Bloodwych
Encyclopedia
Bloodwych is a dungeon role-playing video game
developed for the Amiga
, Atari ST
and MS-DOS
as well as the major 8-bit
home computer platforms. It was developed by Image Works
from 1989.
Its box featured artwork by Chris Achilleos.
The plotline identifies the player as a champion of Trazere who, after recruiting up to three fellow champions, travels through dungeons and mazes fighting creatures along the way to find and destroy the evil Zendick, and banish the Lord of Entropy.
One particularly memorable quirk of the game is the ability granted to players to hold simple conversations with traders, other champions, and even enemies during combat. Stock pseudo-medieval phrases such as "Truly my courage is remarkable" and "Begone, thou oaf" are selected using a menu, and can be used in combination to flatter a desired companion, aggravate an enemy, or lower the price of an item which the player wishes to purchase. Many gameplayers have found that the price of a long sword (RRP 10 gold pieces) can fall to as little as 6 or 7 after the shopkeeper has been buttered-up with phrases such as "Thou seems fine" - particularly when this strategy is used in conjunction with the Beguile spell (most effectively cast by Megrim).
Bloodwych is also remarkable for the sheer scale of its maps. Gameplay can easily last weeks until the player eventually navigates his way though mazes and past monsters to the start of the enormous and fiendish "towers", in which the gameplay becomes focused on the task of collecting crystals, with a view to destroying Zendick and his associates.
Similar games of the time included Eye of the Beholder
and Dungeon Master.
. It also praised that the puzzles could be solved by pure logic.
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
developed for the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
as well as the major 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
home computer platforms. It was developed by Image Works
Image Works
Image Works was a publishing label of video games publisher Mirrorsoft created in 1988. The first two games published under the Image Works label were Fernandez Must Die and Foxx Fights Back...
from 1989.
Its box featured artwork by Chris Achilleos.
The plotline identifies the player as a champion of Trazere who, after recruiting up to three fellow champions, travels through dungeons and mazes fighting creatures along the way to find and destroy the evil Zendick, and banish the Lord of Entropy.
Gameplay
All of the champions fall into the four classes of Warrior, Mage, Adventurer or Thief, each with their own particular capability. Within each class there are four characters available, each with their own colour of Red, Blue, Green or Yellow. Each colour also has its own particular advantage, largely with respect to the families of spells the character will be most adept at casting and developing. However, that colour is also important when it comes to matching up coloured rings later in the game to magnify the effects of spell-casting.One particularly memorable quirk of the game is the ability granted to players to hold simple conversations with traders, other champions, and even enemies during combat. Stock pseudo-medieval phrases such as "Truly my courage is remarkable" and "Begone, thou oaf" are selected using a menu, and can be used in combination to flatter a desired companion, aggravate an enemy, or lower the price of an item which the player wishes to purchase. Many gameplayers have found that the price of a long sword (RRP 10 gold pieces) can fall to as little as 6 or 7 after the shopkeeper has been buttered-up with phrases such as "Thou seems fine" - particularly when this strategy is used in conjunction with the Beguile spell (most effectively cast by Megrim).
Bloodwych is also remarkable for the sheer scale of its maps. Gameplay can easily last weeks until the player eventually navigates his way though mazes and past monsters to the start of the enormous and fiendish "towers", in which the gameplay becomes focused on the task of collecting crystals, with a view to destroying Zendick and his associates.
Similar games of the time included Eye of the Beholder
Eye of the Beholder (computer game)
Eye of the Beholder is a role-playing video game for computers and video game consoles developed by Westwood Studios. It was published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1990 for the DOS operating system and later ported to the Amiga, the Sega CD, and the SNES...
and Dungeon Master.
Expansion
The game had an add-on pack released called Bloodwych: Data Disks Vol 1 (also known as Bloodwych: The Extended Levels). Among the features of the add-on pack was the capability to persuade some of the enemy creatures to join your "merry band".Reception
CU Amiga-64 gave the game additionally a CU Screen Star, stating that the game had be even more varied gameplay than Dungeon MasterDungeon Master
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...
. It also praised that the puzzles could be solved by pure logic.
Hexx: Heresy of the Wizard
Bloodwych was followed in 1994 by Psygnosis' Hexx: Heresy of the Wizard (working title Wizard). Hexx was basically the same game with updated graphics, a slightly modified cast of champions, and a greatly expanded magic system.External links
- Bloodwych at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Bloodwych Resource Guide
- The Unofficial Bloodwych Website