Dungeon Keeper

Dungeon Keeper
Studio	Bullfrog Productions
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Senior Developer	Peter Molyneux
Erstveröffent- lichung	July 1997
platform	PC ( MS-DOS , Windows )
Game engine	modified Magic Carpet Engine
genre	Real-time strategy game , god simulation
Subject	Fantasy
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Keyboard , mouse
system advantages preconditions	Windows: Pentium 75 MHz, 16 MB RAM , Windows 95 DOS: 486 CPU with 100 MHz, 8 MB RAM (16 MB for Hi-Resolution)
medium	1 CD-ROM , download
language	English German
Current version	Patch for Direct3D support
Age rating	USK

Game screen of the dungeon keeper clone Dungeon Digger . Game mechanics, dungeon structure and perspective on dungeon representative of dungeon keepers.
Middle left: Menu for selecting different rooms (non-representative)
Top left: Resources that the player has accumulated in order to expand the dungeon or to recruit creatures.
Right: View from above (" bird's eye view ") of the dungeon with the partially expanded rooms.

The computer game Dungeon Keeper ( English , loosely translated "dungeon master") is a real-time strategy game from 1997 in which the player builds underground complexes of rooms (so-called dungeons ) in order to settle monsters with whose help he can conquer the underworld. The game is characterized, among other things, by its original setting and the parodic reversal of the role distribution customary in role-playing games : Here the player leads the monsters as the "evil" warlord, while the opponents represent "good" heroes.

Dungeon Keeper

development

Dungeon Keeper was developed by Bullfrog Productions under the direction of well-known game developer Peter Molyneux . After completing the game, he left Bullfrog to start Lionhead Studios . The successor Dungeon Keeper 2 was created without Molyneux's involvement. A later published gold edition of Dungeon Keeper contains a game expansion, the so-called Deeper Dungeons , and integrated a patch for 3D graphics acceleration via Direct3D .

In 2009, Dungeon Keeper was re-released as a download for newer versions of Windows at Good Old Games . At the moment only the English version is offered, but there is a fan patch that adds the German localization again. There is also a reverse engineering project called KeeperFX , which tries to fix remaining problems as well as to add new possibilities to DK.

Game principle and special features

The game is shown in the bird's eye view usual for strategy games . The course of the game is guided and commented on by an off-camera speaker. At the beginning of a level , the player starts with a center known as the dungeon heart , which must be protected at all costs (a destruction of the heart means the end of the game). In addition, there are some imps , gnome- like beings who, under the guidance of the player, dig new rooms in the ground, mine gold and strengthen walls. From the mined gold, the player can buy special room equipment that enables the population of the dungeon with monsters. Completed rooms attract certain types of creatures while also serving a specific task. For example, by building a library you can attract magicians who will research new spells there, which will then be immediately available to the player. In order for the creatures to be permanently in the service of the player, he must at least build them a dormitory to rest and a chicken farm to feed them, as well as regularly reward them with gold.

The creatures are mostly monsters known from typical fantasy role-playing games as dungeon dwellers, for example spiders, trolls , hellhounds , skeletons and vampires . Among them are some original new creations, such as the Iron Maiden (in the original: Dark Mistress ), which is a mixture of a dominatrix and an Amazon , or the Teufler (English: Bile Demon ), a heavy, red demon with Flails on the horns. A special creature is the Horny (English: Horned Reaper ), a large and strong demon who carries a scythe as a weapon. In Dungeon Keeper 2 he is not one of the common creatures, but can only be summoned for a short time at the expense of mana supplies .

Base building and fighting

A fundamental difference to normal real-time strategy games (e.g. Command & Conquer ) is that the player does not place any prefabricated modules on the map during the basic construction, but instead freely design the size and shape of the individual corridors and rooms within a small grid can and is only restricted by existing caves, rock formations or watercourses. A sensible arrangement of the individual rooms and the fortress-like expansion of the dungeon have a positive effect on the further course of the game.

