Dungeon Master (DOS)

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Description

Dungeon Master is a role-playing game where the player selects four adventurers and descend into the depths of the dungeon. The gameplay is reminiscent of the 3D dungeon crawl type of role-playing games popularized by Wizardry and The Bard's Tale. However, unlike these games, Dungeon Master features real-time combat, which requires the player to click on the opponent in order to execute an attack. Another notable aspect of the game is its growth system: instead of gathering experience points and leveling up, characters improve by repeatedly using the same action. Spellcasting involves selecting and combining symbols, which can be arranged as rune sequences. The game also allows the player to directly interact with objects in the game world through a point-and-click interface.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "Crystal Dragon" -- Working title
• "ダンジョンマスター" -- Japanese spelling

Part of the Following Groups

• Dungeon Master series
• Gameplay feature: Hunger / Thirst
• Genre: Dungeon Crawler

User Reviews

Hiding behind the sofa at the age of 9.	J B (2)	unrated
The Grandfather of all Dungeon Crawls..	Chris Martin (1204)
The reason I bought my memory expansion for the Amiga 500 in 1989	Ungi (5)	unrated
The game that got me into the RPG realm	Ali Jakamy (8)

Critic Reviews

Quandary	Jan, 1997		100
Retro Archives	Jun 03, 2018	19 out of 20	95
Score	Feb, 1995	92 out of 100	92
Gambler	Jan, 1994	90 out of 100	90
Jeuxvideo.com	Oct 01, 2011	18 out of 20	90
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	Sep, 1992	10 out of 12	83
Imperium Gier	Jun 01, 1999		60
PC Games (Germany)	Sep, 1992	49 out of 100	49
PC Format (UK)	Dec, 1995	39 out of 100	39
Computer Gaming World (CGW)	Nov, 1992	Unscored	Unscored

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
PC release date?	2	Terok Nor (30363) Jun 16, 2015
Conflux	1	pro noein Jan 17, 2012

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Dungeon Master appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Apple IIgs version

The first port of Dungeon Master was for the Apple IIgs. This port was done while the original Atari ST version was in development.

DOS version

The DOS version contains some individual marks: it has an extra animation at the end of the game and plays music in the starting screen.

Speaker

In the United States FTL released an sound adapter along with Dungeon Master. It connected to the computer's joystick port and plugged into any speaker or amplifier to add digital sound to the Dungeon Master game. Built into the device was a 9-pin joystick adapter.

Awards

• ACE
  • October 1988 (issue #13) - Included in the Top-100 list of 1987/1988 (editorial staff selection)
  • February 1991 (issue #41) - Included in the list Greatest Games of all Time, section Role-Playing Games (editorial staff choice)
• Amiga Power
  • May 1991 (Issue #00) - #16 in the "All Time Top 100 Amiga Games"
• Computer Gaming World
  • October 1988 (Issue #52) - Special Artistic Achievement Award
  • November 1989 (Issue #65) - Introduced into the Hall of Fame
  • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) - #49 on the "150 Best Games of All Time" list
• GameStar (Germany)
  • Issue 12/1999 - #63 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
• Power Play
  • Issue 01/1989 - Best Role Playing Game in 1988
• Retro Gamer
  • October 2004 (Issue #9) – #34 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)
• ST Format
  • May 1990 (Issue #10) - Included in the list "ST Format's 30 Kick-Ass Classics"
  • August 1991 (Issue #25) – #2 Top Atari ST Classic Games (Editorial staff vote)
  • January 1993 (issue #42) – #4 in '50 finest Atari ST games of all time' list

Information also contributed by Macintrash, PCGamer77, Rantanplan, The Real DJ and Ye Olde Infocomme Shoppe.

Related Web Sites

• Dungeon Master & Chaos Strikes Back Encyclopaedia (An excellent fan site for Dungeon Master I & II and Chaos Strikes Back with maps, walkthrough, monster description, downloads, etc)
• Dungeon Master.com (Community site with a forum. Focus is on user created content for Dungeon Master, tools & links.)