Caverns of Xaskazien

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Caverns of Xaskazien is a video game originally written in 1995 for DOS by Jeff Sinasac, but updated since 2004 to run on Windows. It is a rogue-like roleplaying video game (RPG) in which the player is tasked with descending to the 30th level of a dungeon to defeat the arch-daemon Xaskazien. [1]

Contents

History

The game was originally programmed through Borland C and relied heavily on the Borland Graphics libraries. In 2004 the game was ported to Windows by Jeff Schiller, and since that time has been updated regularly by original programmer, Jeff Sinasac, to reach its present status at VER 5.00. [2] The game is hosted for download from dozens of websites as freeware, and has been downloaded by thousands.

A sequel, with vastly improved graphics and gameplay, is currently in the works, with a planned release some time before the summer of 2013. [3]

Gameplay

While original versions of the game only allowed players to play as a generic human adventurer, versions 3.00 onward (released May 3, 2006) allow a choice of race among Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling or Half-Orc, and class of Adventurer, Warrior, Mage or Rogue. These choices affect the characters' starting attributes, as well as adding unique bonuses or penalties to the character that affect his progress through the game.

Dungeon Levels become progressively more challenging as the player descends, with tougher monsters and traps. Most levels are randomly generated as the player reaches them, though there are certain pre-created levels as well, referred to as Legendary Lands. These areas are often tougher to survive than other levels, but also usually carry greater reward.

Each new map begins obscured in darkness, though as the player explores, more and more of the map is revealed.

As the character kills monsters and finds treasure, he is granted Experience Points which can allow progression to higher Character Levels. With each new Character Level attained, the player is allowed to increase one personal statistic among Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence or Health. In this way, the player hopes to become tougher, to survive each progressive level.

Treasure may also sometimes be used to purchase better equipment and spells (or these can be found lying around in the dungeon), and sometimes paths to other maps at the same Dungeon Level or even an earlier one can be found.

Eventually the character will either be killed, in which case the game ends in defeat, and a high score is generated and added to a list, or the player will encounter and kill Xaskazien on Dungeon Level 30, and win the game (and generate a correspondingly higher score).

In addition to monsters and traps, players can encounter any number fixtures (like fountains, chests, coffins, magic archways) and friendly characters (like damsels, knights, weapon merchants or clerics). Interacting with these can help or hinder the player's progress in a variety of ways. The mouse can be used to query monsters and squares to learn more about the risks and potential gains associated with each. [4]

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References

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