If the player has settled a sufficiently large troop of creatures in his dungeon by creating appropriate rooms and trained his fighters, he can have them fight against heroes who have invaded the underworld or against the creatures of rival dungeon keepers. Each character can by means of a stage system to increase to a level of 10 degrees. In order to get to a fight, the monsters don't have to walk there - as is the rule in strategy games. Instead, they can be picked up by the player and then thrown off directly at the location of the battle, which gives the battles a high dynamic.

Micromanagement and symbiosis function

In their own dungeon, the creatures act quite independently and go to eat, sleep and do their work on their own. But it is up to the player's micromanagement to ensure that they are used as efficiently as possible (for example, not all creatures train on their own). Most creatures have a specialty: reconnaissance, research, building doors and traps, guarding, or fighting.

Certain species, such as spiders and flies, are enemies and fight each other when both have to sleep or work in the same room. Pay attention to such details when laying out the rooms. If the player does not take enough account of the needs of his creatures, their mood can deteriorate, which in the worst case leads to changing sides or leaving the dungeon.

Another innovative feature was that the player can take direct control of one of his creatures with the “symbiosis magic”. He then sees the game environment from the first person perspective and can avoid traps or destroy them and generally use the character's abilities more wisely and more purposefully. This function, which was unique at the time of the game's release, is useful, for example, when you want to carry out individual strategic strikes against your opponent or want to explore foreign territory where you cannot throw your creatures.

Game objective

The goal of the game can be formulated differently in the single player mode depending on the level, mostly it is about building up your dungeon and then using your creatures to either eliminate a target person among the heroes or to conquer the dungeons of opposing keepers. There are a total of 15 multiplayer levels for the multiplayer mode. The goal of the game is the same as in the single player mode, only the number of other keepers is determined by the players involved.

Role reversal of good and bad

Dungeon Keeper is set in a fantasy world that is typical for RPGs , but turns the usual order into its opposite in a parodying way. While in normal role-playing games you often roam dark dungeon complexes as a hero to find treasure and slay monsters, here you take on the role of a sinister warlord who is on the side of the monsters. The heroes penetrating the underworld are represented here (especially in the cynical comments of the speaker acting as advisor) as simple-minded.

The player is also allowed to behave otherwise considered immoral or cruel: He may torture captured opponents in order to force them to divulge information or to overflow. Alternatively, prisoners can starve to death in the dungeon, after which they strengthen their own ranks as walking skeletons. Your own creatures can be driven to work by slapping them in the face or sacrificed in a temple, with stronger monsters entering the dungeon in return for certain combinations of monsters.

Apart from these details, however, the gameplay requires that the player adopt an extremely caring attitude towards the creatures under his care: If he does not take sufficient account of the diverse needs of the dungeon inhabitants, their mood worsens very quickly and they leave the dungeon , which leads to a considerable weakening of one's own position.

censorship

The game was censored in Germany for two different age ratings:

In the USK-16 version, the torture animation of a character has been replaced with a less offensive torture - in which the creature is not recognized - the death animation of another has been shortened and the blood effects have been reduced. However, this change can easily be corrected by changing a configuration file.

For the USK-12 version, all torture animations were also replaced by the hidden torture through spikes in the floor, where the figure is not recognized.

Dungeon Keeper 2

Dungeon Keeper 2
Studio	Bullfrog Productions
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Senior Developer	Colin Robinson
Erstveröffent- lichung	June 30, 1999
platform	Microsoft Windows
genre	Real-time strategy game , god simulation , first-person shooter
Subject	Fantasy
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer (2-4 players)
control	Keyboard , mouse
system advantages preconditions	Pentium II 166  MHz , 32  MB RAM , 2 MB VRAM , 300 MB free hard disk space, DirectX  6.0
medium	1 CD-ROM , download
Current version	1.7 (Final) 1.8 ( Fan Patch )
Age rating	USK

