Gateway to the Savage Frontier

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Gateway to the Savage Frontier
Ad&d gateway to the sf.png
Cover art by Clyde Caldwell
Developer(s) Beyond Software
Publisher(s) Strategic Simulations
Producer(s) George MacDonald
Designer(s) Don Daglow
Programmer(s) Cathryn Mataga
Artist(s) David Bunnett
Composer(s) Linwood Taylor
Series Gold Box
Platform(s) Commodore 64, Amiga, DOS
Release
Genre(s) Role-playing game, tactical RPG
Mode(s) Single-player

Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991) is a Gold Box Dungeons & Dragons computer game developed by Beyond Software and published by SSI for the Commodore 64, PC and Amiga personal computers. [1]

Contents

Development

When SSI began work on the Dark Sun game engine in 1989 after the completion of Secret of the Silver Blades , they passed responsibility for continuing the Forgotten Realms Gold Box games to Beyond Software. Designers Don Daglow, Mark Buchignani, David Bunnett, Arturo Sinclair and Mark Manyen set the action for the game in an area of the Forgotten Realms that TSR had labeled The Savage Frontier , north of Waterdeep and south of Luskan along the Sword Coast. The area was far to the west of the region that hosted the action for Pool of Radiance and its sequels.

One of the major locations in the Savage Frontier, Neverwinter, spun off a new chapter. Beyond Software gained the support of AOL executive Steve Case to create the first-ever graphical MMORPG, and to base it on the Gold Box engine. To leverage the existing game and cross-promote the titles, Daglow based the new MMORPG in Neverwinter and named it Neverwinter Nights .

The game's principal technical enhancement to the aging Gold Box engine was the addition of wilderness play, where the party traveled long distances on the map while following the basic D&D rules for combat with wandering monsters.

The game also featured character-specific side-quests, with two NPCs who can open these optional missions. The side quests in turn open different endings for the game.

The game spawned one sequel, Treasures of the Savage Frontier (1992).

Plot overview

The game revolves around a standard (for Gold Box adventures) party of six adventurers who inadvertently get caught up in a plot by the Zhentarim to conquer the entire Frontier area.

The storyline, in rough terms, follows:

Basically, Zhentil Keep plans to use these magical statues to open a way through an otherwise-unpassable desert for their armies. If successful, the party is hailed as the "Heroes of Ascore", which is carried over into the sequel.

Reception

SSI sold 62,581 copies of Gateway to the Savage Frontier. [2] The title was the #1 selling MS-DOS game in North America in August 1991. [3]

Jim Trunzo reviewed Gateway to the Savage Frontier in White Wolf #29 (Oct./Nov., 1991), rating it a 4 out of 5 and stated that "Gateway to the Savage Frontier earns high marks for graphics, text and depth. The mystery storyline is both interesting and believable but, to reiterate, it doesn't tie you down. The new wilderness style adds greatly to the freshness of the product and proves that there's truth to the idea that 'more is better'." [4]

The game was reviewed in 1992 in Dragon #177 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars. [5] Scorpia of Computer Gaming World in 1993 called Gateway to the Savage Frontier "standard Gold Box fare ... you've played this many times before". [6]

According to GameSpy, "it was a polished revision of what the early games in the Gold Box series were like, and felt very welcome, to those who'd gotten a bit weary of the far-flung conventions of its most recent installments". [7]

Reviews

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References

  1. ↑ Barton, Matt (2007-02-23). "Part 2: The Golden Age (1985-1993)". The History of Computer Role-Playing Games. Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  2. ↑ Maher, Jimmy (2017-03-31). "Opening the Gold Box, Part 5: All That Glitters is Not Gold". The Digital Antiquarian.
  3. ↑ CGW (December 1991). "SPA Top 25 Hits List". Computer Gaming World. p. 124. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  4. ↑ Trunzo, Jim (October–November 1991). "The Silicon Dungeon". White Wolf Magazine . No. 29. p. 72.
  5. ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia & Lesser, Kirk (January 1992). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (177): 57–66.
  6. ↑ Scorpia (October 1993). "Scorpia's Magic Scroll Of Games". Computer Gaming World. pp. 34–50. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Rausch, Allen; Lopez, Miguel (August 16, 2004). "A History of D&D Video Games - Part II". Game Spy.
  8. ↑ "ZZap!64 Magazine Issue 079". December 1991.
  9. ↑ http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=3104 [ bare URL ]
  10. ↑ "Gateway to the Savage Frontier review from Amiga Mania (Jun 1992) - Amiga Magazine Rack".
  11. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/commodore-format-magazine-15/Commodore_Format_Issue_15_1991_12#page/n85/mode/2up
  12. ↑ http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=3106 [ bare URL ]
  13. ↑ "Amiga Joker Amiga Joker Sonderheft Nr.3 - Rollenspiele Page scans - Amiga Magazine Rack".
  14. ↑ "Gateway to the Savage Frontier review from Amiga Joker (May 1992) - Amiga Magazine Rack".
  15. ↑ "Gateway to the Savage Frontier review from Amiga Action 32 (May 1992) - Amiga Magazine Rack".
  16. ↑ "Gateway to the Savage Frontier review from Amiga Format 34 (May 1992) - Amiga Magazine Rack".
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