The Horde (video game)
Encyclopedia
The Horde is a hybrid action-strategy video game developed by Toys For Bob
and published by Crystal Dynamics
in 1994. It was originally released on the 3DO
platform, but was soon after ported to the Sega Saturn
and PC
. It was an unusual hybrid of action and strategy game for the time. It also featured full-motion video sequences featuring a number of actors including Kirk Cameron
as Chauncey and Michael Gregory as Kronus Maelor. Video sequences were reduced to slideshows (with full sound) in some versions.
The game was bundled with the RealMagic
MPEG playback card as a demonstration of the card's abilities to play back full motion MPEG video via the card's hardware decoder, at the time software MPEG decoding was not viable due to the lack of processing power in contemporary processers.
The music was composed by Burke Trieschmann
and won Computer Gaming World's
Premiere Award for Best Musical Score in 1995.
Then comes the "action" phase, where the player must defend the town from an onslaught of Hordlings with a huge sword, Grimthwacker (given to the player by the King), and various magical items. These items are powered by Chauncey's ATM card ("Automated Transfer of Mana"), which converts gold into usable magical energy. Hordlings occasionally drop money when defeated, which may be retrieved and used. However, the main sources of income are cows and crops, which are also sought by the Hordlings.
At the end of the action phase, the season has ended and the player receives a report on how well the town has been managed. The player turns a profit by protecting the town's resources. The player will then receive messages through a crystal ball
from King Winthrop the Good, Kronus Maelor (the "Evil High Chancellor"), or the FNN ("Franzpowanki News Network"). With the exception of certain comic relief messages, these can have direct influence on every aspect of the game.
After four (or more, depending on the level) seasons, Kronus Maelor requires Chauncey to pay taxes. The player then has the opportunity to save the game and buy special items for the next year. As the game progresses, the player eventually eliminates the Horde presence in a given region and is tasked by the king to move on to another territory. Each new location features the challenges of different terrain and new breeds of Hordling, as well as extras such as unorthodox ways to get items (these could be viewed as side-quests).
Toys For Bob
Toys For Bob is a small video game developer founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford. They are most known for creating Star Control and its sequel Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters, but they were not involved in the development of Star Control 3...
and published by Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics is an American video game developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 1992 by Judy Lang, Madaline Canepa and Dave Morris...
in 1994. It was originally released on the 3DO
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
platform, but was soon after ported to the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
and PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
. It was an unusual hybrid of action and strategy game for the time. It also featured full-motion video sequences featuring a number of actors including Kirk Cameron
Kirk Cameron
Kirk Thomas Cameron is an American actor best known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy Growing Pains , as well as several other television and film appearances as a child actor...
as Chauncey and Michael Gregory as Kronus Maelor. Video sequences were reduced to slideshows (with full sound) in some versions.
The game was bundled with the RealMagic
RealMagic
RealMagic, from Sigma Designs, was one of the first fully compliant MPEG playback boards on the market in the mid-90s. An ISA board, it operated as a pass through video board that combined an MPEG video stream into a computer's regular display signal, using special software to scale and align the...
MPEG playback card as a demonstration of the card's abilities to play back full motion MPEG video via the card's hardware decoder, at the time software MPEG decoding was not viable due to the lack of processing power in contemporary processers.
The music was composed by Burke Trieschmann
Burke Trieschmann
Burke Trieschmann is a composer and sound designer who provides music for film and video games. He has composed music for several old classic computer games, for example Pandemonium.-External links:...
and won Computer Gaming World's
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...
Premiere Award for Best Musical Score in 1995.
Story
The player controls a servant boy, Chauncey, who was raised by a herd of wild cows. In a fortunate mishap, Chauncey prevents Winthrop the Good, King of Franzpowanki, from choking on his meal and is rewarded with a plot of land upon which he may build a self-sustaining town. However, the land is under constant attack by "The Horde." The Horde consists of a number of destructive and hungry red monsters referred to individually as Hordlings.Gameplay
The game is played in alternating timed phases. First is a "build" phase in which the player develops a town with the resources at his or her disposal. This includes constructing buildings and walls, setting traps, chopping down trees, and landscaping.Then comes the "action" phase, where the player must defend the town from an onslaught of Hordlings with a huge sword, Grimthwacker (given to the player by the King), and various magical items. These items are powered by Chauncey's ATM card ("Automated Transfer of Mana"), which converts gold into usable magical energy. Hordlings occasionally drop money when defeated, which may be retrieved and used. However, the main sources of income are cows and crops, which are also sought by the Hordlings.
At the end of the action phase, the season has ended and the player receives a report on how well the town has been managed. The player turns a profit by protecting the town's resources. The player will then receive messages through a crystal ball
Crystal ball
A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed by some people to aid in the performance of clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as a shew stone...
from King Winthrop the Good, Kronus Maelor (the "Evil High Chancellor"), or the FNN ("Franzpowanki News Network"). With the exception of certain comic relief messages, these can have direct influence on every aspect of the game.
After four (or more, depending on the level) seasons, Kronus Maelor requires Chauncey to pay taxes. The player then has the opportunity to save the game and buy special items for the next year. As the game progresses, the player eventually eliminates the Horde presence in a given region and is tasked by the king to move on to another territory. Each new location features the challenges of different terrain and new breeds of Hordling, as well as extras such as unorthodox ways to get items (these could be viewed as side-quests).
Version differences
The initial 3DO version of the game had a "feature" where it deleted all other saved files to make room for The Horde's save file. The publisher eventually recognized this behavior was generally disliked by players, and offered to replace discs with a copy of the game that prompted before deleting other files.External links
- Sega-Saturn.com review
- The Horde for Saturn at GameSpot
- http://www.angelfire.com/games2/warpspawn/TH.htmlFan-made Collectible Card GameCollectible card gamethumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
] - Review by Matt Brown for Game Bytes Magazine