The successor to Dungeon Keeper , also developed by Bullfrog Productions , was released in 1999 and is based on a technically advanced graphics engine that now shows the game world completely in 3D (with the predecessor, individual elements such as the characters were two-dimensional graphics, so-called sprites ). The game principle was continued and some details were further developed. Some components, such as the menu navigation, have been simplified: individual information about properties, wages, etc. of the figures are now e.g. B. can no longer be seen. Other game elements, however, have become more complex. For example, it is no longer possible to simply train your creatures up to the maximum level in the training room. Instead, a maximum of level 4 can now be reached in the training room, a maximum of level 8 via duels in an arena, and levels 9 to 10 only in real combat. Another change is that creatures discarded on the map for a fight only remain stunned for a short time (the duration depends on the respective species) and are defenseless for as long, which means that it is no longer so easy to destroy the opponent by massive discarding to roll over.

The humorous undertone already created in the predecessor was brought to the fore in Dungeon Keeper 2 , especially in the numerous cutscenes of the game.

Dungeon Keeper 3

A third part of the series was being planned. In a trailer for this, which was included in Dungeon Keeper 2, the main creature Horny entered the surface of the earth, which corresponded to the plans for the new part of the series, which should no longer (exclusively) play under, but also on earth. A new race should also be introduced and an extensive multiplayer mode added. However, due to the persistently poor sales of Dungeon Keeper 2 and the priority of projects for the PlayStation 2 , development was stopped just a few months after the game was officially announced.

The Bullfrog company was later merged by the owner EA with the British studio EA UK after the development of Dungeon Keeper 3 was discontinued and no new projects were launched . Some of the developers responsible for Dungeon Keeper 3 switched to Lionhead before and afterwards , where they worked on Black & White and Black and White 2 .

New edition: Dungeon Keeper for smartphones

Tested in Canada in 2013, made Electronic Arts and developer Mythic Entertainment on January 30, 2014 Dungeon Keeper remake in Germany in Google Play and iTunes - App Store accessible. The Free2Play model is very much used , Dungeon Keeper can be downloaded for free, but additional content and accelerated play cost money.

Although the game is tailored for casual gamers, it cannot be played within a reasonable time without the purchase of the premium currency "Diamonds". Digging a tunnel per field takes up to 24 hours, but this is done immediately using the premium currency. The game was therefore rated as hardly playable by various critics and fans of the series. Players who were supposed to be motivated to use the premium currency were mocked for it in the game.

4Players criticized the fact that they were aggressively pushed to spend money and gave the mobile new edition a bad rating of 1% (final score: unsatisfactory ). Also Computer Bild Spiele advised by download. In contrast, the game achieved a good rating in the App Store and on Google Play, because additional premium currency can be obtained through a positive rating. In addition, the software asks for an email with a written justification for a poorer rating, which, in contrast to a simple push of a button for a 5-star rating, is a considerable additional effort.

Peter Molyneux , the inventor of the original Dungeon Keeper, was shocked and described the concept of the new edition as "ridiculous":

“What? This is ridiculous. I just want to make a dungeon. I don't want to schedule it on my alarm clock for six days to come back for a block to be chipped. "

"That's ridiculous. I just want to build a dungeon. I don't want to have to set my alarm clock for six days and then come back for a single worn block. "

- Peter Molyneux : In an interview with the BBC

The metascore of Dungeon Keeper for smartphones is 42%, with a user score of 0.3 out of 10 points.

Since you are pushed to spend money in the game, the Advertising Standards Authority prohibited publisher Electronic Arts Dungeon Keeper in the UK from promoting it as a "Free2Play" title. The free gameplay is too limited for that.

Similar games

The development studio Mucky Foot , founded by former Bullfrog members, published Startopia in 2001 , in which the basic principle of Dungeon Keeper was transferred to a space station. The game is designed more as an economic simulation.

The strategy game Evil Genius , released in 2004, is similar to Dungeon Keeper in that you build a secret base in the role of a villain from the era of the spy films of the 1950s / 60s.

