The History of Computer Role-Playing Games, Part 5

\[post\]The History of Computer Role-Playing Games, Part 1\[/post\]

[post]The History of Computer Role-Playing Games, Part 2[/post]

[post]The History of Computer Role-Playing Games, Part 3[/post]

[post]The History of Computer Role-Playing Games, Part 4[/post]

The Late "Golden Age": 3D Real-Time Games.

These days, it’s hard to imagine that 3D real-time games were once brand new. While a couple of such games already existed by the dawn of the Golden Age – 3D Monster Maze (1981), Dungeons of Daggorath (1982) – the majority of RPG titles at that time used either a top-down view, turn-based 3D, or some combination of both approaches. However, by the end of the 1980s, gamers slowly began to upgrade their eight-bit machines to Atari ST and Commodore Amiga. With the new generation of computers, graphics and sound improved, and there was more space on hard drives – naturally, all of this did not go unnoticed by game developers. Still, it took quite a while before 3D real-time gaming became popular, and even now the question of how beneficial it is for the genre remains open. In 1988, gamers debated which was cooler – Pool of Radiance or Dungeon Master, and by 2006, the subjects of the same debate would be [Neverwinter Nights 2](/games?search=Neverwinter Nights 2) and The [Elder Scrolls IV](/games?search=Elder Scrolls IV). There was never a consensus on what a model CRPG’s engine and interface should be like. Some players prefer to “immerse” themselves in the game from a first-person view, while others like to see their characters move across the monitor. Again, some players prefer slow turn-based battles, while others enjoy real-time brawls (the latter have noticeably increased in number these days).

Few games can make players spend as much time on them as Dungeon Master does. The same goes for the side products for it (specifically, strategy guides and maps). Indeed, it’s hard not to love DM.

Yen Chadwick, ST-Log, February 1989.

And since all these questions are so important to developers and fans of CRPGs, it’s undeniable that the game that first got them started holds immense significance in gaming history. This game is Dungeon Master by FTL Games, still regarded by many critics as one of the best CRPGs of all time. The game was released in 1987 on the brand-new Atari ST and ultimately became the best-selling game for that platform. It was later ported to Commodore Amiga, and some time later – to MS-DOS and even SNES. Although the game is often praised for its innovative sound and a scenario written by a professional writer (Nancy Holder), its most significant feature for us is its 3D interface. Most of the screen was taken up by an image of what the player’s party was currently observing. The image updated in real-time as the player explored the dungeon, just like in some first-person shooter. The status of characters, their items, and position (who stands in the front row and who in the back) were displayed on a panel at the top. The rest of the screen contained magic menus and attack options, as well as movement buttons. Although in the ST version the movement buttons were terribly inconvenient (the player had to click on them with the mouse), later versions allowed character movement using the keyboard. Unlike other games of that era, battles in Dungeon Master occurred in real-time. When the player’s party was attacked, they had to furiously click, issuing commands to characters (attack, cast a spell, drink a potion, etc.), always considering how long it would take the character to perform the action and rest before the next action. Since very few of these actions could be automated or queued up, gamers needed quick reflexes and considerable stamina to finish the game. Undoubtedly, many gamers suffering today from carpal tunnel syndrome have Dungeon Master to thank for it!

Dungeon Master

However, Dungeon Master is far from a simple "click-fest". The magic system in the game is complex and perhaps even more logical than the systems based on magic points ([The Bard's Tale](/games?search=The Bard's Tale)) or slots (Pool of Radiance, Wizardry). In Dungeon Master, players used spells by arranging magical runes in a specific sequence. While only certain predefined sequences yielded effects, players could define the power of any spell (or potion) and, accordingly, the amount of magical energy to be expended in the process. Furthermore, although any character could cast spells, really powerful spells only emerged from experienced mages and priests. However, the game's manual did not include books with magical recipes, requiring players to either search for them throughout the vast dungeon, discover them through trial and error, or look them up in a walkthrough. Overall, this multifaceted system simply overwhelmed newcomers. A similar (possibly borrowed) system later appeared in [Betrayal at Krondor](/games?search=Betrayal at Krondor) by Dynamix.

The demand for characters to search for food and water added to the real-time aspect – a gameplay element that had already appeared in earlier games, including Rogue and Ultima. Fortunately, characters don’t have to satisfy their hunger and thirst often enough for it to become a nuisance. Really hungry characters can even gnaw on the bones of monsters they have killed, although the better solution is to gather chicken legs and similar food left behind in the dungeon.

Dungeon Master became an incredible success, and FTL released a sequel titled Chaos Strikes Back in 1989. However, their ideas were soon borrowed by other developers. In 1990, SSI released the first game of the “black box” trilogy – [Eye of the Beholder](/games?search=Eye of the Beholder), developed by Westwood Studios based on the second edition of the AD&D rules. Initially, the game came out on MS-DOS, with versions following for Amiga, Sega CD (with the famous soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro), and SNES. The developers of [Eye of the Beholder](/games?search=Eye of the Beholder) were undoubtedly inspired by TSR’s groundbreaking masterpiece. The trilogy games took place in the setting of the Forgotten Realms, just as in the earlier Pool of Radiance and its sequels. Like in Dungeon Master, players control a party of four characters, but in [Eye of the Beholder](/games?search=Eye of the Beholder), two more characters can join them. Another important difference is that players created their characters instead of selecting pre-made ones from the