The black eye: Drakensang

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The black eye: Drakensang
Drakensang logo 2color.png
Drakensang logo
Studio GermanyGermany Radon Labs
Publisher GermanyGermany dtp entertainment
Senior Developer Bernd Beyreuther (Director)
Fabian Rudzinski (Lead Game Designer)

Nicolai Pogoczelski (Lead Programmer)
André Weißflog (Lead Technology Programmer)
Marcus Koch (Art Director)

Silvio Ullrich (Art Director)
Erstveröffent-
lichung
GermanyGermanyAugust 1, 2008 February 24, 2009
North AmericaNorth America
platform Windows
Game engine Nebula engine
genre role playing game
Subject The black eye
Game mode Single player
control Keyboard , mouse
system advantages
preconditions
medium 1 × DVD-ROM , download
language German
Current version 1.11
Age rating
USK released from 12
PEGI recommended for ages 12+

Das Schwarze Auge: Drakensang is a computer role-playing game released on August 1, 2008 , developed by the Berlin studio Radon Labs and marketed by dtp entertainment . The Drakensang game world is based on the pen & paper role-playing game The Black Eye .

Radon Labs and Drakensang: Am Fluss der Zeit developed a prequel for The Black Eye: Drakensang , which was released on February 19, 2010.

action

Course of action

Drakensang is part of the prehistory of the DSA campaign Drachenchronik , a larger adventure series for the pen & paper role-playing game. The main location for the plot of Drakensang is the city of Ferdok in the heart of Aventuria . Trips to other locations are realized similar to the games of the Nordland trilogy via map view.

Ardo vom Eberstamm asks the player in an intro sequence to visit him in Ferdok on an urgent matter. Once there, the player learns that Ardo was the victim of a series of murders. This is now cleared up and the perpetrators are identified in a group of dragon cultists who, however, are not responsible for the murder of Ardo. Now they are assigned to continue Ardo's investigation. You should join a trading company and do jobs for it. In the Hesinde Temple one learns that the dragon quest takes place every 87 years. One is chosen by the oracle to solve this. The first task is in the Moorbrücker swamps. There are increasing attacks by the undead behind which a necromancer is hidden . You kill this, then you clean the crypts , and the attacks end. Help the magician Rakorium to complete his experiment and to obtain the thesis crystal. The first task is thus accomplished.

The second task of the dragon quest is to recover a book from a castle ruin in the mountains of blood. This is protected by a protective spell. This can be achieved by helping a circle of witches or by joining the local sun train. The leader of the sun procession turns out to be a disguised dragon lizard that must be defeated. After the lizard has been killed, the barrier falls, the dragon Japhgur frees himself from the ruins and flies away. The dragon cultist Kastan Wagnitz, the man behind the series of murders in Ferdok, is found in the castle ruins and kills him. You find the book and bring it back to the Hesinde Temple. The second task is thus fulfilled.

The third task is to find the "Eye of the Dragon" in Grimmzahn Castle. The castle is besieged by orcs and ogres . You finally find the commander Traldar, who gives the player the eye. One brings the eye to the Hesinde Temple. One then learns that the real murderer of Ardo can be found in the Neisbeck trading house. You fight your way through their house and kill their co-conspirators. Ulwine Neisbeck, head of the trading house, claims at last that she is more powerful than the gods. The next moment she is killed by lightning.

The final task is revealed through the oracle. One should find the Adamantine Heart. This is said to be in Murolosch, a dwarf town. The dwarf king does not allow everyone entry. You travel to the Tallon area. There you meet Arom, the son of the dwarf king Arombolosch. Together with him you kill the dragon Japhgur, who broke out in the mountains of blood. Arom takes the dragon's carbuncle stone for his father. The hero is invited to Murolosch.

In Murolosch, the dragon's carbuncle stone is placed in the crown of the dwarf king. The high priest Xolgorax is then poisoned, but healed. Further attacks occur in the city. The juggler queen Salina was identified as the culprit and charged. The hero takes over their defense. During the investigation, Aldessia is noticed as a possible perpetrator. If you have gathered enough evidence, Salina will be released and you will be assigned to arrest Aldessia. This dies in a fight with the hero. There is a teleportation portal in her room. It leads into the deep caves of Gruldur. After returning through the teleportation portal, Arom tells that the king has lost his mind and locked himself in his throne room. The reason for this is the carbuncle stone in its crown. After the hero has destroyed it in the fight with the king, he becomes himself again. Now you travel through the teleportation portal to "Behind the Fire Falls" to take possession of the Adamantene Heart. There you meet the Cyclops Pal'Na'Thar. He is the oracle and is looking for someone to take over the protection of the Adamantine Heart.

The Adamantine Heart contains the soul of the immortal Umbracor, the father of all dragons. His son Ardakor killed him and pretended to be his father. Ardakor himself is not immortal; for this he needs his father's carbuncle stone, the adamantine heart. However, Malgorra steals the stone. With the help of rakorium and the thesis crystal, the hero has to manipulate the carbuncle stone in such a way that Umbracors soul takes possession of Ardakor's body when it eats the carbuncle stone. Meanwhile, hordes of dragon cultists and dragon lizards pour down from Mount Drakensang to the city of Murolosch. The king and a small army of dwarfs try to stop them. The hero finally makes his way to the top, where Malgorra transforms into a hydra . After the hero kills her and dissects the Adamantine Heart, Ardakor flies over and devours the Adamantine Heart. Umbracor takes possession of Ardakor's body and restores the balance to the world.

