Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash
Encyclopedia
Ultima: Escape from Mt. Drash is a computer game for Commodore VIC-20
home computer.
The game itself is a very simple series of three-dimensional randomly generated dungeons, and the idea is to destroy all monsters that stand in way and exit to the next level. There is a time limit as well. The game doesn't employ custom graphics, but rather uses the VIC-20's standard set of graphical characters
to draw the game scene.
The game was also notable for its soundtrack; using the 3-voice sound chip in the VIC-20 to provide background music. Very few games written for the VIC-20 featured such a background soundtrack that would become commonplace in games for the Commodore 64, Nintendo NES, etc.
The source code was written in VIC-BASIC, with assembly language routines for faster animation of graphics and to handle the background music. Due to the complexity of the source code and length of the game, an 8k or 16k RAM "expansion card" was required to be installed in the VIC-20 beforehand.
Copy protection consisted of the RUN-STOP and RESTORE keys on the VIC-20 keyboard being disabled (to prevent "breaking in" to the BASIC code), as well as the original cassette recorded and mastered in a way which made duplicating on a dual-cassette deck troublesome.
The game itself doesn't tie to Ultima series in many ways. Mt. Drash is a location in Ultima I
.
's friends, Keith Zabalaoui, in Coarsegold, California
, for Sierra On-Line
, Inc in 1983. Sierra, who had just successfully published Ultima II
, named the game an Ultima in hopes that it would sell better. They did this without Garriott's permission - Garriott held the rights to the Ultima name - and due to the relative obscurity of the game, Garriott didn't hear about the incident until much later.
Sierra originally intended to publish the game as part of the SierraVenture series of games. However, it seems that someone at Sierra had noticed that the game was not going to sell well. Only one advertisement was published (in Compute!
magazine), but aside of that, the game was never distributed very widely. Sierra even denied the game ever existed, until Zabalaoui confirmed it actually was finished and was actually shipped to retailers. Approximately 3000 units were made, though exact numbers are not available.
For a long time, a lot of the details surrounding the game were very vague. For example it was believed the game was a cartridge, while in fact it was released on cassette tape. One of the rumors about the game was that Sierra sold a very minimal number of the games, barely enough to get even, then buried the remaining stock at a foot of a mountain somewhere. (This parallels the ultimate fate of Atari's E.T.
game - the remainder of unsold E.T. cartridges were allegedly buried in a landfill
.) In fact, some retailer near Vancouver, B.C. had dumped unsold software over a cliff, and this is where one of the only known complete copies were eventually found.
In recent years, the game has been extremely sought after by collectors
. First copies of the game were discovered and announced in 2000. The first online auction of a copy was in September 2003. Since then, there have been some very rare sightings, but due to high demand, there have been quite a few counterfeit games on the market. The first complete copy of the game sold on eBay
in March 2004 for US$3,605 to collector Peter Olafson; the next complete copy to emerge a couple of months later went for a thousand less.
On 20 June 2009, another boxed copy (without manual) of the game was listed on eBay. The seller from Tucson, Arizona
, had bought the game about a decade earlier from a Commodore enthusiast, along with other games, and had it in his closet for ten years. Not knowing the extreme rarity of the game, he listed it on eBay to make a quick buck, listed at a starting bid of US$4.99. The extremely rare auction closed on 25 June 2009 with a final bid of US$1,875. There were a total of 31 bids in all.
On 11 June 2003, the game was ported to PC by Kasper Fauerby. The original VIC-20 cassette is also available in a format suitable for VIC-20 emulators, although to detract from the greater likelihood of counterfeiting tapes, the TAP file (a recreation of the entire tape itself) has never been made available.
Commodore VIC-20
The VIC-20 is an 8-bit home computer which was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET...
home computer.
Description and plot
In the game, creatures called "garrintrots" have imprisoned the player in Mt. Drash, and the player's task is to escape the dungeons.The game itself is a very simple series of three-dimensional randomly generated dungeons, and the idea is to destroy all monsters that stand in way and exit to the next level. There is a time limit as well. The game doesn't employ custom graphics, but rather uses the VIC-20's standard set of graphical characters
PETSCII
PETSCII , also known as CBM ASCII, is the variation of the ASCII character set used in Commodore Business Machines 's 8-bit home computers, starting with the PET from 1977 and including the VIC-20, C64, CBM-II, Plus/4, C16, C116 and C128...
to draw the game scene.
The game was also notable for its soundtrack; using the 3-voice sound chip in the VIC-20 to provide background music. Very few games written for the VIC-20 featured such a background soundtrack that would become commonplace in games for the Commodore 64, Nintendo NES, etc.
