Telengard

Last updated

Telengard
Telengard box front.jpg
Developer(s) Daniel Lawrence
Publisher(s) Avalon Hill
Platform(s) Apple II, TRS-80, Atari 8-bit, PET, VIC-20, Commodore 64, CP/M, IBM PC
Release1982
Genre(s) Dungeon crawl, role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player

Telengard is a 1982 role-playing dungeon crawler video game developed by Daniel Lawrence and published by Avalon Hill. The player explores a dungeon, fights monsters with magic, and avoids traps in real-time without any set mission other than surviving. Lawrence first wrote the game as DND , a 1976 version of Dungeons & Dragons for the DECsystem-10 mainframe computer. He continued to develop DND at Purdue University as a hobby, rewrote the game for the Commodore PET 2001 after 1978, and ported it to Apple II+, TRS-80, and Atari 800 platforms before Avalon Hill found the game at a convention and licensed it for distribution. Its Commodore 64 release was the most popular. Reviewers noted Telengard's similarity to Dungeons and Dragons. RPG historian Shannon Appelcline noted the game as one of the first professionally produced computer role-playing games, and Gamasutra 's Barton considered Telengard consequential in what he deemed "The Silver Age" of computer role-playing games preceding the golden age of the late 1980s. Some of the game's dungeon features, such as altars, fountains, teleportation cubes, and thrones, were adopted by later games such as Tunnels of Doom (1982).

Contents

Gameplay

A player navigates the dungeon in the IBM version. 800px-Telengard Screen Shot2.jpg
A player navigates the dungeon in the IBM version.

In Telengard, the player travels alone through a dungeon fraught with monsters, traps, and treasures in a manner similar to the original Dungeons & Dragons . [1] The game has 50 levels with two million rooms, 20 monster types, and 36 spells. [lower-alpha 1] It has no missions or quests, and its only objective is to survive and improve the player character. [3] The game is set in real-time and cannot be paused, [3] so the player must visit an inn to save game progress. In the early releases such as Apple II, the game world has no sound and is represented by ASCII characters, such as slashes for stairs and dollar signs for treasure. [1] Unless the player enters a special cheat code, progress is lost upon dying. [1]

The single-player adventure begins by personalizing a player character. Each character has randomly generated values for their statistical character attributes: charisma, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, strength, and wisdom. [lower-alpha 2] The algorithm never changes, but the player can randomize repeatedly for new character attribute distributions until satisfied. The player begins with a sword, armor, shield, and no money, and can only see the immediate surroundings, rather than the whole level. [5]

Monsters spawn randomly, and players have three options in battle: fight, use magic, or evade. Magic includes combative missiles, fireballs, lightning bolts, turning the undead, health regeneration, and trap navigation. The effects of the game's most complex spells are not outlined in the instruction manual and must be learned by trial and error. Like the game, the battle events are carried out in real-time instead of in turns. [6] Enemies increase in difficulty as the player progresses through the dungeon. [1] They include both living and undead monsters such as elves, dragons, mummies, and wraiths. Defeating enemies awards experience points, which accrete to raise the player's experience level and increase player stats. [4] The player is rewarded with treasures that include magical weapons, armor items, and potions. Players can code their own features into the game. [6]

Development

While a computer science student at Purdue University, Daniel Lawrence wrote several games for the university's PDP-11 RSTS/E mainframe computer, and one grew into Telengard. [7] In his 1976/77 college summer breaks at home, he worked at BOCES in Spencerport, New York, where he wrote a dungeon crawl game called DND (postdating the similar but unrelated dnd ) in the BASIC programming language for the DECsystem-10's TOPS-10 operating system. [8] [9] He had been influenced by the pen and paper role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. [10] At college, he ported the game to Purdue's PDP-11 RSTS/E. [8] [lower-alpha 3] The game's mechanics grew from conversations at the Purdue engineering building. Part of its real-time nature descended from the need to not have players monopolize the few shared computer terminals. [10]

