Dark Castle
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''Dark Castle'' is a 1986
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
for
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, originally published by
Silicon Beach Software Silicon Beach Software, Inc. was an early American developer of software products for the Apple Macintosh, Macintosh personal computer. It was founded in San Diego, California, in 1984 by Charlie Jackson (software), Charlie Jackson and his wife Ha ...
. The game was designed and animated by Mark Pierce and programmed by Jonathan Gay, with Real Sound provided by Eric Zocher. In ''Dark Castle'', a young hero named Duncan attempts to reach the evil Black Knight while dodging various objects and solving occasional puzzles. A sequel, '' Beyond Dark Castle'', was released in 1987. A second sequel, '' Return to Dark Castle'', was developed by Super Happy Fun Fun, Inc. and released on the
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on March 14, 2008. Ports to other platforms were also published by Three-Sixty Pacific and Electronic Arts for the SEGA Genesis. The series has sold over 1 million copies.


Plot

When the evil Black Knight terrorizes the townspeople, Prince Duncan resolves to overthrow him. To accomplish this, he must navigate the four sections of the castle: Fireball, Shield, Trouble, and Black Knight. After collecting the Fireball and Shield, Duncan proceeds to the Black Knight's throne room, where he topples the Black Knight's throne. The Black Knight then stands, shaking his fist, as a gargoyle carries Duncan to Trouble 3.


Gameplay

The game begins with a vista of the castle set against a backdrop of storm clouds in the distance. The opening notes of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor play, accompanied by thunderclaps. The title, along with the programming and development credits, is shown on this screen. Movement within ''Dark Castle'' is typical for most platformers. Duncan can run, jump, and duck, and he can throw a limited supply of rocks at his enemies. More rocks can be found in small bags along the way, as well as bottles of an
elixir An elixir is a sweet liquid used for medical purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's illness. When used as a dosage form, pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orall ...
that provide a one-time antidote to bites from the many rats and bats encountered throughout the castle. To defeat the Black Knight, Duncan must pull several levers that topple him from his throne. To aid Duncan, a magic shield and the ability to hurl fireballs can be found within the Dark Castle. The game begins in the Great Hall, where the player can choose from four doors. The large center door leads to the Black Knight. One other door is marked with the shield, while the remaining two alternate mysteriously between the fireball course and a more troublesome path. The game can be played on three different skill levels, with the hardest "Advanced" level featuring more enemies and additional surprises. ''Dark Castle'' may be the first game to use the WASD keys and
mouse A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...
for control. The trajectory and launching of rocks and fireballs are controlled via mouse movement and clicks, respectively, while the character's movement is managed through keystrokes. Duncan can easily become disoriented; when walking into a wall or falling a short distance without jumping, he will circle around for a moment, mumbling incoherently. He is highly vulnerable to attacks during this time. Falling into holes in the floor does not result in death, but instead leads to a dungeon ("Trouble 3"), from which escape requires some effort. On easier difficulty levels, this results in a delay. However, this may be strategically necessary on the harder difficulty levels, allowing the player to stock up on rocks and elixirs.
Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...
: Playing ''Dark Castle'' (and its sequel) with the computer's clock set to December 25 or any Friday the 13th will result in the Great Hall or the throne room (respectively) being adorned with holiday decorations.


Levels

''Dark Castle'' features 14 levels, accessed through the four doors in the Great Hall, with the first two doors being random. * Leftmost door (usually): Trouble 1, Trouble 2, Trouble 3. * Further door on the left side (usually): Fireball 1, Fireball 2, Fireball 3, Fireball 4. * Middle door: Black Knight 1, Black Knight 2, Black Knight 3. * Right door: Shield 1, Shield 2, Shield 3, Shield 4.


Development

Mark Pierce was based in San Francisco with his own company, MacroMind, while Jon Gay and the rest of the Silicon Beach team were located in San Diego. After an initial launch meeting, most of the collaboration between Pierce and Gay was conducted remotely. Pierce designed the animations using MacroMind's "VideoWorks" (the direct predecessor of Adobe Director) and then mailed the files on floppy disks to Gay, who coded the game in 68000 Assembly Language on an
Apple Lisa Lisa is a desktop computer developed by Apple, produced from January 19, 1983, to August 1, 1986, and succeeded by Macintosh. It is generally considered the first mass-market personal computer operable through a graphical user interface (GUI). I ...
. A few components, such as the high-score system, were written in Pascal. The digitized sound was created by Eric Zocher, who worked with voice actor Dick Noel. Silicon Beach advertised ''Dark Castle'' as being "arcade quality on your Mac".


Ports and remakes

Versions for the
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
,
Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...
, and
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
were released in 1987 by Three-Sixty Pacific. The Apple IIGS version, released in 1989, was programmed by Lane Roathe and was nearly identical to the Macintosh version, differing only in resolution, color graphics, and some controls.
John Romero Alfonso John Romero (born October 28, 1967) is an American video game developer. He co-founded id Software and designed their early games, including ''Wolfenstein 3D'' (1992), ''Doom (1993 video game), Doom'' (1993), ''Doom II'' (1994), ''Hexen ...
converted the monochrome Macintosh art to 16-color super-res art. An
MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...
version of ''Dark Castle'' was also released, which was closer to the original game. Due to the lower resolution, color was used to compensate. Additionally, since the PC did not have a mouse at the time, aiming was accomplished through the keyboard. There is some controversy regarding the colors, owing to the nature of the coloring. A version for the
Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...
was released by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
in 1991. A version for mobile was released in 2006. Developed by Super Happy Fun Fun, which included one of the original developers, Mark Stephen Pierce, it was published by
Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...
. This version features slightly remade level designs, borrowing elements from both ''Dark Castle'' and '' Beyond Dark Castle'', as well as updated color graphics. There was also a version released for
CD-i The Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I, later CD-i) is a digital optical disc data storage format as well as a hardware platform, co-developed and marketed by Dutch company Philips and Japanese company Sony. It was created as an extension of CDDA ...
. As of 2009, a port was in development for
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.


