Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain
Encyclopedia
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was an Intellivision
game, one of the first Advanced Dungeons & Dragons games to be officially licensed by TSR, Inc.
. It was later retitled to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain to distinguish it from the sequel, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin
. It was also the first Intellivision cartridge to use more than 4K of ROM
.
Players begin the game on one side of a large wilderness in a cabin, with a huge mountain topped by clouds and a slumbering dragon
(Cloudy Mountain) on the other side. In between, a number of smaller mountains and geographical obstacles bar the way. On this map the player is represented as a trio of flashing white dots, which correspond to the number of lives the player has left. Each time the player loses a life, a dot disappears until all have gone and the game is over. According to the manual each dot represents one of a trio of adventurers who are on their quest to recover the Crown of Kings.
To complete the game, the player moves the white dots across the wilderness. Rivers, forests, gates, and small mountains bar their path. However many of the mountains contain caves that can be traveled through and explored. When the dots move adjacent to a mountain, it will change color to represent whether or not it can be entered. The new color corresponds to the type of monsters within, and also of what item will be within. Some will contain boats, which can be used to cross rivers, some keys for passing through gates, and others axes, which can be used to pass through forests.
Upon entering a mountain the main part of the game begins. The player is represented by a black figure armed with a bow. The player must guide the figure through a maze, which is initially shrouded in darkness. As the figure explores, the shroud disappears, revealing more of the maze. This idea of a "shroud" continues to be used in many RPGs
produced since, including Dungeons and Dragons games.
The figure moves through the maze until he finds the exit or is killed (except in Cloudy Mountain, the final maze, where the game immediately ends on gathering both pieces of the Crown). While in the maze, a number of monsters attack the player. The difficulty of each mountain determines how many monsters are on the map, and also which "boss" monster is present. The player can kill the monsters by firing arrows with the bow (using the numbered key-pad, in a similar manner to the Tron Deadly Discs
game), which can ricochet off walls to hit their targets and potentially injure the player. Rats, bats and spiders are killed with a single hit, but "boss" monsters take two arrows to kill. These boss monsters included giant snakes, demons
, and dragons
. It is possible for several to be present in one maze. The "final bosses" are a pair of winged dragons within Cloudy Mountain, each of whom guard one half of the Crown. These winged dragons take three arrows to kill. Indestructible and slow-moving "blobs" are also often present.
The player only has a limited number of arrows, although more can be found within each level. However the player has no form of melee attack, so it is advisable to always attack from a distance.
Players are damaged by physical contact with monsters. As they are injured, their colour changes from black, to blue, then red, and finally death upon the third injury.
Sound is an integral part of the game. Although most of the map is in darkness, when approaching certain adversaries it is possible to hear them before seeing them. Snakes make a hissing sound, for example. However, every cave contains a number of bats, which although harmless to the player, create a loud flapping sound with their wings that obscures the sound of any other monster, and makes it much more likely for the player to run into one and be taken by surprise. One particularly troublesome adversary is the giant spider, which makes no noise at all but it has the ability to consume the player's arrows.
Upon completing the game, the screen reverts from the final maze to the wilderness map, where the dragon's purring no longer sounds.
Several different difficulty settings are available, which determined the number of arrows the player might find, and the speed of the monsters the player encounters.
, wrote that Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is a very basic adventure game similar to Adventure
, and "uses so little of the license in game that you can almost see that as more of a branding deal than anything". He concluded that "Even though it has so little to do with the actual D&D universe, this is still an entertaining retro game worth checking out."
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
game, one of the first Advanced Dungeons & Dragons games to be officially licensed by TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
. It was later retitled to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Cloudy Mountain to distinguish it from the sequel, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin is a video game for the Intellivision video game console and the Mattel Aquarius computer system. The game was written by Tom Loughry in 1981 and was published by Mattel in 1983...
. It was also the first Intellivision cartridge to use more than 4K of ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
.
