Dungeon Hack

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Dungeon Hack
Dungeon Hack Coverart.png
MS-DOS cover art
Developer(s) DreamForge Intertainment
Cybelle (PC-9801)
Publisher(s) Strategic Simulations
Right Stuff (PC-9801)
Designer(s) Thomas J. Holmes
Christopher L. Straka
Programmer(s) Thomas J. Holmes
Composer(s) Anthony Mollick, James McMenamy
Platform(s) DOS, NEC PC-9801
Release1993
Genre(s) dungeon crawler
Mode(s) Single-player

Dungeon Hack is a 1993 role-playing video game developed by DreamForge Intertainment and published by Strategic Simulations for DOS and NEC PC-9801.

Contents

The game is based in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It blends gameplay elements of roguelikes and the Eye of the Beholder series. [1]

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot SSI-DungeonHack-Combat.jpg
Gameplay screenshot

Dungeon Hack features a three-dimensional, randomly generated dungeon; [2] [3] SSI claimed that "over 4 billion" different dungeons were possible. [4] The game features a pseudo-3D game screen based on Eye of the Beholder series. Like Rogue , dungeons are randomly generated whenever a new game is started. As a result, virtually all dungeons generated by the game are different. However, players can share random seeds used to generate a specific dungeon. Dungeons can be customized for difficulty, such as limiting the number of traps, puzzles, and powerful enemies. [5] Unlike Eye of the Beholder, players control only a single adventurer. [6]

Dungeon Hack uses the rules mechanics of AD&D 2nd Edition. Permadeath, in which all saves are erased upon character death, is an option, [3] like traditional roguelike games but unlike other graphical AD&D games such as Pool of Radiance . Unlike traditional roguelikes, Dungeon Hack has a complex character creation system, but it offers pregenerated characters to speed up the process of recovering from permadeath. [5]

Plot

An adventurer (the player's character of choice) is sent by an evil [7] sorceress on a mission to find and retrieve a mysterious magical orb located within an ancient dungeon.

After defeating the final monster, the ending cinematic shows the adventurer leaves the dungeon with a wheelbarrow full of treasure, the sorceress waiting outside for him. The hero gives her the orb, and she gives him her thanks and says it time for them to leave. The hero remains behind during the credits to sort through his spoils. After the credits, the sorceress tells the hero to hurry as she is leaving and the adventure is over. The hero remarks on his treasure and that his adventure has only just begun, and moves his wheelbarrow off screen dropping a coin, before quickly coming back and picks it back up and goes back off screen.

Reception

SSI sold 27,110 copies of Dungeon Hack. [10] Reviews at release were fairly positive, though some criticized the game for its lack of plot [6] or difficulty in finding essential supplies in the dungeon. [1] Computer Gaming World 's Scorpia in 1994 liked the game's flexibility and inclusion of all AD&D 2nd Edition character classes and found that "a 10-15 level dungeon is probably the best". She concluded that "in spite of some weak points, Dungeon Hack delivers what it promises: the chance to create your own, specially-designed, hack-n-slash paradise". [3] The game got 3 out of 5 stars in Dragon . [8] Cory Brock of Hardcore Gaming 101 wrote that the game plays it safe by not changing the gameplay of the Eye of the Beholder series, but it is "a solid adaptation of the traditional roguelike". [6]

Dungeon Hack won Computer Game Review's "Most Replay Value of 1994" award.[ citation needed ] According to GameSpy's Allen Rausch, if "random creatures and meaningless hallways are your thing, you'll love Dungeon Hack –the rest of us like at least a little story to justify our monster butchery". [11] Ian Williams of Paste rated the game #9 on his list of "The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames" in 2015. [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>NetHack</i> 1987 text-based roguelike video game

NetHack is an open source single-player roguelike video game, first released in 1987 and maintained by the NetHack DevTeam. The game is a fork of the 1982 game Hack, itself inspired by the 1980 game Rogue. The player takes the role of one of several pre-defined character classes to descend through multiple dungeon floors, fighting monsters and collecting treasure, to recover the "Amulet of Yendor" at the lowest floor and then escape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roguelike</span> Subgenre of role-playing video games

Roguelike is a style of role-playing game traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player character. Most roguelikes are based on a high fantasy narrative, reflecting their influence from tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons.

<i>Rogue</i> (video game) 1980 video game

Rogue is a dungeon crawling video game by Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman with later contributions by Ken Arnold. Rogue was originally developed around 1980 for Unix-based minicomputer systems as a freely distributed executable. It was later included in the Berkeley Software Distribution 4.2 operating system (4.2BSD). Commercial ports of the game for a range of personal computers were made by Toy, Wichman, and Jon Lane under the company A.I. Design and financially supported by the Epyx software publishers. Additional ports to modern systems have been made since by other parties using the game's now-open source code.

