''Dungeon Hack'' is a 1993

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

developed by DreamForge Intertainment and published by

Strategic Simulations Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) was a video game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit from its founding in 1979 to its dissolution in 1994. The company was especially noted for its numerous wargames, its official compute ...

for DOS and

NEC PC-9801 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more ...

. The game is based in the ''

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...

'' world of

Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 a ...

. It blends gameplay elements of

roguelike Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a subgenre of role-playing game, role-playing computer games traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedural generation, procedurally generated level (video gaming), levels, Turns, rounds and time- ...

s and the '' Eye of the Beholder'' series.

Gameplay

''Dungeon Hack'' features a three-dimensional, randomly generated dungeon; SSI claimed that "over 4 billion" different dungeons were possible. The game features a pseudo-3D game screen based on '' Eye of the Beholder'' series. Like ''

Rogue A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior. Rogue or rogues may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * Rogue Arts, a film production company * Rogue Entertainment, a software com ...

'', dungeons are randomly generated whenever a new game is started. As a result, virtually all dungeons generated by the game are different. However, players can share

random seed A random seed (or seed state, or just seed) is a number (or vector) used to initialize a pseudorandom number generator. For a seed to be used in a pseudorandom number generator, it does not need to be random. Because of the nature of number ge ...

s used to generated a specific dungeon. Dungeons can be customized for difficulty, such as limiting the number of traps, puzzles, and powerful enemies. Unlike ''Eye of the Beholder'', players control only a single adventurer. ''Dungeon Hack'' uses the rules mechanics of ''AD&D'' 2nd Edition.

Permadeath Permadeath or permanent death is a game mechanic in both tabletop games and video games in which player characters who lose all of their health are considered dead and cannot be used anymore. Depending on the situation, this could require the p ...

, in which all saves are erased upon character death, is an option, like traditional

games but unlike other graphical ''AD&D'' games such as ''

Pool of Radiance ''Pool of Radiance'' is a role-playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc (SSI) in 1988. It was the first adaptation of TSR's ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'') fantasy role-playing game for home computer ...

''). Unlike traditional roguelikes, ''Dungeon Hack'' has a complex character creation system, but it offers pregenerated characters to speed up the process of recovering from permadeath.

Plot

An adventurer (the player's character of choice) is sent by an evil sorceress on a mission to find and retrieve a mysterious magical orb located within an ancient dungeon. After defeating the final monster, the ending cinematic shows the adventurer leaves the dungeon with a wheelbarrow full of treasure, the sorceress waiting outside for him. The hero gives her the orb, and she gives him her thanks and says it time for them to leave. The hero remains behind during the credits to sort through his spoils. After the credits, the sorceress tells the hero to hurry as she is leaving and the adventure is over. The hero remarks on his treasure and that his adventure has only just begun, and moves his wheel barrel off screen dropping a coin, before quickly coming back and picks it back up and goes back off screen.

Reception

SSI sold 27,110 copies of ''Dungeon Hack''. Reviews at release were fairly positive, though some criticized the game for its lack of plot or difficulty in finding essential supplies in the dungeon. ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine 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 1993. It expanded greatly through t ...

''s

Scorpia ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as w ...

in 1994 liked the game's flexibility and inclusion of all ''AD&D'' 2nd Edition character classes and found that "a 10-15 level dungeon is probably the best". She concluded that "in spite of some weak points, ''Dungeon Hack'' delivers what it promises: the chance to create your own, specially-designed,

hack-n-slash Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such a ...

paradise". The game got 3 out of 5 stars in '' Dragon''. Cory Brock of Hardcore Gaming 101 wrote that the game plays it safe by not changing the gameplay of the ''Eye of the Beholder'' series, but it is "a solid adaptation of the traditional roguelike". ''Dungeon Hack'' won ''

Computer Game Review ''Computer Game Review'' was a print monthly magazine covering both computer gaming and video gaming. The magazine was started in 1991. Also known as ''Computer Game Review and 16-Bit Entertainment'', and then later as ''Computer Game Review and C ...

s "Most Replay Value of 1994" award. According to GameSpy's Allen Rausch, if "random creatures and meaningless hallways are your thing, you'll love ''Dungeon Hack''the rest of us like at least a little story to justify our monster butchery." Ian Williams of ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, A liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves a ...

'' rated the game #9 on his list of "The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames" in 2015.

References

External links

* {{Dungeons & Dragons video games 1993 video games DOS games DreamForge Intertainment games Dungeon crawler video games Fantasy video games Forgotten Realms video games NEC PC-9801 games Roguelike video games Role-playing video games Single-player video games Strategic Simulations games Video games developed in the United States Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender Video games using procedural generation