In 1978, Lawrence purchased the PET 2001 and no longer needed the university's computer, though the microcomputer's lack of memory was his primary design obstacle. [10] He rewrote DND as Telengard within eight kilobytes of memory [8] and designed the dungeon to be procedurally generated based on the player-character's position so the maps would not have to be stored in memory. The final version almost completely used 32 kilobytes of memory. It was easily ported to the Apple II+ and TRS-80 platforms due to their similar usage of the 8K BASIC programming language. The later Atari 8-bit family port required a more complicated handling of string variables. [8] Movement is by WASD keys, perhaps the first video game to use them. [11]

The three ports were finished before Avalon Hill saw the game at a gaming convention and licensed it in 1982 as one of its first computer games. [10] The IBM PC port required a rewrite into the C programming language; the source code for this version was later lost. [8] The Heath/Zenith CP/M version requires MBASIC. [12] The VIC-20 version requires 24K memory expansion. [11] The Commodore 64 port was the most popular. [3]

Matt Barton of Gamasutra reported that Lawrence's DND (and consequently, his Telengard) was directly inspired by Whisenhunt and Wood's dnd for PLATO, with its randomized dungeons and minimalist graphics, [3] though Lawrence recalled in an interview that he had not seen or known of their game. [10] Computer Gaming World's Scorpia wrote that Telengard was based on the earlier, public domain software Castle Telengard. [13]

The game's BASIC source code was available, so ports and remasters were made by the fan community. [14] [15] [16]

Reception and legacy

Norman Banduch provided an early review for Telengard in the December 1982 issue of The Space Gamer , [17] saying that "Telengard could have been a good game, but is marred by poor programming and lack of polish. If you don't want to rewrite it yourself, wait for the second edition". [17]

RPG historian Shannon Appelcline identifies Telengard as one of the first professionally produced computer role-playing games. [9] Gamasutra's Barton described the game as a "pure dungeon crawler" for its lack of diversions, and noted its expansive dungeons as a "key selling point". [3] AllGame's Earl Green remarked that the game's mechanics were very similar in practice to Dungeons & Dragons, [1] The Commodore 64 Home Companion described it to have Dungeons-and-Dragons style, [18] Computer Gaming World's Dick McGrath also said the game "borrowed heavily" from the original such that he expected its creators to be thanked in the end credits, [5] and Scorpia cited four specific similarities with Dungeons & Dragons. [19]

Green described the game as "exceedingly simple ... yet very addictive" and rated it four of five stars. [1] McGrath wrote that he wanted to have more control over his money, and added that a store for purchasing upgrades would have been useful. He thought that games such as Dunjonquest and Maces and Magic handled this aspect better. McGrath suggested that the player draw their own map in the absence of an overview mapping system. [5] He said that his appreciation for the game grew with time and that it had the necessary hook to make him continually return and play again. [6] Tony Roberts of Compute! considered the Commodore 64 version of the game best for its enhanced graphics. [4] The Commodore 64 Home Companion agreed, stating that it "has some fine sprite graphics and sound effects not found in other versions of the game". [18] Scorpia in 1993 stated that while Telengard was "interesting for its time, the game would be pretty dated today" compared to the Gold Box games; "back then, however, it was hot stuff, and a fun way of passing the time". [19]

Barton of Gamasutra placed Telengard alongside Wizardry and the early Ultima series in what he deemed "The Silver Age" of computer role-playing games that preceded the golden age of the late 1980s. [3] Yet in 1992, Computer Gaming World's Gerald Graef wrote that Telengard and Temple of Apshai were "quickly overshadowed" by the Wizardry and Ultima series. [20] [lower-alpha 4] Some of the game's dungeon features, such as altars, fountains, teleportation cubes, and thrones, were adopted by later games such as Tunnels of Doom (1982), and Sword of Fargoal (1982) has similar features. Barton wrote in 2007 that Telengard "still enjoys considerable appreciation today" and questioned whether the Diablo series was "but an updated Telengard". [3]

Notes

  1. ↑ The game's program allows an exception to go below level 50, with a gamer in 2021 reaching level 9,949 before being defeated by a level 27940 Ogre. [2]
  2. ↑ Charisma changes how enemies respond to the player's presence. Constitution determines the degree of damage taken in battle. Dexterity is a measure of ability to evade when in battle. Intelligence affects magical spell ability. Strength affects combat ability. Wisdom lets the player use healing and undead spells. [4]
  3. ↑ He was later asked by Digital Equipment Corporation to port DND to DECsystem-20. [8]
  4. ↑ Computer Gaming World's Roy Wagner wrote that Telengard and Temple of Apshai were "very similar". [21]