The source code was written in VIC-BASIC, with assembly language routines for faster animation of graphics and to handle the background music. Due to the complexity of the source code and length of the game, an 8k or 16k RAM "expansion card" was required to be installed in the VIC-20 beforehand.
Copy protection consisted of the RUN-STOP and RESTORE keys on the VIC-20 keyboard being disabled (to prevent "breaking in" to the BASIC code), as well as the original cassette recorded and mastered in a way which made duplicating on a dual-cassette deck troublesome.
The game itself doesn't tie to Ultima series in many ways. Mt. Drash is a location in Ultima I
Ultima I
Ultima, later known as Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness or simply Ultima I, is the first game in the Ultima series of computer role-playing games. It was first published in the United States by California Pacific Computer Company, which registered a copyright for the game on September 2, 1980...
.
History
The game was originally written by one of Richard GarriottRichard Garriott
Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
's friends, Keith Zabalaoui, in Coarsegold, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, for Sierra On-Line
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
, Inc in 1983. Sierra, who had just successfully published Ultima II
Ultima II
Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress, released on August 24, 1982 , is the second computer role-playing game in the Ultima series.It was also the only official Ultima game published by Sierra On-Line...
, named the game an Ultima in hopes that it would sell better. They did this without Garriott's permission - Garriott held the rights to the Ultima name - and due to the relative obscurity of the game, Garriott didn't hear about the incident until much later.
Sierra originally intended to publish the game as part of the SierraVenture series of games. However, it seems that someone at Sierra had noticed that the game was not going to sell well. Only one advertisement was published (in Compute!
COMPUTE!
Compute! was an American computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994, though it can trace its origin to 1978 in Len Lindsay's PET Gazette, one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET computer. In its 1980s heyday Compute! covered all major platforms, and several single-platform...
magazine), but aside of that, the game was never distributed very widely. Sierra even denied the game ever existed, until Zabalaoui confirmed it actually was finished and was actually shipped to retailers. Approximately 3000 units were made, though exact numbers are not available.
For a long time, a lot of the details surrounding the game were very vague. For example it was believed the game was a cartridge, while in fact it was released on cassette tape. One of the rumors about the game was that Sierra sold a very minimal number of the games, barely enough to get even, then buried the remaining stock at a foot of a mountain somewhere. (This parallels the ultimate fate of Atari's E.T.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Atari 2600)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 adventure video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 video game console. It is based on the film of the same name, and was designed by Howard Scott Warshaw...
game - the remainder of unsold E.T. cartridges were allegedly buried in a landfill
Atari video game burial
The Atari video game burial was a mass burial of unsold video game cartridges, consoles, and computers in a New Mexico landfill site, undertaken by American video game and home computer company Atari, Inc. in 1983. The goods disposed of through the burial are generally believed to have been...
.) In fact, some retailer near Vancouver, B.C. had dumped unsold software over a cliff, and this is where one of the only known complete copies were eventually found.
In recent years, the game has been extremely sought after by collectors
Video game collecting
Video game collecting is the hobby of collecting video games and related memorabilia. Collectors may focus on a particular area of interest, such as retro consoles like the Atari 2600 and NES. There may also be some overlap with animation, anime, manga, comic books, or other media...
. First copies of the game were discovered and announced in 2000. The first online auction of a copy was in September 2003. Since then, there have been some very rare sightings, but due to high demand, there have been quite a few counterfeit games on the market. The first complete copy of the game sold on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
in March 2004 for US$3,605 to collector Peter Olafson; the next complete copy to emerge a couple of months later went for a thousand less.
On 20 June 2009, another boxed copy (without manual) of the game was listed on eBay. The seller from Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, had bought the game about a decade earlier from a Commodore enthusiast, along with other games, and had it in his closet for ten years. Not knowing the extreme rarity of the game, he listed it on eBay to make a quick buck, listed at a starting bid of US$4.99. The extremely rare auction closed on 25 June 2009 with a final bid of US$1,875. There were a total of 31 bids in all.
On 11 June 2003, the game was ported to PC by Kasper Fauerby. The original VIC-20 cassette is also available in a format suitable for VIC-20 emulators, although to detract from the greater likelihood of counterfeiting tapes, the TAP file (a recreation of the entire tape itself) has never been made available.
External links
- One Man's Drash... - Article in Ye Olde Infocomme Shoppe
- Dino's Ultima Page - Escape from Mt. Drash PC remake
- http://vgmuseum.chaoticmonkey.com/loadpage.php?getgame=drash - Mt. Drash at The Computer and Book RPG/Adventure Museum