has rather inconsiderately cast the adventurers (well at least their online avatars) into a deep and horrible dungeon as Cary 
leads them through the online game The Dungeon of Death, where they're attempting to scoop up 100 credits for their online account.
But to get anywhere near picking up those credits they have to choose which door to enter, choose the wrong door
and their going to be down there a looooonnnnnggggg time.But then they do have a
couple of helpful (?) jailers to assist them ...
Plus here's another video clip of the grandaddy of all those dungeon type games, Dungeon Master itself. This is the intro to the game and a small portion of the first level, where the monsters tend to get more formidable as you wend your way through those long grey corridors, torches getting dimmer and food supplies running low.
Oh-er, when the light spell went out that brought back shivery memories I can tell you. And poor old Cary - I bet the others tell him off, but his logic was faultless. I think :)
ReplyDeleteReally like: the lens flare, the use of the GUI to help tell the story, the blend of humour and threat, and the clear sense of the environment and where everybody is in it (so often overlooked in comics).
Best of all, though: the characters. Having seen them in both their real-world and avatar forms gives the sense of knowing them intimately, like we really have a connection with their vulnerable inner selves. So when the light goes out it really matters! Can't wait for more...
Thanks Dave - really love the Martin McKenna artwork on today's Mirabilis site - amazing sense of perspective and dynamics!!!
ReplyDeleteOne day when I can justify it I need to go back and complete Dungeon Master, I got all the way down to level 9, where the floating Eyeballs are even pissier than they were on level 5 and then I lost my hard drive.
The number if times I've had to slog my way through those earlier levels ...
One thing I noticed about the YouTube video, I'd never approach a corner like that. They step forward and then turn to face down the new corridor - thereby losing one round's action on the monsters. Better to turn to face the wall next to the junction, then step sideways. That way you're ready to go with a fireball immediately.
ReplyDeleteYou can see I've spent a lot of time thinking about these things.
Yes - vitally important when you get to level 5. those poison spitting Wizard's Eyes don't give you a second chance.
ReplyDeleteArgh, RPGs where you go hungry AND injured are not my cup of tea. I think one of the truly great first-person dungeon crawlers has to be the first Phantasy Star on the Master System (ported onto the GBA). Well worth the curiosity.
ReplyDeleteI think I've found it on YouTube Leeann. Looks amazing and engrossing but the muzak is a bit of a barrier for me. It actually comes between the player and the game in terms of undermining the atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteBut I am a bit of an old fuddy duddy when it comes to blinkety twinkety, blibbedy, blobbedy type sounds.
That was one of the things I just loved about the first Tomb Raider was the appropriateness of the music, with some really beautiful and atmospheric music to set the scene and then just the sound of Lara's footfalls as she runs through the first cave, the stressy sound of the music when all hell is about to break loose and then the beautifully elegaic music when she unveils a new room.
Fabulous game looking back on it.
Leeann, I know just what you mean and I would never design hunger and fatigue into a game myself as they would just seem like an annoyance. I don't even like the hassle of searching for health potions in Diablo (etc), I just want hits to top up naturally.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, and yet... In Dungeon Master somehow they made it fun. It's kinda hard to explain :-)