Dungeons & Dragons Computer Fantasy Game
| Dungeons & Dragons Computer Fantasy Game | |
|---|---|
| Studio | Mattel Electronics |
| Publisher | Mattel Electronics |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1981 |
| platform | LCD game |
| genre | Skill game |
| Subject | Dungeons and Dragons |
| Game mode | Single player |
| language | English |
Dungeons & Dragons Computer Fantasy Game is a portable LCD game released in 1981 by the US toy manufacturer Mattel Electronics . It is one of the earliest licensed products and the first handheld console game based on the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing rules .
Action and gameplay
The plot is kept simple and the outcome of the game depends, among other things, on luck. The gameplay is similar to Hunt the Wumpus . The player steers his character through a labyrinthine dungeon with the aim of killing a dragon with the help of an arrow hidden in the dungeon. He only has 500 seconds to do this until the dungeon closes and the game ends. The maze is square and extends over 10 × 10 playing fields. An oblique view creates a three-dimensional impression, arrows on the four sides indicate in which direction it is possible to move. The figure can move horizontally and vertically, but not diagonally. As in chess, each of the 100 fields is individually identified by a combination of letters (A – J) and numbers (0–9), so that recognition or handwritten mapping is possible.
In order to kill the dragon, the player must find a magic arrow. However, both the position of the dragon and the arrow are determined randomly at the start of the game. The exploration is made more difficult by four bats flying around, which transport the character to a distant position in the labyrinth when they meet, and a total of twelve pitfalls, which usually mean a game over . The player is also not allowed to enter the dragon's cave, as this also leads to the premature end of the game. A rope can also be found as a helpful object in some degrees of difficulty.
The device has three buttons (cursor, attack, move) and a built-in reset function. To move around in the game, use the cursor key to select one of the rooms that can be reached from your location (arrows on the edge). On the display, flashing icons in the form of the four possible room contents (pitfall, bat, rope, magic arrow) indicate that one or more of these things are in the adjacent rooms. A room can only contain one object at a time. However, it cannot be seen in which room a corresponding object is located and how many objects of the same type (e.g. several pitfalls) are adjacent. The previously selected room can be entered with the move button or the magic arrow, if already found, shot in this direction with the attack button. If the dragon is not in the attacked neighboring field, both the magic arrow and the dragon are randomly repositioned in the labyrinth. However, if the player's guess is correct, the kite is considered hit and the game is won.
Bats change their position every ten seconds and move to one of the adjacent rooms. These room crossings are indicated by a signal tone. To avoid pitfalls, there is a so-called magic rope in two of the three levels of difficulty of the game. In the first level of difficulty the character has it from the start, in the second it is hidden in the dungeon like the magic arrow and must be found. In the third level of difficulty, the player has to get along completely without a rope. The advantage of the rope is that if the pawn falls into a pit, the player has an additional chance to continue playing. However, he loses the rope, which has to be found and collected again in the dungeon. The labyrinth and the positions of the figures and objects in it are generated randomly in each game.
At the end of the game, a so-called time score is issued. Five seconds of playing time equals one point for the time score, the lower the time score the better. The highest and therefore worst score is 99.
development
Dungeons & Dragons Computer Fantasy Game is Mattel's second licensed product after the electronic board game Dungeons & Dragons Computer Labyrinth Game and the first handheld console game based on the role-playing rules Dungeons & Dragons . As is usual with LCD games, the device and game are hardwired, which means that the software cannot be exchanged. The screen was called "state-of-the-art" for its time. Two LR44 button cell batteries are required to operate the device . It was released in the fall of 1981, and by October Mattel announced that the game was sold out. The company announced more products based on Dungeons & Dragons . Licensor TSR also achieved high income from license fees, doubling its annual sales in 1981/82 to 27 million US dollars and was listed as the 6th fastest-growing private company in the US by US business magazine Inc. in December 1981. 1982 followed with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain the first licensed D&D game for the in-house stationary game console Intellivision , which got a successor in 1983 with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin . In 1982 Mattel released Masters of the Universe (based on Mattel 's action figure series of the same name ), a playfully identical LCD game.
Web links
- English manual (PDF; 1.2 MB), Handheld Games Museum.
- James Maliszewski: Retrospective: Dungeons & Dragons Computer Fantasy Game ( English ) In: Grognardia . April 25, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- Mattel Electronic Dungeons & Dragons Computer Fantasy Game ( English ) In: Handheld Games Museum . Retrieved April 24, 2013.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mattel's Dungeons and Dragons ( English ) In: Hand Held Museum . Retrieved December 23, 2009.
- ↑ Kevin Hall: The 13 best electronic versions of Dungeons & Dragons ( English ) In: Dvice . March 18, 2008. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved on April 24, 2013.
- ↑ Jon Ray: Dungeons & Dragons Computer Fantasy Game ( English ) In: Dvice . March 8, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- ↑ Stewart Alsop II: TSR Hobbies Mixes Fact and Fantasy ( English ) In: Inc . February 1, 1982. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- ↑ Why Tsr Hobbies Is So Profitable ( English ) In: Inc . Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- ^ Mattel's Masters of the Universe ( English ) In: Handheld Games Museum . Retrieved December 23, 2009.