That’s why I wanted to reinterpret it and better convey the true tone of the game.

Considered one of the best text adventures of its time, La Aventura Original was developed using version 1.0 of the DAAD parser (Diseñador de Aventuras AD) and was released on seven different platforms, becoming a huge success. While inspired by Colossal Cave Adventure, it wasn’t a literal translation, but a reinterpretation — featuring over 100 locations, 72 graphics, and a complex script split into two parts: an introductory outdoor section, and a second, much more intricate part set in the infamous cave.

To me, La Aventura Original is a cornerstone of the Spanish text adventure scene from the late ’80s. Hooked by the articles in Micromanía magazine, I bought the game in 1989 for my Spectrum +3 and enjoyed it immensely. Until then, I had never played a text adventure, and this one completely drew me into the genre. From that point on, I played nearly every one released in the years that followed, including La diosa de Cozumel, Los templos sagrados, and La aventura espacial, and I also discovered earlier gems like Gremlins, The Hobbit, and El Quijote.

From the beginning, I envisioned a cover with a similar spirit to JMV’s drawing, but with a composition closer to those of my illustration heroes: Drew Struzan, Luis Royo, and Boris Vallejo — full-body, dynamic, and epic characters. I wanted to depict the protagonist —an adventurer, to add that pin-up touch I love— holding a flashlight (battery-powered, of course) and the game’s magic wand, venturing into a dark cave. In the background, the dragon looms, and hidden in the shadows are the game’s iconic characters, like the grumpy dwarf Malauva with his famous axes, and the pirate lurking from the darkness.

It was an ambitious composition, and finding the right references to realistically bring my vision to life was no easy task. In an early sketch, I drew the adventurer using Hayley Atwell as a reference, but the pencil drawing ended up shelved with so many other pending projects. In November 2021, I revisited the idea, changed the protagonist’s pose, and used Camren Bicondova as inspiration for her face. However, I still wasn’t happy with the dragon’s stance or the dwarf’s design (which didn’t quite resemble the one in the instruction manual’s illustration), and the pirate references were too simplistic. Faced with the workload ahead, I decided to postpone it once again.

Starting in September 2022, with the rise of synthetic image generation, I began producing more complete references for the characters. Even though I had more material to work from and sketch with, I still couldn’t quite get started. Time kept slipping by (and it doesn’t come back!), and as generation tools evolved, I kept testing new approaches and gathering more and more references — especially for the dragon and Malauva.

In May 2025, I finally decided to bring all that work together and seriously start drawing to create the final illustration.

After so much time and so many changes, I was able to complete it. With this piece, I pay tribute to a game that left a lasting mark on an entire generation — and that, without a doubt, still sparks the imagination of those who played it.