Related Research Articles

<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>The Bards Tale</i> (1985 video game) 1985 video game

The Bard's Tale is a fantasy role-playing video game designed and programmed by Michael Cranford for the Apple II. It was produced by Interplay Productions in 1985 and distributed by Electronic Arts. The game was ported to the Commodore 64, Apple IIGS, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Macintosh, and NES. It spawned The Bard's Tale series of games and books. The earliest editions of the game used a series title of Tales of the Unknown, but this title was dropped for later ports of The Bard's Tale and subsequent games in the series.

<i>Akalabeth: World of Doom</i> 1979 video game

Akalabeth: World of Doom is a role-playing video game released in 1979 for the Apple II. It was published by California Pacific Computer Company in 1980. Richard Garriott designed the game as a hobbyist project, which is now recognized as one of the earliest known examples of a role-playing video game and as a predecessor of the Ultima series of games that started Garriott's career. Garriott is the sole author of the game, with the exception of title artwork by Keith Zabalaoui.

<i>Dungeon Master</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Dungeon Master is a role-playing video game featuring a pseudo-3D first-person perspective. It was developed and published by FTL Games for the Atari ST in 1987, almost identical Amiga and PC (DOS) ports following in 1988 and 1992.

<i>Temple of Apshai</i> 1979 video game

Temple of Apshai is a dungeon crawl role-playing video game developed and published by Automated Simulations in 1979. Originating on the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, it was followed by several updated versions for other computers between 1980 and 1986.

<i>Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar</i> 1985 video game

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, first released in 1985 for the Apple II, is the fourth in the series of Ultima role-playing video games. It is the first in the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy, shifting the series from the hack and slash, dungeon crawl gameplay of its "Age of Darkness" predecessors towards an ethically-nuanced, story-driven approach. Ultima IV has a much larger game world than its predecessors, with an overworld map sixteen times the size of Ultima III and puzzle-filled dungeon rooms to explore. Ultima IV further advances the franchise with dialog improvements, new means of travel and exploration, and world interactivity.

<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>Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord</i> 1981 video game

Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is the first game in the Wizardry series of role-playing video games. It was developed by Andrew Greenberg and Robert Woodhead. In 1980, Norman Sirotek formed Sir-Tech Software, Inc. and launched a beta version of the product at the 1980 Boston Computer Convention. The final version of the game was released in 1981.

<i>The Magic Candle</i> 1989 video game

The Magic Candle: Volume 1 is a role-playing video game designed by Ali Atabek and developed and published by Mindcraft in 1989.

<i>Gateway to the Savage Frontier</i> 1991 video game

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

<i>pedit5</i> 1975 video game

pedit5, alternately called The Dungeon, is a 1975 dungeon crawl role-playing video game developed for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's PLATO computer network by Rusty Rutherford. In it, the player controls a character exploring a fixed, single-level dungeon containing randomly-generated monster encounters and treasure. When they encounter a monster, they can fight the monster with a weapon or spells, or attempt to flee. Characters can be saved between sessions.

<i>Champions of Krynn</i> 1990 video game

Champions of Krynn is role-playing video game, the first in a three-part series of Dragonlance Advanced Dungeons & Dragons "Gold Box" games. The game was released in 1990. The highest graphics setting supported in the DOS version was EGA graphics. It also supported the Adlib sound card and either a mouse or joystick.

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

Death Knights of Krynn is the second in a three-part series of DragonlanceAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons "Gold Box" role-playing video games, published by Strategic Simulations. The game was released in 1991.

<i>2400 A.D.</i> 1988 video game

2400 A.D. is a role-playing video game designed by Chuck Bueche and published by Origin Systems in 1988. It was originally released for the Apple II with a version for IBM PC compatibles later the same year. Poor sales resulted in the cancellation of both a Commodore 64 port and a sequel, 2500 A.D.

