DragonFable

Last updated

DragonFable
DragonFable logo.png
Developer(s) Artix Entertainment
Publisher(s) Artix Entertainment
Engine Adobe Flash
Release31 November 2005 (Beta) [1]
9 June 2006 (Live) [2]
Genre(s) Role-playing game
Mode(s) Single-player

DragonFable is a free-to-play, online, browser-based, single-player, fantasy, role-playing game developed by Artix Entertainment and updated on a weekly basis. Players may access locked game content by upgrading to a premium account for a one-time fee.

Contents

Gameplay

As is typical with online fantasy games, play is initiated by creating a basic character profile, which includes choosing a name, gender, and base class (mage, rogue, or warrior). The game is then played exclusively through point and click commands to navigate the player character across the play area, interact with non-player characters (NPCs), engage in combat, progress the storyline, etc.

While in a battle sequence, the character may be assisted by NPCs that have joined their party or by pets that have been activated. The player may also switch among a collection of weapons and equippable items, which are generally chosen based upon the items' respective core element (e.g., water, wind, fire, stone, etc.). The battles are turn-based, giving the player an indefinite amount of time to choose from an assortment of actions, either offensive, defensive, or a combination thereof. The character's available actions are determined by the character's class and "armor" (e.g., ninja, pirate, ranger, etc.), with new armors being introduced on a regular basis. In general, battles occur within Quests that contribute to the overarching storyline and typically features a "boss" character, which will be a particularly powerful NPC or monster, often having a small dialogue with the player pre-fight (and sometimes post-fight). Defeating enemies throughout a quest earns the character gold and experience points, the latter contributing to the character moving up in skill level when enough experience has been earned. Weapons and other items are "dropped" when the quest's boss has been defeated.

While new quests and story elements are added on a near-weekly basis, the previously developed story elements remain playable both to new and to seasoned players, with most enemies' skill levels increasing (i.e., scaling) along with the character's level.

Plot

Book 1: Orb Saga

The character is introduced into the story as a hero from an unknown location arriving to Lore (the world of DragonFable), destined to become a Dragon Lord who will own one of the two great dragons, unhatched in separate boxes (black and white) at the start of the game. The hero obtains the dragon egg from the Black Dragon Box, and the primary antagonist Sepulcher possesses the dragon egg from the white dragon box. The storyline in Book 1 revolves around a chase from both parties to obtain all of the Elemental Orbs; Sepulcher wishes to use the Orbs as a means to achieve ultimate power and world domination. In addition to the series of Elemental Orb story arcs, there are many intertwining subplots in Book 1, creating a rich world full of creative and often comical discoveries. Temporary seasonal quest chains also appear during real-world holiday seasons, which occasionally tie into the main plot line, sometimes in major ways.

Book 2: Elemental Dissonance

Book 2 takes place right after the ending of Book 1. The chase for the Elemental Orbs and the ensuing war resulted in extreme imbalances within the elements, and the disappearance of Warlic. In addition, a group of aliens known as the Ateala have escaped to Lore from their planet being destroyed by an infernal known as Wargoth. The character assists the Ateala, both to stop Wargoth from also destroying Lore, and also to find Warlic. During the hunt for Warlic, the character meets a man known as The Professor, as well as Konnan, who is revealed to have survived the events of Book 1. Throughout the story, the character recruits Xan, frees Jaania, a former friend of Xan and Warlic from an ice crystal caused by one of Xan and Warlic's feuds centuries prior (shown in the Alexander quest chain), and learns that The Professor and Wargoth are the human and infernal halves of Warlic, respectively. Warlic had generated too much mana while defending Falconreach in the book 1 finale, and split himself as a result. In order to bring back Warlic and to stop Wargoth, the character and their allies forcibly merge Wargoth and the Professor back together. After the battle, Jaania, disgusted by the destruction wrought by magic, freezes the character, Warlic, and Xan in a fit of anger, and leaves.