<i>Pool of Radiance</i> 1988 video game

Pool of Radiance is a role-playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc (SSI) in 1988. It was the first adaptation of TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) fantasy role-playing game for home computers, becoming the first episode in a four-part series of D&D computer adventure games. The other games in the "Gold Box" series used the game engine pioneered in Pool of Radiance, as did later D&D titles such as the Neverwinter Nights online game. Pool of Radiance takes place in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting, with the action centered in and around the port city of Phlan.

<i>Eye of the Beholder</i> (video game) 1991 video game

Eye of the Beholder is a role-playing video game for personal computers and video game consoles developed by Westwood Associates. It was published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1991, for the MS-DOS operating system and later ported to the Amiga, the Sega CD and the SNES. The Sega CD version features a soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima. A port to the Atari Lynx handheld was developed by NuFX in 1993, but was not released. In 2002, an adaptation of the same name was developed by Pronto Games for the Game Boy Advance.

<i>Curse of the Azure Bonds</i> 1989 video game

Curse of the Azure Bonds is a role-playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations in 1989. It is the second in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box games, continuing the events of Pool of Radiance.

<i>Dark Sun: Shattered Lands</i> 1993 video game

Dark Sun: Shattered Lands is a turn-based role-playing video game that takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting of Dark Sun. It was developed and published by Strategic Simulations in 1993. It received positive reviews although released initially in an unfinished state. The game had a sequel, Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager, in 1994. An online MMORPG taking place in the same setting, Dark Sun Online: Crimson Sands, was released in 1996 and hosted on the Total Entertainment Network.

<i>Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom</i> 1994 arcade game

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<i>Secret of the Silver Blades</i> 1990 video game

Secret of the Silver Blades is the third in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons "Gold Box" adventure role-playing video games. The game was released in 1990.

<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>Death Knights of Krynn</i> 1991 video game

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<i>The Dark Queen of Krynn</i> 1992 video game

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<i>Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon</i> 1991 video game

Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon is a 1991 role-playing video game and the sequel to the first Eye of the Beholder. It used a modified version of the first game's engine, added outdoor areas and greatly increased the amount of interaction the player had with their environment, along with substantially more role-playing aspects to the game. A sequel, Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor, was released in 1993.

<i>Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor</i> 1993 video game

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<i>Al-Qadim: The Genies Curse</i> 1994 video game

Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse is an action role-playing game for the personal computer set in the Al-Qadim campaign setting of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The game was developed by Cyberlore Studios and published in 1994 by Strategic Simulations (SSI). The game combines role-playing game and adventure with a simplified interface; the player character is a young corsair trying to clear his family's name, rescue his betrothed and determine who has been freeing genies from their masters.

<i>Dark Sun Online: Crimson Sands</i> 1996 video game

Dark Sun Online: Crimson Sands was an early massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1996 for Windows 95. Dark Sun Online was based on the licensed Dark Sun campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game. It was one of the first fully graphical MMORPGs.

<i>Menzoberranzan</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Menzoberranzan is a 1994 role-playing video game created by Strategic Simulations (SSI) and DreamForge Intertainment. Menzoberranzan uses the game engine that was used previously in SSI's Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession (1994), and is set in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

<i>Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Slayer</i> 1994 video game

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Slayer is a fantasy first-person, dungeon crawl / action role-playing game based on the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The game was developed by Lion Entertainment and published by Strategic Simulations in 1994 for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. A Japanese version titled Lost Dungeon (ロストダンジョン) was published by T&E Soft the following year.

<i>Ravenloft: Stone Prophet</i> 1995 video game

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Pool of Radiance is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms campaign settings of Dungeons & Dragons; it was the first Dungeons & Dragons video game series to be based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules.

References

  1. 1 2 Barton, Matt (2008). Dungeons and Desktops. CRC Press. pp. 240–241. ISBN   978-1-4398-6524-8.
  2. ↑ Tresca, Michael J. (2010), The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, McFarland, p. 144, ISBN   978-0786458950
  3. 1 2 3 Scorpia (February 1994). "Hackin' The Nights Away". Scorpion's View. pp. 62, 64.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  4. ↑ "Dungeon Hack". Computer Gaming World (advertisement). December 1993. p. 43. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 Harris, John (2020). "60: Dreamforge's Dungeon Hack". Exploring Roguelike Games. CRC Press. 60.1–60.3. ISBN   978-1-003-05357-6.
  6. 1 2 3 Brock, Cory (2017-09-08). "Dungeon Hack - IBM PC, PC-98 (1993)". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  7. ↑ PC Player issue 3 (February 1994), page 57.
  8. 1 2 Petersen, Sandy (May 1994). "Eye of the Monitor". Dragon. No. 205. pp. 59–62.
  9. ↑ McCandless, David (February 1994). "PC Zone Review - Dungeon Hack". PC Zone . No. 11. Future plc. p. 90.
  10. ↑ Maher, Jimmy (2017-03-31). "Opening the Gold Box, Part 5: All That Glitters is Not Gold". The Digital Antiquarian.
  11. ↑ Rausch, Allen (2004-08-17). "A History of D&D Video Games - Part III". Game Spy. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  12. ↑ "The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames". pastemagazine.com. April 27, 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
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