<i>Dunzhin</i> 1982 video game

Warrior of Ras: Volume I - Dunzhin is a fantasy role-playing video game developed by Med Systems Software. It was released on the TRS-80 in 1982, then ported to the Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, and Commodore 64. A self-booting IBM PC port added digitized speech.

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.

Western role-playing video games are role-playing video games developed in the Western world, including The Americas and Europe. They originated on mainframe university computer systems in the 1970s, were later popularized by titles such as Ultima and Wizardry in the early- to mid-1980s, and continue to be produced for modern home computer and video game console systems. The genre's "Golden Age" occurred in the mid- to late-1980s, and its popularity suffered a downturn in the mid-1990s as developers struggled to keep up with changing fashion, hardware evolution and increasing development costs. A later series of isometric role-playing games, published by Interplay Productions and Blizzard Entertainment, was developed over a longer time period and set new standards of production quality.

DND is a role-playing video games developed by Purdue University student Daniel Lawrence in 1977 for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-10 mainframe computer. The name DND is derived from the abbreviation "D&D" from the original tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. It was later ported to several other computer systems and languages. After Lawrence re-used code from the game in the 1982 role-playing game Telengard, DEC ordered DND be removed from their computers to avoid litigation by Telengard's publisher. DND was one of the earliest role-playing video games, as part of a set of games developed in the 1970s based on the 1974 Dungeons & Dragons.

<i>Questron</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Questron is a 1984 game from Strategic Simulations, the first fantasy title from a company known for computer wargames. It was written by Charles Dougherty and Gerald Wieczorek and released for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, and Commodore 64. A sequel, Questron II, was released in 1988.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Green, Earl. "Telengard – Overview". AllGame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  2. ↑ Igor Takes a Bride (December 3, 2021). "Telengard World Record Challenge!". Youtube. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Barton, Matt (February 23, 2007). "The History of Computer Role-Playing Games Part 1: The Early Years (1980-1983)". Gamasutra . UBM Tech. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Roberts, Tony (September 1983). "Review: Telengard". Compute! . p. 176. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 McGrath, Dick (May–June 1983). "Route 80: The Road to TRS-80 Gaming". Computer Gaming World . Vol. 3, no. 3. p. 35. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 McGrath, Dick (May–June 1983). "Route 80: The Road to TRS-80 Gaming". Computer Gaming World . Vol. 3, no. 3. p. 43. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  7. ↑ Lawrence, Daniel. "About Dan". Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lawrence, Daniel. "Telengard". Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. pp. 20, 176. ISBN   978-1-907702-58-7.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Barton, Matt (June 22, 2007). "Interview with Daniel M. Lawrence, CRPG Pioneer and Author of Telengard". Armchair Arcade. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Harbron, Robin (2020-10-29). Time Machine? Or VIC-20 24KB RAM 7 Cartridge Expander? (YouTube). 8-Bit Show and Tell.
  12. ↑ Loguidice, Bill (2012-07-25). "Avalon Hill's Telengard for Z-90 or H/Z-100 with CP/M-85 and MBASIC: A casual tale of making it work in photos and videos". Armchair Arcade. Archived from the original on 2016-11-19. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  13. ↑ Scorpia (June–July 1987). "Computer Role-playing Games: Now and Beyond". Computer Gaming World . No. 38. p. 28. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  14. ↑ Telengard on atarihq.com
  15. ↑ TelengardListing.pdf commented listing on atarihq.com
  16. ↑ Telengard Remaster 1.1 on the C-64 scene database (2016)
  17. 1 2 Banduch, Norman (December 1982). "Capsule Reviews". The Space Gamer (58). Steve Jackson Games: 46, 48.
  18. 1 2 "Avalon Hill Game Company". The Commodore 64 Home Companion. 1984. p. 166. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  19. 1 2 Scorpia (October 1993). "Scorpia's Magic Scroll Of Games". Computer Gaming World. pp. 34–50. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  20. ↑ Graef, Gerald (March 1992). "Public Domain Computer Role-playing Games". Computer Gaming World . No. 92. p. 64. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  21. ↑ Wagner, Roy (June 1984). "The Commodore Key". Computer Gaming World . Vol. 4, no. 3. p. 38. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
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.