The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [92]
Treasures of the Savage Frontier, following Gateway to the Savage Frontier, was the last in the Gold Box series. It allowed characters up to twelfth level. Certain nonplayer characters could fall in love with the player character, depending on his actions. It also allowed the option to utilize allied forces, increasing the number of combatants (Barton 2008:157).
With the Gold Box engine starting to creak in its old age, SSI decided to give it a final send-off by creating Unlimited Adventures. Unlimited Adventures was basically a role-playing game construction kit, drawing on all the games that had been created before it for content. Hundreds of different monsters, triggers, and areas could be created, putting the power of adventure design on the computer in the hands of the player for the first time.
The success of Eye of the Beholder continued with Dungeon Hack, similar to Rogue way back when—a three-dimensional, randomly generated dungeon. The game was frighteningly addictive; even my mom was addicted to it!
The official arrival of Dungeons & Dragons in the arcades came in 1994. Tower of Doom featured a side scroller of four different characters (cleric, dwarf, elf, and fighter) fighting iconic Dungeons & Dragons monsters.
After SSI lost the Dungeons &Dragons license, TSR divided up the various settings between different publishers. Interplay took a shot at the genre with Blood & Magic, a real-time strategy game. Players took on the role of wizards, using blood magic to create monsters. It was, in essence, Magic: The Gathering in computer game format.
The biggest story of 1996 for CRPGs was Diablo, kicking off the Platinum Age of CRPGs (Barton 2008:287). Combining the fast action of Gauntlet with a limited character development system (rogue, sorcerer, warrior), Diablo perfected the visual engine for representing fantasy gaming statistics, from its rapid leveling system to its random monster generation. Along with its online multiplayer possibilities, Diablo revolutionized the industry and set the standard for isometric role-playing games (Barton 2008:319).
One of the last settings to be developed for second-edition Dungeons & Dragons was Birthright. Sierra created a real-time strategy game called Birthright: Gorgon’s Alliance. Inspired chiefly by Tolkien’s Middle-earth, Birthright was a universe profoundly influenced by bloodline, nation building, and war. As one of the heirs to a throne, the player took charge of a descendant of the royal bloodline on his quest to take over the world. Part strategy game, part adventure game, it failed in trying to please fans of each (Barton 2008:280).
A huge leap forward in fantasy CRPGs took place in 1997 with the debut of Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy’s influence was felt through comics, books, and even movies. Final Fantasy’s innovations included overland movement, nonplayer character (NPC) interaction, and anime-style combat. Other games may have done it first, but the Final Fantasy series did it better.
In 1998 came the second renaissance of Dungeons & Dragons games. BioWare produced Baldur’s Gate. Baldur’s Gate featured a real-time combat system from a third-person perspective. Alignment was determined by character interactions, and character positions in the party mattered. Plus, magic was rendered in breathtaking detail.
The year 2001 saw Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor, developed by Stormfront as a return to the Gold Box original of the same name. What was different is that it used the Dungeons & Dragons third edition rules set. That didn’t save it. In fact, Pool of Radiance was a disaster, with unforgivable offenses ranging from terrible animation and graphics to a bug that could erase your hard drive. Barton declared Pool of Radiance “the worst CRPG of all time” (2008:356).
Also in 2001, Icewind Dale was yet another sequel from Black Isle Studios. The Infinity engine, like the Gold Box engine before it, started to show its age, but development