Color Dark Castle

In 1994, the game developer Delta Tao Software acquired the rights to several of Silicon Beach's old games from Aldus, enabling them to produce and publish the modernized ''Color Dark Castle''. The new version featured full-color graphics and made several changes, such as replacing the Water from fireball 2 and 3 with Lava. This version also introduced a new difficulty setting that let players skip to the end destination from any door in the Great Hall (e.g., from the Great Hall to Fireball 4), resulting in fewer enemies and easier gameplay. Additionally, there is a save feature that permits the game to be saved in the Great Hall, though only one game can be saved at a time.


Reception

''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...
'' stated that ''Dark Castle'' was "the best arcade game I've seen for the Macintosh, and perhaps the best I've seen on any
microcomputer A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (P ...
, ever." The reviewer praised the sound and graphics, noting that he did not know the Macintosh was capable of animations of such quality. He said ''Dark Castle'' "is filled with lots of little touches that show it's one of the first steps toward what Silicon Beach likes to call 'interactive cartoons'." ''
BYTE The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable un ...
'' compared the game to '' Lode Runner'', writing, "There's nothing new about the basic concept, but the execution is impressive." The magazine praised its "slick animation and realistic digitized sound," concluding that it "is a perfect way to fritter away those long winter evenings when you should be doing something productive." ''
Compute! ''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', is an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET. ...
'' praised the Amiga version's "brilliant graphics, sound, and atmosphere" but criticized the keyboard/mouse control system and gameplay as too difficult. The reviewer also expressed concern about the disk-based
copy protection Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy prevention and copy restriction, is any measure to enforce copyright by preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media. Copy protection is most commonly found on vid ...
, which caused him to fear damage to the disk drives, crashes when loading the game, and slow level loading. Game reviewers Hartley and Pattie Lesser complimented the game in their "The Role of Computers" column in ''
Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
'' #122 (1987), calling it "the finest arcade/adventure game ever designed for the Macintosh computer — as a matter of fact, for any computer!" They further stated, "The graphics and animation are quite literally stunning!" In a subsequent column, they gave the game 4 out of 5 stars. ''
Macworld ''Macworld'' is a digital magazine and website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG. History ''Macworld'' was founded by David Bunnell and Cheryl Woodard (publishers) and Andrew Fl ...
'' reviewed the Macintosh version of ''Dark Castle'', praising its gameplay, graphics, and sound. The magazine stated, "''Dark Castle'' is at its core a shoot-'em-up, duck-'n'-run type of game, but one so finely crafted it deserves a new classification that reflects its fast-paced action as well as its superb animation, graphics, and sound. The game has a humorous aspect as well," and furthermore noted "''Dark Castle'' provides the highest quality graphics and sound of any Macintosh game available. Its action is fast and furious, its scripting sublime." ''Macworld'' summarized their review by listing the game's pros and cons, noting "Great graphics, sound, animation, and design" as positives and stating "None" for ''Dark Castle's'' negatives.
Power Unlimited ''Power Unlimited'' is a Dutch multi-format video games magazine. It is the biggest gaming magazine in the Benelux. The first issue was released in June 1993. History ''Power Unlimited'' started in June 1993 in Bjørn Bruinsma's basement as a ...
gave the CD-i version a score of 72%, summarizing: "The CD-I can be much nicer than demonstrated in this game. Fortunately, the game is fun once you get the hang of it. It is exciting and varied, but unfortunately the service is disappointing." In 1996, ''Computer Gaming World'' declared ''Dark Castle'' the 136th-best computer game ever released.


Legacy


''Beyond Dark Castle''

In 1987, the
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
''Beyond Dark Castle'' was released, in which Duncan must return to defeat the Black Knight, who is still alive. To access the Black Knight's tower, the player must first gather five magic orbs, which are placed in various hard-to-reach locations. The orbs must then be returned to the Ante Chamber and placed on five pedestals for the gate to open, allowing Duncan to confront the Black Knight. ''Beyond Dark Castle'' featured an engine similar to that of ''Dark Castle'', but with improvements and additions, such as a health bar, bombs, and other items. It also introduced levels where the player could control a "personal helicopter." These levels and
maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lead ...
levels were designed as side-scrollers rather than being limited to a single screen. Players could also save their progress in a "computer room" level. As with all versions of ''Dark Castle'', if the player completed the game on the advanced difficulty, they were presented with a special ending.


''Return to Dark Castle''

In 2000, a new sequel titled ''Return to Dark Castle'' was announced, developed by Z Sculpt. In this installment, a young hero named Bryant, who is the nephew of Duncan, must once again defeat the Black Knight. The game was not released until March 14, 2008. ''Return to Dark Castle'' introduced new gameplay mechanics, such as the ability for players to keep weapons and store extra orbs in a designated room. Although it was initially stated that the game would have a level editor allowing players to create custom quests, this feature was not included in the download. According to the game's official website at Super Happy Fun Fun, the "level editor will be released soon."


References


External links


Running Dark Castle
– Running Dark Castle on an emulator, plus advanced walkthrough

– From Super Happy Fun Fun
''Dark Castle'' links at Z Sculpt
– A collection of links, including the official forum {{Authority control 1986 video games Amiga games Apple IIGS games Atari ST games CD-i games Classic Mac OS games Commodore 64 games DOS games iOS games Platformers Sega Genesis games Silicon Beach Software games Single-player video games Super Happy Fun Fun games Video game franchises Video games developed in the United States Video games set in castles