Software:Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds

From HandWiki
Short description: 1982 video game
Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds
Developer(s)Sir-Tech
Publisher(s)Sir-Tech
Designer(s)
  • Andrew C. Greenberg
  • Robert Woodhead
SeriesWizardry
Platform(s)Apple II, Commodore 64 / 128, MS-DOS, FM-7, Game Boy Color, Mac, MSX2,[1] NES, PC-88, PC-98, Sharp X1[2]
Release1982
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds (originally known as Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds - The Second Scenario) is the second game in the Wizardry series of role-playing video games. It was published in 1982 by Sir-Tech.

Gameplay

The game begins with the city of Llylgamyn under siege. Llylgamyn's rulers have been killed, and the city's only hope is for the recovery of the staff of Gnilda, only obtainable from trading the mystic "Knight of Diamonds" armor from the legendary Knight of Diamonds to fend off the invaders.

Title screen

The game functions virtually identically to the first scenario, Software:Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, with the player guiding a party of up to six adventurers into a six-level dungeon. The original version required players to import characters from the first game, whilst later versions include a pre-generated party and the ability to create new characters. As the game is intended to be played by those who have successfully completed the first game, the difficulty level is intended for characters of at least level 13, and no training area means that lower level characters will go through a "baptism by fire". Mechanical differences include the ability to save the game in the dungeon rather than forcing the characters to exit the dungeon and return to the training grounds, and some of the spells increasing in power (as noted by a message in the dungeon).

Unlike the first scenario, where half of the levels had no purpose plot-wise and could be skipped if the player wished, exploring every level in Knight of Diamonds is necessary to complete the game. Each of the six levels has a piece of the Knight's armor somewhere in the level, and all of the pieces must be collected in order to finish the game. Furthermore, unlike in the first scenario, there are no elevators that can be used to skip levels.

Reception

Softline in 1982 praised Knight of Diamonds' variety of monsters and liked that each level of the dungeon had quests. The magazine concluded, "One can only wonder what this amazing duo of Greenberg and Woodhead will do for the next scenario".[3] Computer Gaming World in 1991 and 1993 called Wizardry II a "disappointingly weak follow-up", criticizing its small size and noting that the first game was necessary to play. The magazine concluded that it was "best for the hard-core fan only".[4][5]

Philip L. Wing reviewed Knight of Diamonds in Space Gamer No. 76.[6] Wing commented that "I recommend this scenario. This is an interesting and challenging adventure for higher-level Wizardry characters."[6]

Knight of Diamonds was named "Best Adventure Game for Home Computer" at the 1982 Origins Game Fair, defeating Ultima II among other nominees.[7] It also received a Certificate of Merit in the category of "1984 Best Computer Adventure" at the 5th annual Arkie Awards.[8]: 28 

Lisa Stevens reviewed the Macintosh version of Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds in White Wolf #26 (April/May, 1991), rating it a 3 out of 5 and stated that "Overall, if you are used to the more sophisticated roleplaying games available for the IBM and other computer systems which cater to game playing, then you will be disappointed with Wizardry and Knight of Diamonds. There's just not enough diversity. What there is is done well, but I found myself getting bored as the game progressed."[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Wizardry 2 - Knight of Diamonds". MSX Games World. http://www.msxgamesworld.com/gamecard.php?id=4965. Retrieved 2017-02-08. 
  2. ↑ "Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds - The Second Scenario release dates". MobyGames. http://www.mobygames.com/game/wizardry-knight-of-diamonds-the-second-scenario/release-info. Retrieved 2017-02-08. 
  3. ↑ Adams, Roe R. III (May 1982). "Knight of Diamonds". Computer Gaming World: 14. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1982&pub=6&id=5. Retrieved 15 July 2014. 
  4. ↑ Scorpia (October 1991). "C*R*P*G*S / Computer Role-Playing Game Survey". Computer Gaming World: 16. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1991&pub=2&id=87. Retrieved 18 November 2013. 
  5. ↑ 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. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wing, Philip L. (Sep–Oct 1985). "Capsule Reviews". Space Gamer (Steve Jackson Games) (76): 46. 
  7. ↑ Jackson, Steve (Jan–Feb 1984). "Origins Story". Softline: pp. 44. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1984&pub=6&id=15. Retrieved 29 July 2014. 
  8. ↑ Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (February 1984). "Arcade Alley: The 1984 Arcade Awards, Part II". Video (Reese Communications) 7 (11): 28–29. ISSN 0147-8907. 
  9. ↑ Stevens, Lisa (April–May 1991). "The Silicon Dungeon". White Wolf Magazine (26): 61. https://imgur.com/a/H6RzTK5. 
  • 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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Wizardry_II:_The_Knight_of_Diamonds&oldid=3967008"