Plot summary
In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the player must collect necessary items like a boat and keys to cross difficult terrain, to reach the resting place of a broken crown and restore the crown. During the game, the player will cross randomly generated rooms and corridors, and fend off monsters. The player's main weapons are arrows, which are launched by lining up shots via the number pad on the Intellivision controller.Gameplay
The gameplay revolves around exploring a series of randomly-generated, scrolling mazes looking for treasures and weapons with which to defeat monsters, and recover the two pieces of the Crown of Kings.Players begin the game on one side of a large wilderness in a cabin, with a huge mountain topped by clouds and a slumbering dragon
Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters...
(Cloudy Mountain) on the other side. In between, a number of smaller mountains and geographical obstacles bar the way. On this map the player is represented as a trio of flashing white dots, which correspond to the number of lives the player has left. Each time the player loses a life, a dot disappears until all have gone and the game is over. According to the manual each dot represents one of a trio of adventurers who are on their quest to recover the Crown of Kings.
To complete the game, the player moves the white dots across the wilderness. Rivers, forests, gates, and small mountains bar their path. However many of the mountains contain caves that can be traveled through and explored. When the dots move adjacent to a mountain, it will change color to represent whether or not it can be entered. The new color corresponds to the type of monsters within, and also of what item will be within. Some will contain boats, which can be used to cross rivers, some keys for passing through gates, and others axes, which can be used to pass through forests.
Upon entering a mountain the main part of the game begins. The player is represented by a black figure armed with a bow. The player must guide the figure through a maze, which is initially shrouded in darkness. As the figure explores, the shroud disappears, revealing more of the maze. This idea of a "shroud" continues to be used in many RPGs
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
produced since, including Dungeons and Dragons games.
The figure moves through the maze until he finds the exit or is killed (except in Cloudy Mountain, the final maze, where the game immediately ends on gathering both pieces of the Crown). While in the maze, a number of monsters attack the player. The difficulty of each mountain determines how many monsters are on the map, and also which "boss" monster is present. The player can kill the monsters by firing arrows with the bow (using the numbered key-pad, in a similar manner to the Tron Deadly Discs
Tron Deadly Discs
TRON: Deadly Discs is a video game for Mattel's Intellivision console, and was published by Mattel in 1982. The initial game design was done by Don Daglow, with further design and programming by Steven Sents. It is the first of three Intellivision games based on the Disney motion picture Tron...
game), which can ricochet off walls to hit their targets and potentially injure the player. Rats, bats and spiders are killed with a single hit, but "boss" monsters take two arrows to kill. These boss monsters included giant snakes, demons
Demon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demons are the most widespread race of fiends. The demons are chaotic evil by nature, and are native to the Abyss...
, and dragons
Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters...
. It is possible for several to be present in one maze. The "final bosses" are a pair of winged dragons within Cloudy Mountain, each of whom guard one half of the Crown. These winged dragons take three arrows to kill. Indestructible and slow-moving "blobs" are also often present.
The player only has a limited number of arrows, although more can be found within each level. However the player has no form of melee attack, so it is advisable to always attack from a distance.
Players are damaged by physical contact with monsters. As they are injured, their colour changes from black, to blue, then red, and finally death upon the third injury.
Sound is an integral part of the game. Although most of the map is in darkness, when approaching certain adversaries it is possible to hear them before seeing them. Snakes make a hissing sound, for example. However, every cave contains a number of bats, which although harmless to the player, create a loud flapping sound with their wings that obscures the sound of any other monster, and makes it much more likely for the player to run into one and be taken by surprise. One particularly troublesome adversary is the giant spider, which makes no noise at all but it has the ability to consume the player's arrows.
Upon completing the game, the screen reverts from the final maze to the wilderness map, where the dragon's purring no longer sounds.
Several different difficulty settings are available, which determined the number of arrows the player might find, and the speed of the monsters the player encounters.
Reception
Levi Buchanan, in a classic Dungeons & Dragons videogame retrospective for IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, wrote that Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is a very basic adventure game similar to Adventure
Adventure (Atari 2600)
Adventure is a video game for the Atari 2600 video game console and is considered the first action-adventure game. Its creator, Warren Robinett, also introduced the first widely-known Easter egg to the gaming world.-History and design:...
, and "uses so little of the license in game that you can almost see that as more of a branding deal than anything". He concluded that "Even though it has so little to do with the actual D&D universe, this is still an entertaining retro game worth checking out."