Book 3: The End of Magic

The character awakens to a vastly-expanded Lore, after being encased in ice for several years. Jaania has created, and leads the anti-magic organization known as The Rose, who have become a major power within the continent of Greenguard. Similarly to Book 1, there are numerous intertwining subplots, with the main story arc being The End of Magic. [3]

Side quests

In February 2010, the ArchKnight game and quest chain was continued and completed within DragonFable, with Ash (normally an NPC) as the player character. This quest chain is only accessible to those with premium accounts either in AdventureQuest or in DragonFable. [4] In 2012, the Alexander quest chain, which follows the young mage Alexander during his training was released; it explains the origins of the characters Warlic, Xan, and Jaania, all of whom are integral to the main storyline.

In-game events

DragonFable has several recurring holiday events. These include Valentine's Day (named Hero's Heart Day in game), April Fools' Day (a random in-game prank, such as switching DragonFable's NPCs with NPCs from MechQuest ), [5] Halloween (named Mogloween in game), [6] Christmas (named Frostval in game), Friday the 13th, Talk Like a Pirate Day and Thanksgiving (named Thankstaking in game). They also have occasional hunts, like gourd, egg and chest hunting.

George Lowe, a voice actor best known for his role as Space Ghost in Space Ghost Coast to Coast , voiced himself in a live event known as Falconreach Idle on 19 November 2010. [7]

Reception

A few months after its live release in 2006, Chris Barylick, from The Mac Observer, while acknowledging an instant obsession with this "cool Flash-based role playing game", reported that DragonFable was "not perfect", nor that the title offerred the same options as other RPG titles like World of Warcraft or Neverwinter Nights , but was considered a worth of purchase. [8] Andre Haas, from About.com , called the game an improved version of AdventureQuest and recommended it to the fans of the latter title. [9]

Related Research Articles

Dragon Quest, previously published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005, is a series of role-playing games created by Japanese game designer Yuji Horii, character designer Akira Toriyama, and composer Koichi Sugiyama and published by Square Enix. Since its inception, development of games in the series have been outsourced to a plethora of external companies until the tenth installment, with localized remakes and ports of later installments for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch being published by Nintendo outside of Japan. With its first game published in 1986, there are eleven main-series games, along with numerous spin-off games. In addition, there have been numerous manga, anime and novels published under the franchise, with nearly every game in the main series having a related adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Role-playing video game</span> Video game genre

A role-playing video game, role-playing game (RPG) or computer role-playing game (CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character immersed in some well-defined world, usually involving some form of character development by way of recording statistics. Many role-playing video games have origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same terminology, settings, and game mechanics. Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include developed story-telling and narrative elements, player character development, complexity, as well as replay value and immersion. The electronic medium removes the necessity for a gamemaster and increases combat resolution speed. RPGs have evolved from simple text-based console-window games into visually rich 3D experiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Willingham</span> American writer and artist of comics (born 1956)

William Willingham is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series Elementals and Fables.

AdventureQuest is an online Flash-based single-player role-playing video game started in 2002 and currently developed by Artix Entertainment.

<i>Manual of the Planes</i> Tabletop role-playing game supplement

The Manual of the Planes is a manual for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. This text addresses the planar cosmology of the game universe.

<i>Quest 64</i> 1998 video game

Quest 64 is a role-playing video game (RPG) developed by Imagineer for the Nintendo 64. It was released in North America in June 1998 by THQ, Europe in September 1998 by Konami and July 1999 by Imagineer. It is the first role-playing video game released for the system in North America.

<i>Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer</i> 2000 video game

Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer is a role-playing video game in the science fantasy genre developed for Microsoft Windows by New World Computing and released in 2000 by The 3DO Company. It is the eighth game in the Might and Magic series. The game received middling critical reviews, a first for the typically high-rated series, with several critics citing the game's length and its increasingly dated game engine, which had been left fundamentally unaltered since Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven in 1998. The game was later ported to PlayStation 2 in Japan and published by Imagineer on September 6, 2001.

<i>The Temple of Elemental Evil</i> (video game) 2003 video game

The Temple of Elemental Evil is a 2003 role-playing video game by Troika Games. It is a remake of the classic Dungeons & Dragons adventure The Temple of Elemental Evil using the 3.5 edition rules. This is the only computer role-playing game to take place in the Greyhawk campaign setting, and the first video game to implement the 3.5 edition rule set. The game was published by Atari, who then held the interactive rights of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Lowe</span> American voice actor and comedian

George Edward Lowe is an American voice actor and comedian whose voice roles include Space Ghost on the animated series Space Ghost Coast to Coast and its spin-off, Cartoon Planet. He has continued to voice Space Ghost in several cameos in other programs for several years following the conclusion of the series.

