Dungeon Master (video game): Difference between revisions

Dungeon Master
Dungeon Master
	File:ST Dungeon Master fight.png
Developer(s)	FTL Games
Publisher(s)	FTL Games
Designer(s)	Wayne Holder, Doug Bell, Mike Newton, Dennis Walker and Andy Jaros
Platform(s)	Amiga, Atari ST, PC, SNES, Apple II GS, X68000, PC-9801, FM Towns
Release	1987
Genre(s)	Role-playing games
Mode(s)	Single Player

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Dungeon Master was the first 3D realtime action role playing computer game. It was first published in 1987 for the Atari ST by FTL Games and went on to become the ST's best selling product of all time, reaching an astounding market penetration of more than 50% of the Atari STs ever sold. An almost identical Amiga version was released the following year that was the first computer game to use 3D sound effects. The game was also ported to PC, Apple IIGS, SNES, X68000, PC-9801 and FM Towns and translated from English into German, French, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

Description

File:ST Dungeon Master inventory.png

The inventory system (Atari ST)

While previous games such as The Bard's Tale, Ultima and Wizardry offered Dungeons & Dragons-style role playing, Dungeon Master established several new standards for role playing and computer games in general. Dungeon Master was a realtime game instead of the traditional turn-based approach that was prevalent until then. Instead of using text-based commands to interact with the environment, players directly manipulated objects and the environment by clicking the mouse in the enlarged first-person view. It also introduced some novel control methods including the spell casting system, which involved learning sequences of runes which represented the form and function of a spell's effect. For example, a fireball spell was created by mixing the fire symbol with the wing symbol. This kind of attention to detail and focus on the user interface was typical of the game and helped create an often captivating sense of craft and ingenuity.

Another factor in its popularity may have been the imaginative mythology, with players often reporting a nurturing identity with their chosen characters. Nancy Holder, wife of producer Wayne Holder, wrote the storyline in the manual. She is a successful novelist, having written for series including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Smallville.

Awards

Dungeon Master received dozens of prestigious awards including the first ever Special Award for Artistic Achievement from Computer Gaming World (CGW) when it was initially released. It was retired directly from the top spot in the CGW game ratings as one of the original members of the CGW Hall of Fame in November 1989 after having spent almost a year in the top spot with no serious challenger. There was some speculation by the game's developers that the CGW Hall of Fame was created for the purpose of removing Dungeon Master from the CGW ratings list since the game had achieved its sales records and domination of the rankings despite never buying any advertising for the game in the U.S. market.

The following list of awards is comprehensive, but not complete. Notably, it does not include any of the many awards that followed the game's release in Japan in 1990.

Special Award for Artistic Achievement awarded in 1988 by Computer Gaming World
Adventure Game of the Year, 1988 -- UK Software Industry Awards
Best Selling Atari ST Title, 1988 -- UK Software Industry Awards
Best Role Playing Game, 1988 -- PowerPlay Magazine (German)
Best Role Playing Game, 1988 -- Tilt Magazine
Best Sound Effects, 1988 -- Tilt Magazine
Game of the Year, 1988 -- Computer Play Magazine
Best Atari ST Game, 1988 -- Computer Play Magazine
Game of the Year, 1988 -- 4th Generation Magazine (French)
"Golden Sword" Award ,1988 -- The Adventurer's Club of the UK
Best Role Playing Game, 1988 -- The Adventurer's Club of the UK
"Beastie Award", 1988 -- Dragon Magazine
Best Atari ST Title, 1988 -- Dragon Magazine
Best Game, 1989 -- Amiga World Magazine
Best Role Playing Game, 1989 -- Amiga World Magazine
Best Amiga Game, 1989 -- Game Player's Magazine
Best Amiga Game, 1989 -- Datormagazin (German)
"Beastie Award" Best Apple //GS Title, 1989 -- Dragon Magazine
Best Game, 1989 -- Info Magazine
Best of the Amiga, 1989 -- Compute Magazine
Inducted as an original member in the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame in 1989
Designated as one of the 100 Best Games by PowerPlay Magazine (German, date uncertain)

