Software:Champions of Krynn

From HandWiki
Short description: 1990 video game


Champions of Krynn
North American cover art
Developer(s)Strategic Simulations[1]
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Victor Penman
Artist(s)Tom Wahl
Composer(s)John Halbleib
SeriesGold Box
Platform(s)Amiga, Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS, PC-98
Release1990
Genre(s)Role-playing video game, tactical RPG
Mode(s)Single-player

Champions of Krynn is role-playing video game, the first in a three-part series of Dragonlance Advanced Dungeons & Dragons "Gold Box" games. The game was released in 1990.[2] The highest graphics setting supported in the DOS version was EGA graphics. It also supported the Adlib sound card and either a mouse or joystick.

Plot

After a prologue set at the Inn of the Last Home in Solace, the adventure begins at an outpost near Throtl, the capital city of the Hobgoblins. The party soon meets a group of Baaz Draconians ambushing some good settlers. After the battle, a greater Aurak Draconian named Myrtani shows up, and steals an ancient book. Myrtani teleports away, ignoring the party. The party then reports the events to Sir Karl. Sir Karl realizes that the evil forces are not at all weakened as was believed, and the party sets out to investigate and defeat Myrtani and his forces.

Gameplay

To play Champions of Krynn, the player needs to create characters and form a party. The gameplay basics are identical to all games in the series, with combat employing a cavalier projection view of the battlefield. There is no character-transferring system in this game, as it is the first. Characters from Champions of Krynn may be transferred to the sequel, Death Knights of Krynn.

Game differences

Clockwise from upper left: overland map; the party in combat; final cut scene; the party is camping.

In terms of its gameplay and graphics, Champions of Krynn has similarities to the Forgotten Realms series of goldbox games. Thus the graphics are about on par with Secret of the Silver Blades, and everything is drawn in 16 colors.[3] The arrow keys are conveniently usable to select menu options as opposed to using hotkeys, which was the only way in two of the earlier Forgotten Realms titles, though the hotkey option is still available for many menus. An innovation with this release was the LEVEL difficulty selector.[4]

Champions of Krynn offers additional races players may choose, including Kender, Qualinesti Elves, Silvanesti Elves, Hill Dwarves, and Mountain Dwarves. In this setting the Mages may benefit from the phases of the moons. Thus, good-aligned mages benefit from the phase of Solinari, for example. Clerics can choose one from a handful of deities in this game, and may receive varying bonuses depending on the choice. Instead of the Paladin, the Knight of Solamnia is an available class. This class begins the game equipped with plate mail, a shield and a long sword, but they must give up some of their gold each time they enter a city because of their vow of poverty.[4]

Draconians are very common enemies in the game, and all five types are seen. The game faithfully implements their death-throes, as they appear in the Dragonlance novels and RPG supplements. In the PC version of the game, any weapons encased in a dead Baaz will be available after combat in the character's inventory screen. The player must then re-equip the recovered weapons.

Reception

SSI sold 116,693 copies of Champions of Krynn.[5]

In the April 1990 edition of Dragon (Issue #156), Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser called this a game "worth purchasing immediately". They concluded: "We found that this fantasy role-playing game brought new realism to the marvelous adventures we've been reading for the past few years" and gave the game a perfect rating of 5 out of 5.[6]

In the June 1990 edition of Games International, Jamie Thomson liked the simplicity of character generation and combat, and called the game "reasonably entertaining". However Thomson noted that this game is "more of a programmed adventure" than its predecessors, "with less substance to the story". Thomson concluded by giving the game a below average rating of 6 out of 10 for game play and 8 out of 10 for graphics.[7]

Computer Gaming World's Scorpia in 1990 approved of the non-combat activities, but criticized several aspects of the game such as the lack of experience points for unconscious players during combat. She concluded that "Champions of Krynn is a pretty good game overall, but you do have to be aware of its failings".[8] In 1993 she called the game "standard fare for the most part", approving of cameo appearances of characters from the books but criticizing the final battle as "wearisome rather than exciting".[9]

According to GameSpy, while "there's little to find fault with in Champions of Krynn [...] the major criticism was that the game's graphics were becoming hopelessly dated".[10]

IGN ranked Champions of Krynn No. 10 on their list of "The Top 11 Dungeons & Dragons Games of All Time" in 2014.[11]

Further reading

  • Jeux & Stratégie nouvelle formule #6[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Champions of Krynn". Game Profiles. IGN. http://pc.ign.com/objects/490/490086.html. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
  2. ↑ Barton, Matt (February 23, 2007). "Part 2: The Golden Age (1985-1993)". The History of Computer Role-Playing Games. Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070223b/barton_04.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  3. ↑ Kohler, Chris (2005). Retro gaming hacks. O'Reilly. pp. 329–332. ISBN 0-596-00917-8. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Barton, Matt (2008). Dungeons and desktops: the history of computer role-playing games. A. K. Peters, Ltd. pp. 153–155. ISBN 978-1-56881-411-7. 
  5. ↑ Maher, Jimmy (2017-03-31). "Opening the Gold Box, Part 5: All That Glitters is Not Gold". http://www.filfre.net/2017/03/opening-the-gold-box-part-5-all-that-glitters-is-not-gold/. 
  6. ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (April 1990). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (156): 89–95. 
  7. ↑ Thomson, Jamie (June 1990). "Computer Games". Games International (15): 52–53. 
  8. ↑ Scorpia (April 1990). "The Scorpion's View". Computer Gaming World: 18. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=70. Retrieved 16 November 2013. 
  9. ↑ Scorpia (October 1993). "Scorpia's Magic Scroll Of Games". Computer Gaming World: 34–50. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=111. Retrieved 25 March 2016. 
  10. ↑ Rausch, Allen (August 15, 2004). "A History of D&D Video Games". GameSpy. http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/538/538865p5.html. Retrieved November 17, 2012. 
  11. ↑ "The Top 11 Dungeons & Dragons Games of All-Time - IGN". Ign. 5 February 2014. https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/05/the-top-11-dungeons-dragons-games-of-all-time. 
  12. ↑ "Jeux & stratégie NF 6". April 1990. https://archive.org/details/jeux-et-strategie-nf-6/page/20/mode/2up. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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