Dragon Wars

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Dragon Wars

Developer(s)	Interplay
Publisher(s)	Activision
Release date(s)	1989
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	Unrated
Platform(s)	Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, C64, Famicom, Tandy and DOS
Input	Keyboard or mouse

Dragon Wars was a computer fantasy role-playing game designed by Interplay Productions and distributed by Activision.

[edit] Story

The following text is taken from the back of the original box:

The designers of the Bard's Tale series, Wasteland, and Battle Chess pooled their talents to create the ultimate role-playing fantasy. They knew it had to be a first-rate story with sophisticated graphics. The result was Dragon Wars.

Sailing across uncharted seas, you and your party are in search of a legendary paradise called Dilmun - a place where the streets are paved with gold and no one wants for anything.

However, King Drake of Phoebus has declared all magic illegal - magickers have been slain or fled into exile. In retaliation, enemy islands have threatened to unleash their guardian dragons, the most destructive force in the world. While docked at a harbor in Dilmun, you are arrested on suspicion of spellcasting.

Imprisoned and stripped of everything but your wits, you are sentenced to life in a cesspool called Purgatory. Magic is your only salvation - a worldly possession in a world possessed.

[edit] Development

During the initial design process for Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate, one of the designers came up with a list of enhancements and improvements for the game. With the possibility that Interplay would soon be parting ways with Electronic Arts, it was decided to save these for a future game and stick closer to the original engine, though the automapping feature did make it in to Bard's Tale III.

These design improvements came in the next game, entitled Dragon Wars. In essence, the game was a fusion of Bard's Tale and design philosophy pioneered in Wasteland - spiritually, it was Bard's Tale IV. However, the rights to these titles was still held by Electronic Arts, and thus a new setting and title were needed for the game. It was derived in part from the Sumerian legends of Gilgamesh, with the chief villain of the game being named Namtar. The designers all felt it was a better game than Bard's Tale III, and indeed, better than any of the Bard's Tale series, but without the tie-in to the old title and without Electronic Arts's marketing muscle, the game did not fare as well.