External links

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 |image = [[Image:ST_Dungeon_Master_fight.png|210px]]
 |developer = [[FTL Games]]
+|designer = [[Wayne Holder]], [[Doug Bell]], [[Mike Newton]], [[Dennis Walker]] and [[Andy Jaros]]
 |publisher = [[FTL Games]]
 |released = [[1987]]
 |genre = [[Role-playing games]]
 |modes = [[Single Player]]
-|platforms = [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], [[personal computer|PC]], [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]], [[Apple II family|Apple II GS]], [[X68000]], [[PC-9800]], [[FM Towns]]
+|platforms = [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], [[personal computer|PC]], [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]], [[Apple II family|Apple II GS]], [[X68000]], [[PC-9801]], [[FM Towns]]
 }}
-'''''Dungeon Master''''' was the first [[3D computer graphics|3D]] [[continuous game|realtime]] action [[role-playing game|role playing]] [[computer game]]. It was first published in [[1987]] for the [[Atari ST]] by [[FTL Games]] and went on to become the ST's best selling product of all time. An almost identical [[Amiga]] version was released the following year. The game was also ported to [[IBM PC compatible|PC]], [[Apple IIGS]], [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]], [[X68000]], [[PC-9800]] and [[FM Towns]]. The game received many awards including the first ever Special Award for Artistic Achievement from [[Computer Gaming World]] when it was initially released.
+'''''Dungeon Master''''' was the first [[3D computer graphics|3D]] [[continuous game|realtime]] action [[role-playing game|role playing]] [[computer game]]. It was first published in [[1987]] for the [[Atari ST]] by [[FTL Games]] and went on to become the ST's best selling product of all time, reaching an astounding market penetration of more than 50% of the Atari STs ever sold. An almost identical [[Amiga]] version was released the following year that was the first computer game to use [[3D audio effect|3D sound effects]]. The game was also [[porting|ported]] to [[IBM PC compatible|PC]], [[Apple IIGS]], [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]], [[X68000]], [[PC-9801]] and [[FM Towns]] and [[translation|translated]] from English into German, French, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
 ==Description==
 [[Image:ST_Dungeon_Master_inventory.png|thumb|left|The inventory system ([[Atari ST]])]]
-While games such as ''The [[Bard's Tale]]'' offered [[Dungeons & Dragons]]-style roleplaying, ''Dungeon Master'' took it one step further by doing away with the traditional [[turn-based game|turn-based]] approach that was prevalent until then. It also introduced some novel control methods including the [[Dungeon Master Spells|spell]] casting system, which involved learning sequences of [[Dungeon Master Runes|runes]] which represented the form and function of a spells effect. For example, a fireball spell was created by mixing the fire symbol with the wing symbol. This kind of attention to detail was typical of the game and helped create an often captivating sense of craft and ingenuity.
+While previous games such as ''[[Bard's Tale (1985)|The Bard's Tale]]'', ''[[Ultima]]'' and ''[[Wizardry]]'' offered [[Dungeons & Dragons]]-style role playing, ''Dungeon Master'' established several new standards for [[Computer role-playing game|role playing]] and computer games in general. ''Dungeon Master'' was a realtime game instead of the traditional [[turn-based game|turn-based]] approach that was prevalent until then. Instead of using text-based commands to interact with the environment, players directly manipulated objects and the environment by clicking the mouse in the enlarged first-person view. It also introduced some novel control methods including the [[Dungeon Master Spells|spell]] casting system, which involved learning sequences of [[Dungeon Master Runes|runes]] which represented the form and function of a spell's effect. For example, a fireball spell was created by mixing the fire symbol with the wing symbol. This kind of attention to detail and focus on the user interface was typical of the game and helped create an often captivating sense of craft and ingenuity.
