The Pre-History of Dungeon and Dragons Computer RPGs
I thought for this blog I would write about very early computer roleplaying games, particularly from the D&D stable. I was optimistic that I would be starting with the classic SSI Gold Box games but this turned out not to be the case.
http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/gold-box-series
The lion’s share of games (so named due to their initial distinctive golden packaging, and later due to a shared engine) published by SSI under an exclusive 1987 licensing deal with TSR ran under a distinctive engine first utilised in 1988’s Pool of Radiance and extensively thereafter through 1993. Barring two Buck Rogers XXVC games also part of the TSR licensing, the rest of the Gold Box games took place in the AD&D Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms campaign settings (including the entirety of the initial Pool of Radiance and Savage Frontier series).
But no. These games released in 1988 and onward were not the earliest.
Maybe the Mattel Intellivision games would be the earliest. I tried to play them on an emulator but have still yet to get used to the very, very odd control scheme.
http://www.mobygames.com/game/intellivision/advanced-dungeons-dragons-cartridge
Pursue the ancient Crown of Kings in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Cartridge. You control a three person party equipped with three arrows apiece, though more arrows can be found on your quest. Quest over the land of Cloudy Mountain and explore caves with many enemies that try to stop your progress. There are four difficulty levels.
No not even these were early enough. The followup to this game AD&D: Treasure of Tarmin had a working title of Minotaur which I find quite interesting given what we are about to find.
The earliest officially licensed Dungeons and Dragons types games I can find are
Dungeon! The Computer Adventure Game (Apple II)
This is a computer game from 1982 based on the board game from 1975.
Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon!
This was released for the Apple II and won a ‘certificate of merit’ in 1984 for ‘The Best Multi-Player Video Game/ Computer Game’ category. Which I find difficult to believe. Elite came out in 1984 and should have won every category for everything.
The maps for this game are not auto generated which is a shame and I suppose not quite roguelike.
The before even that I found:
Gameplay video:
Theseus and the Minotaur (Apple II)
http://www.mobygames.com/game/apple2/theseus-and-the-minotaur__
Which is a game officially licensed by TSR Hobbies and written in house by Bruce Nesmith. While it is not officially linked to Dungeons and Dragons I would consider it to be a spiritual ancestor of the games to come later. It has a combat system, you explore a mze with a 3D viewpoint and it comes from TSR! What more do you need?
The map seems to be auto generated each time on a scale from 1 to 100, with the option of adding secret doors and a hall of mirrors. The auto mapmaking puts me in mind of Dungeon Hack which we’ll probably cover in a few months by the time I work my way through the games.
Gameplay video:
Links
Museum of Computer Adventure Game History:
Theseus : http://mocagh.org/loadpage.php?getgame=theseus
Dungeon!: http://mocagh.org/loadpage.php?getgame=dungeoncag
Moby Games:
Theseus: http://www.mobygames.com/game/apple2/theseus-and-the-minotaur__
No link for Dungeon! yet 😦
Doug The Shug ... 