Does anyone remember the very early RPGs Dungeon Campaign & Wilderness Campaign, programmed by Robert C Clardy?
Wilderness Campaign especially is a revolutionary but largely unsung hero in early CRPGs. The game took place on a static map with randomized elements, so each game was different. The only thing that was consistent was that you started in the lower right corner of the map, and you needed to reach the necromancer's Castle in the upper left. The rest of the game involved traveling across the map to acquire soldiers, weapons and loot to help fund your campaign. You could haggle with town merchants, who's inventories contained many useful items, as well as other items like machetes that could be used to defeat random hazards that the game would throw at you. It was unique in that these hazards, sometimes found in the wild and sometimes found in abandoned temples or ruins, often could be solved in multiple ways with different objects. Remember that for video games, this was the era of "Adventure", which I loved, but WC had so much more depth. Akalabeth was released shortly after, but was a much thinner gameplay experience (the first person dungeon crawl was the real game changer- Wilderness Campaign's dungeon crawls happened in your mind via text).
Clardy's subsequent game, Odyssey: The Compleat Apventure [sic] was an epic journey in the vein of Ultima with a huge overworld and epic story.
I've always wondered if Garriott played Clardy's games and if he was informed at all by them. Clardy for his party days that he didn't play other games.
Wilderness Campaign especially is a revolutionary but largely unsung hero in early CRPGs. The game took place on a static map with randomized elements, so each game was different. The only thing that was consistent was that you started in the lower right corner of the map, and you needed to reach the necromancer's Castle in the upper left. The rest of the game involved traveling across the map to acquire soldiers, weapons and loot to help fund your campaign. You could haggle with town merchants, who's inventories contained many useful items, as well as other items like machetes that could be used to defeat random hazards that the game would throw at you. It was unique in that these hazards, sometimes found in the wild and sometimes found in abandoned temples or ruins, often could be solved in multiple ways with different objects. Remember that for video games, this was the era of "Adventure", which I loved, but WC had so much more depth. Akalabeth was released shortly after, but was a much thinner gameplay experience (the first person dungeon crawl was the real game changer- Wilderness Campaign's dungeon crawls happened in your mind via text).
Clardy's subsequent game, Odyssey: The Compleat Apventure [sic] was an epic journey in the vein of Ultima with a huge overworld and epic story.
I've always wondered if Garriott played Clardy's games and if he was informed at all by them. Clardy for his party days that he didn't play other games.
