003: Ancient Domains of Mystery
May. 2nd, 2012 01:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I don't remember when I started playing roguelikes - sometime in high school, probably, searching for free games to play because I was too chicken to ask my parents for money for such frivolous things, as well as exploring the open source community I felt drawn to despite not knowing anything about code.
What I found, though, was extraordinarily polished games, fascinating mechanics, and plenty to learn and do. It reflects on the kind of gamer I am, to constantly want to learn rule sets and frameworks and play in people's words. But for the most part, unlike the JRPGs I pirated, they didn't have too much by way of plot - you dove to find some MacGuffin and bring it to the surface. Perhaps there'd be some evoking of some larger story - the implications of the player being War of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, for instance - but never too much.
The exception was Ancient Domains of Mystery.
Yes, it was still a single anonymous player's quest to reach the end - in this case, to close a gate connecting the real world to the realm of chaos. But the way to do that was filled with things - side locations, important NPCs, strange quests. There wasn't just one dungeon - there was an overworld with many dungeons and cities and landmarks, all interconnected, many with their own rules. There was a tower eternally aflame, requiring the player to don fireproof gear before ascending - and if the player was descendent from dragons, the extra heat meant extra precautions. There was a wizenly sage blocking the way to the depths, surrounded by demons - you could find him a precious Amulet of Life Saving to save him, or let him die. Indeed, if you played just right, instead of closing the gate, you could enter it and slay the eLdEr ChAoS gOd (ugh that was awful to type, but that is what he was) and either cleanse the world of corruption forever or take his place reigning over all - dependent on your karma.
And unlike the major roguelikes, which were all open source and built by semi-anonymous teams, ADoM was made by one man, who was the only one with access to its code. This world was his vision; he wanted to eventually build a tabletop roleplay setting out of it. The strange bugs in the game were entirely of his own making and his own amateurish thoughts on game balance. This did, however, mean that when he became busy, the game itself was abandoned, choking off further development for over a decade.
I love the ADoM world - I had my own amateurish attempt to build a tabletop setting based off it once, toying with its world and its inhabitants. (I am not a very good Dungeon Master so this did not go very well, but hey, I tried.) While I disagree with some of his ideas on what makes a compelling game, I will have nothing but respect for Thomas Biskup and what he strove to create. Thank you for showing me the Drakalor Chain, with its ratlings and gremlins - but also, thank you for showing me what a single person with a vision could creatively do in a game.
What I found, though, was extraordinarily polished games, fascinating mechanics, and plenty to learn and do. It reflects on the kind of gamer I am, to constantly want to learn rule sets and frameworks and play in people's words. But for the most part, unlike the JRPGs I pirated, they didn't have too much by way of plot - you dove to find some MacGuffin and bring it to the surface. Perhaps there'd be some evoking of some larger story - the implications of the player being War of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, for instance - but never too much.
The exception was Ancient Domains of Mystery.
Yes, it was still a single anonymous player's quest to reach the end - in this case, to close a gate connecting the real world to the realm of chaos. But the way to do that was filled with things - side locations, important NPCs, strange quests. There wasn't just one dungeon - there was an overworld with many dungeons and cities and landmarks, all interconnected, many with their own rules. There was a tower eternally aflame, requiring the player to don fireproof gear before ascending - and if the player was descendent from dragons, the extra heat meant extra precautions. There was a wizenly sage blocking the way to the depths, surrounded by demons - you could find him a precious Amulet of Life Saving to save him, or let him die. Indeed, if you played just right, instead of closing the gate, you could enter it and slay the eLdEr ChAoS gOd (ugh that was awful to type, but that is what he was) and either cleanse the world of corruption forever or take his place reigning over all - dependent on your karma.
And unlike the major roguelikes, which were all open source and built by semi-anonymous teams, ADoM was made by one man, who was the only one with access to its code. This world was his vision; he wanted to eventually build a tabletop roleplay setting out of it. The strange bugs in the game were entirely of his own making and his own amateurish thoughts on game balance. This did, however, mean that when he became busy, the game itself was abandoned, choking off further development for over a decade.
I love the ADoM world - I had my own amateurish attempt to build a tabletop setting based off it once, toying with its world and its inhabitants. (I am not a very good Dungeon Master so this did not go very well, but hey, I tried.) While I disagree with some of his ideas on what makes a compelling game, I will have nothing but respect for Thomas Biskup and what he strove to create. Thank you for showing me the Drakalor Chain, with its ratlings and gremlins - but also, thank you for showing me what a single person with a vision could creatively do in a game.