Dragon Wars
Encyclopedia
Dragon Wars is a fantasy
computer role-playing game developed by Interplay Entertainment
in 1989, and distributed by Activision
.
, one of the designers came up with a list of enhancements and improvements for the game. With the possibility that Interplay would soon be parting ways with Electronic Arts
, it was decided to save these for a future game and stick closer to the original engine
, though the auto-mapping feature did make it into Bard's Tale III.
These design improvements came in this next game, Dragon Wars. In essence, the game was a fusion of Bard's Tale and design philosophy pioneered in Wasteland
. Until a month before release the game was developed as "Bard's Tale IV". However, the rights to this title were still held by Electronic Arts, and thus a new title and setting were needed for the game. It was derived in part from the Sumerian legends of Gilgamesh
, with the chief villain of the game being named Namtar
. Since to this point the game didn't feature any dragons, the new title meant that Heineman had to add one.
The designers all felt it was a better game than Bard's Tale III, and indeed, better than any of the Bard's Tale series, but without the tie-in to the old title and without Electronic Artss marketing muscle, the game did not fare as well.
#152 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars. The game was given a positive review in Computer Gaming World
, noting improvements over the Bard's Tale series, saying that, "Tighter design, attention to detail, balanced combat, and a carefully constructed plotline all combine to produce a CRPG well worth playing."
by the player. During the game, the seven character slots can be filled with any combination of the starting characters, recruited characters, and summoned creatures.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
computer role-playing game developed by Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...
in 1989, and distributed by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
.
Story
The story from the back of the original box:Development
During the initial design process for Bard's Tale III: Thief of FateBard's Tale III
The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate is a computer fantasy role-playing game created by Interplay Productions in 1988. It is the second sequel to The Bard's Tale. It was designed by "Burger" Bill Heineman , Bruce Schlickbernd, and Michael A. Stackpole...
, one of the designers came up with a list of enhancements and improvements for the game. With the possibility that Interplay would soon be parting ways with Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, it was decided to save these for a future game and stick closer to the original engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
, though the auto-mapping feature did make it into Bard's Tale III.
These design improvements came in this next game, Dragon Wars. In essence, the game was a fusion of Bard's Tale and design philosophy pioneered in Wasteland
Wasteland (computer game)
Wasteland is a post-apocalyptic computer role-playing game first released in 1988. The game was designed by Alan Pavlish, Brian Fargo, Michael A. Stackpole and Ken St...
. Until a month before release the game was developed as "Bard's Tale IV". However, the rights to this title were still held by Electronic Arts, and thus a new title and setting were needed for the game. It was derived in part from the Sumerian legends of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...
, with the chief villain of the game being named Namtar
Namtar
In Mesopotamian mythology Namtar was a hellish deity, god of death, and the messenger of An, Ereshkigal, and Nergal.Namtar was the son of Enlil and Erishkigal and was considered responsible for diseases and pests...
. Since to this point the game didn't feature any dragons, the new title meant that Heineman had to add one.
The designers all felt it was a better game than Bard's Tale III, and indeed, better than any of the Bard's Tale series, but without the tie-in to the old title and without Electronic Artss marketing muscle, the game did not fare as well.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1989 in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#152 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars. The game was given a positive review in Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
, noting improvements over the Bard's Tale series, saying that, "Tighter design, attention to detail, balanced combat, and a carefully constructed plotline all combine to produce a CRPG well worth playing."
Starting Characters
The player starts the game with a party of four characters, who can be either the default characters or ones createdCharacter creation
Character creation is the process of defining a game character or other character. Typically, a character's individual strengths and weaknesses are represented by a set of statistics. Games with a largely fictional setting may include traits such as race and class...
by the player. During the game, the seven character slots can be filled with any combination of the starting characters, recruited characters, and summoned creatures.
Semordnilap
Several non-player characters names in the game when identified with reversed spelling/semordnilap have additional meaning. Whether or not these names were chosen intentionally or purely coincidental remains unconfirmed. Some of these identified names are:- NamtarNamtarIn Mesopotamian mythology Namtar was a hellish deity, god of death, and the messenger of An, Ereshkigal, and Nergal.Namtar was the son of Enlil and Erishkigal and was considered responsible for diseases and pests...
(Primary Antagonist) = Ratman - Lanac'toor (Wizard) = Root Canal