Overlord is an action adventure released in 2006, whichis similar to Dungeon Keeper in terms of the parodying reversal of the typical fantasy roles.

Dungeons

In 2011, the German developer Realmforge released Dungeons, a strategy game that is specifically based on Dungeon Keeper . The game mechanics differs from the original in some essential points and is described by some reviewers as a rather micromanagement-heavy tycoon game .

War for the Overworld

Screenshot: View from above of a dungeon from War for the Overworld

In May 2015, War for the Overworld, a new edition supported by Dungeon Keeper creator Peter Molyneux , became available, which was developed after a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2012.

Another alternative was in development in 2015 with Dwelvers .

Web links

• Dungeon Keeper series at MobyGames (English)
• Detailed information on Dungeon Keeper 1

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael Gantner: Dungeon Keeper Evil is Good - GOG-Patch v1.0 (21778.3 kb) . LucasArts patches. December 29, 2011. Accessed on February 4, 2012: “ The disadvantage: Most of the English versions are offered there. With these patches I would like to remedy this shortcoming and give everyone the opportunity to get their favorite classics in German cheaply and, above all, easily and legally. "
2. ↑ http://keeper.lubie.org/html/dk_keeperfx_read.php (August 9, 2011, English)
3. ↑ Comparison of the cut versions USK 12 - EU version of Dungeon Keeper at Schnittberichte.com
4. ↑ GameFAQs Data Page Retrieved October 3, 2006
5. ↑ Unofficial Patch v1.8 - Status on keeperklan.com (September 25, 2009)
6. ↑ Dungeon Keeper 3: War for the Overworld ( English ) In: PC Games That Weren't . Archived from the original on February 17, 2008. Retrieved on December 4, 2012.
7. ↑ http://neuerspieler.blogspot.com/2008/05/10-weiter-spiele-die-es-leider-nie-gab.html
8. ↑ Development On Dungeon Keeper 3 Has Ceased . Electronic Arts . Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
9. ↑ http://touchportal.de/apps/dungeon-keeper-app-fuer-android-iphone-und-ipad/
10. ↑ ^{a b} Mark Ward: EA faces criticism over mobile Dungeon Keeper game. In: BBC News. February 7, 2014, accessed February 17, 2014 . 
11. ↑ https://www.heise.de/developer/artikel/Achtung-Fans-Oder-Aerger-durch-neu-auflege-Klassiker-2105575.html
12. ↑ Test: Dungeon Keeper by 4Players , accessed on February 3, 2014
13. ↑ Dungeon Keeper: Buy Yourself a Dungeon on Computer Image Games , accessed February 3, 2014
14. ↑ James Brightman: EA filtering out less than 5-star reviews of Dungeon Keeper on Android. In: GamesIndustry International. February 10, 2014, accessed February 17, 2014 . 
15. ↑ Dungeon Keeper for iPhone / iPad Reviews. Retrieved February 17, 2014 . 
16. ↑ Dungeon Keeper - Mobile offshoots may no longer be advertised as "Free2Play" on GameStar , accessed on July 2, 2014
17. ^ Christian Schmidt: Dungeons in the test; In the dungeon of torments . GameStar . January 27, 2011. Accessed on November 6, 2011: “ Inspired by the classic Dungeon Keeper, the German studio Realmforge has presented a black, humorous dungeon simulator. But Dungeons is played significantly different than the model. Above all, significantly worse. "
18. ↑ Phil Soletsky: Dungeons ( English ) game-over.com. February 15, 2011. Accessed January 10, 2012: “ I was completely primed for Dungeon Keeper, and what I got instead was kind of Diablo meets Rollercoaster Tycoon. "
19. ↑ George J. King: War for the Overworld: Peter Molyneux supports Dungeon Keeper remake ( English ) In: PC Games Hardware . December 24, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013: “ Dungeon Keeper has to be remade. It has to be remade by people who love it and the Kickstarter campaign for War For The Overworld is the campaign to support if you want to see Dungeon Keeper back. "
20. ↑ dwelvers