-Another factor in its popularity may have been the imaginative mythology, with players often reporting a nurturing identity with their chosen characters. Nancy Holder, wife of producer Wayne Holder, wrote the storyline in the manual. She is a succesful novelist, having written for series including [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], [[Sabrina, the Teenage Witch|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]] and [[Smallville (TV series)|Smallville]]. It is unknown how much of a contribution she made to the on-screen characterisation.
+Another factor in its popularity may have been the imaginative mythology, with players often reporting a nurturing identity with their chosen characters. Nancy Holder, wife of producer [[Wayne Holder]], wrote the storyline in the manual. She is a successful novelist, having written for series including [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]], [[Sabrina, the Teenage Witch|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]] and [[Smallville (TV series)|Smallville]].
+==Awards==
+''Dungeon Master'' received dozens of prestigious awards including the first ever ''Special Award for Artistic Achievement'' from ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' (CGW) when it was initially released. It was retired directly from the top spot in the CGW game ratings as one of the original members of the CGW Hall of Fame in November 1989 after having spent almost a year in the top spot with no serious challenger. There was some speculation by the game's developers that the CGW Hall of Fame was created for the purpose of removing ''Dungeon Master'' from the CGW ratings list since the game had achieved its sales records and domination of the rankings despite never buying any advertising for the game in the U.S. market.
+The following list of awards is comprehensive, but not complete.  Notably, it does not include any of the many awards that followed the game's release in Japan in 1990.
+* ''Special Award for Artistic Achievement'' awarded in 1988 by ''[[Computer Gaming World]]''
+* ''Adventure Game of the Year, 1988'' -- UK Software Industry Awards
+* ''Best Selling Atari ST Title, 1988'' -- UK Software Industry Awards
+* ''Best Role Playing Game, 1988'' -- ''[[PowerPlay Magazine]]'' (German)
+* ''Best Role Playing Game, 1988'' -- ''[[Tilt Magazine]]''
+* ''Best Sound Effects, 1988'' -- ''Tilt Magazine''
+* ''Game of the Year, 1988'' -- ''[[Computer Play Magazine]]''
+* ''Best Atari ST Game, 1988'' -- ''Computer Play Magazine''
+* ''Game of the Year, 1988'' -- ''[[4th Generation Magazine]]'' (French)
+* ''"Golden Sword" Award ,1988'' -- The Adventurer's Club of the UK
+* ''Best Role Playing Game, 1988'' -- The Adventurer's Club of the UK
+* ''"Beastie Award", 1988'' -- ''[[Dragon Magazine]]''
+* ''Best Atari ST Title, 1988'' -- ''Dragon Magazine''
+* ''Best Game, 1989'' -- ''[[Amiga World Magazine]]''
+* ''Best Role Playing Game, 1989'' -- ''Amiga World Magazine''
+* ''Best Amiga Game, 1989'' -- ''[[Game Player's Magazine]]''
+* ''Best Amiga Game, 1989'' -- ''[[Datormagazin]]'' (German)
+* ''"Beastie Award" Best Apple //GS Title, 1989'' -- ''Dragon Magazine''
+* ''Best Game, 1989'' -- ''[[Info Magazine]]''
+* ''Best of the Amiga, 1989'' -- ''[[Compute Magazine]]''
+* Inducted as an original member in the ''Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame'' in 1989
+* Designated as one of the ''100 Best Games'' by ''PowerPlay Magazine'' (German, date uncertain)
 ==See also==
-*[[Dungeon Master 2]]
+*''[[Dungeon Master II|Dungeon Master II: The Legend of Skullkeep]]''
-*[[Chaos Strikes Back]]
+*''[[Chaos Strikes Back]]''
+*''[[Theron's Quest|Dungeon Master: Theron's Quest]]''
 *[[Dungeon Master Runes]]
 *[[Dungeon Master Spells]]
@@ Line 34: / Line 64: @@
 [[Category:1987 computer and video games]]
 [[Category:Amiga games]]
-[[Category: Apple II games]]
+[[Category:Apple II games]]
 [[Category:Atari_ST_games]]
 [[Category:Computer and video role-playing games]]
@@ Line 45: / Line 75: @@
 [[fr:Dungeon Master]]
 [[ja:ダンジョンマスター]]
+[[zh:DM]]