<i>Treasures of the Savage Frontier</i> 1992 video game

Treasures of the Savage Frontier (1992) is a Gold Box Dungeons & Dragons role-playing video game. It was developed by Beyond Software and published by SSI for the Amiga and DOS.

<i>Dragoneers Aria</i> 2007 video game

Dragoneer's Aria is an RPG for the PlayStation Portable, developed by Hit Maker and published by Nippon Ichi Software. It was released in North America on August 21, 2007, and was released as Dragoneer's Aria: Ryū ga Nemuru Made in Japan on August 23, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artix Entertainment</span> Video game developer and publisher

Artix Entertainment, LLC is an independent video game developer and publisher founded by Adam Bohn in October 2002. It is best known for creating browser-based role-playing video games—including AdventureQuest, DragonFable, MechQuest, and AdventureQuest Worlds—using Adobe Flash. The company released its first title for iOS and Android devices in March 2011 and its first 3D game, AdventureQuest 3D, in October 2016 with the Unity game engine.

Dragon Quest is a series of role-playing video games that originated in 1986 with the release of the first game in the series. Although the games are not related in terms of story, many aspects of the gameplay are consistent throughout the series. Each game in the series add new elements to the gameplay, such as longer quests, character classes, or different ways of story-telling.

MechQuest is an online Flash based single-player sci-fi role-playing video game developed by Artix Entertainment. MechQuest centers on mecha combat and was updated on a weekly basis. Players can play for free or pay a one time fee which grants access to more game content like: a Starship, missions/events, and special Mechas.

AdventureQuest Worlds is a browser-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released by Artix Entertainment in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-player character</span> Game character not controlled by a player

A non-player character (NPC), also called a non-playable character, is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster or referee rather than by another player. In video games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer that has a predetermined set of behaviors that potentially will impact gameplay, but will not necessarily be the product of true artificial intelligence.

While the early history and distinctive traits of role-playing video games (RPGs) in East Asia have come from Japan, many video games have also arisen in China, developed in South Korea, and Taiwan.

<i>Quest: Brians Journey</i> 2000 GBC role-playing video game

Quest: Brian's Journey is a 2000 role-playing video game published in North America by Sunsoft for the Game Boy Color. The game's title screen instead displays the title as Quest RPG: Brian's Journey.

<i>Final Fantasy</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Final Fantasy is a 1987 role-playing video game developed and published by Square. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series, created by Hironobu Sakaguchi. Originally released for the NES, Final Fantasy was remade for several video game consoles and is frequently packaged with Final Fantasy II in video game collections. The first Final Fantasy story follows four youths called the Warriors of Light, who each carry one of their world's four elemental crystals which have been darkened by the four Elemental Fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces, restore light to the crystals, and save their world.

<i>Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos</i> Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting and adventure module

Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos is a sourcebook, published in December 2021, that details the Strixhaven campaign setting for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The plane of Arcavios and its magical university Strixhaven were originally created for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game and first appeared in the card set Strixhaven: School of Mages, which was released in April of the same year. The book is centered on the most powerful magic university in the multiverse and focuses on the lives of the player characters who attend its various colleges.

References

  1. ↑ "DragonFable: Design Notes". DragonFable. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  2. ↑ "Dragon Fable". GameSpot . Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  3. ↑ "Chapter 3 - The End of Magic!". dragonfable.com. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Artix's RPG ArchKnight Epic Finale on Friday; Game Finishes Inside Another Game". IGN . 17 February 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  5. ↑ Suzie Ford (6 April 2009). "Artix April Fools Fun". WarCry Network . Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  6. ↑ Suzie Ford (30 October 2009). "Artix Entertainment: Happy Mogloween!". WarCry Network . Archived from the original on 16 January 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "Artix Presents TV Talent Reality Show Parody "FalconReach Idle" in Browser-Based DragonFable". IGN . 16 November 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  8. ↑ Chris Barylick (29 November 2006). "Your Daily Dose of RPG: DragonFable". The Mac Observer. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  9. ↑ Andre Haas. "Linux Game: Dragon Fable". About.com. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.