Areas

Including the four home districts in Ferdok and your own property, there are 11 main areas, as well as the locations contained therein such as taverns, cellars, caves, tombs, etc. These are either directly by leaving an adjacent area, by selecting on a map or partly automatically accessible and mostly only open for the respective (secondary) quests . There are also chance encounters while traveling and the dwarf quarter in Ferdok, which is not accessible throughout the game.

Gameplay

Drakensang is a pure single player game, has a 3D view, and the player can lead up to four characters through the adventure world. Similar to Baldur's Gate , the fights are based on a round system that is implemented and displayed in real time. The game can be paused at any time using a pause function.

In total, the player can choose between ten companions. He meets them during his trip. In the team he can only command three at the same time. The rest are waiting in his house. Although they do not actively intervene in the action, they receive the same experience points as companions currently on the team. Not all quests are immediately executable / acceptable or finishable. This happens step by step after solving the dragon quest (chapter).

The house functions, among other things, as a storage facility for items. There the player can set up workbenches that allow him to brew potions or to manufacture weapons, for example. At the same time, it is the whereabouts of the currently inactive companion. The player can travel back to Ferdok at any time between missions to change the composition of his group there. To get to the mission areas, you choose your destination on a static map. Random encounters with hostile creatures may occur during the automated journey. After solving the dragon quest, some scenes are no longer accessible.

The pause mode can be activated at any time while the game is running, for example during a fight. This means that special attacks can be prepared individually for all group members, team members can be repositioned or potions can be administered. By pressing the Ctrl key, the player can give a character several follow-up commands, which are then processed automatically by the character.

A character is selected who carries out certain activities, such as defusing traps or picking up objects. Otherwise, actions usually take place together, and the others follow, unless you send a person to the common property. With sneak, normal walking, and running, there are three running speeds that allow different tactics.

A distinctive feature of the combat system is the ability to cause wounds. Wounds occur when the damage caused exceeds the constitutional value of the victim. Enemies who suffer five wounds without treating them are killed immediately, regardless of the number of health points left. Special attacks increase the chance of causing wounds. With these attacks, even weak companions can quickly kill stronger opponents. Some boss opponents are therefore immune to special abilities.

In the game, skills such as bow making, forging, alchemy, spells or different types of combat and attacks can be learned and increased over time. Many items found or acquired can be combined into more useful pieces of equipment. For this purpose, instructions and talent values ​​of a certain amount are required, which one has previously gained by gaining experience and then distributed.

development

This fourth DSA computer game is - apart from the same game world - in no relation to the Nordland trilogy , the previous computer games in the world of Das Schwarze Auge .

The story of the game was designed by Radon Labs in close coordination with the editor-in-chief and in collaboration with the DSA authors Stefan Blanck , Momo Evers , Mark Wachholz and Anton Weste . Alongside the publication of the computer game, several products in the field of pen & paper role-playing games, browser games and audio books were also released.

Versions

In addition to the normal version and a steel case edition, the game was also released in a collector's edition limited to 10,000 pieces. In addition to the game, this includes a tin miniature, the audio book Der Scharlatan , the soundtrack of the computer game on an extra CD, a map of Aventuria made of artificial leather and the complete set of basic rules of the 4th edition DSA in digital form on DVD.

Pre-orderers of the standard edition from the online mail order company Amazon received a bonus. They received an activation code for a special game item, the master's mask, free of charge .

On April 3, 2009, a Gold Edition was also released with improved graphics and new items (including the pre-order bonus The Master's Mask ) and a complete DSA adventure as a PDF file. This new content was later also made available for download in the form of a patch and a package with high-resolution textures for initial releases.

reception

The average rating of German-language magazines was given at critify.de based on 29 ratings with 83 percent. The magazines rated GameStar (9/2008: 85%), PC Action (10/2008: 85%), PC Games (9/2008: 81%), c't (17/2008: 100%), Bravo Screenfun (09/2008: 91%), Computer Bild Spiele (09/2008: 73%) as on eurogamer.de (6 August 2008: 70%) consistently positive.

Drakensang was featured in a preview of five unusual games of 2009 (US version release) by the Washington Post in late 2008. On March 31, 2009, Drakensang was awarded the German Computer Game Prize for the first time as “Best German Game 2008” and “Best Youth Game”. A jury selected the industry associations from 119 games for the event and paid particular attention to “culturally and educationally valuable content”.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Das Schwarze Auge Drakensang ( Memento from December 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). On: anaconda-game.de.
  2. a b GameStar 05/2009, p. 24.
  3. Adventure Description Dragon Chronicle 1: Dragon Shadow . Publishing house Ulisses Medien & Spiel.
  4. Website of the DSA browser game operator Chromatrix ( Memento of the original dated February 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.chromatrix.com
  5. Book Description Das Ferdoker Pargament ( Memento from January 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ). Fantasy Productions.
  6. Audiobook description Das Ferdoker Parchament . Horchposten Verlag.
  7. Amazon.de: Customer Discussions
  8. GameStar 05/2009, p. 29.
  9. Patch 1.1 changelog in the dtp forum
  10. Announcement of Patch 1.02 and High Texture Pack in the dtp forum
  11. Drakensang at critify.de ; As of September 11, 2008.
  12. Matt Peckham: 5 Unorthodox PC Games to Watch in 2009. The Washington Post , December 30, 2008, accessed March 7, 2011 (English).
  13. ^ Wolfgang Zehentmeier: German Computer Game Award . Best game: “The Black Eye Drakensang” ( Memento from April 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). On: BR-online , April 1, 2009.