Defender of the Crown

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Defender of the Crown

Developer(s) Kellyn Beck
Publisher(s) Cinemaware
Platform(s) MS-DOS, NES, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, CD-i
Release date 1986
Genre(s) Strategy game
Mode(s) Single Player
This is the page about the computer game. For the album by epic metal band Brocas Helm, see Defender of the Crown (album).

Defender of the Crown is a strategy computer game by Cinemaware, and designed by Kellyn Beck. It was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986. In 1987 it was ported to DOS, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, CD-i, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Macintosh and finally, the Apple IIGS in 1988. With its release on the Amiga, Defender of the Crown set a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games.

Contents

[edit] Overview

It is the Middle Ages, the King of England is dead and different factions are fighting over control of territories. To make matters worse, the king's crown has disappeared.

The player assumes the role of a Saxon and tries to fight off the Norman hordes and wrestle for control of England. Eventually, the player must fight for control of all territories, even those controlled by other Saxons. The player must amass armies and fight for control of opponents' castles. The player may engage enemy armies in battle, loot or lay siege to opposing castles. From time to time the player may attempt to rescue a damsel in distress and can appeal for help from the legendary bandit Robin Hood.

Screenshot of a raid with graphics that were spectacular in 1986 (Amiga version).
Screenshot of a raid with graphics that were spectacular in 1986 (Amiga version).

The game's strategy boils down to a war of attrition as the player tries to amass larger armies than his opponents and manages to attack their territories at the right time.

The high-quality graphics made the game a blockbuster; never before had such detailed, colorful and realistic graphics been seen on a home computer. The art direction by James D. Sachs set the game apart. Retrospectively, it can be said that the quality of graphics in the game is far from the highest that Amiga games later reached, but by 1986 standards, the results were admirable. The music by Jim Cuomo is also notable - though it failed to utilize the capabilities of Amiga's sound chip, since the game did not feature digitized sound effects or instrument samples. Some reviewers complained about the "shallowness" of the game: the game could be finished in a very short time and after that there was nothing new to see. This problem was partially overcome with later conversions of the game.

An excerpt from Brian Bagnall's On the Edge: the Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore[1] captures the effect that seeing the game for the first time had on users:

“ Mical saw artist Jim Sachs push the Amiga to its full potential. "Jim Sachs, what a God he is," marvels Mical. "Jim Sachs is amazing. These days everyone sees graphics like that because there are a lot of really good computer graphics artists now, but back then, 20 years ago, it was astonishing to have someone that good."

The final game was a landmark in video game production values. As game designer Bob Lindstrom recalls, "The shock of seeing Defender for the first time was one of those experiences that changed the gaming stakes for all of us."

Compared to other video games of the time, Defender of the Crown established a new level of quality. IBM had Kings Quest by Sierra On-Line, a decent but primitive adventure game. The Macintosh had games like Checkers or Backgammon, or board games like Risk. Defender of the Crown had richer graphics than any computer, console, or even arcade game could boast in 1986. It was a revelation.

 ”

[edit] Ports

The strategy screen (Atari ST version)
The strategy screen (Atari ST version)

The ports of the game, notably for DOS and the NES, resulted in an enormous loss in graphic and audio quality due to those systems' inferior abilities compared to the Amiga. But these ports featured more in-depth strategic elements compared to the unfinished (see section below) original version. The Apple IIGS, Atari ST and Commodore 64 versions were ported with better success, the IIGS and ST versions' graphics coming quite close to the Amiga version.

The following screenshots demonstrate the differences between the versions, showing the tournament scene:

Screenshot Amiga Screenshot Atari ST
Commodore Amiga Atari ST
Screenshot C64 Screenshot NES
Commodore 64 NES

All ports:

[edit] Unfinished

The fighting screen was one of the features added to the Atari ST version
The fighting screen was one of the features added to the Atari ST version

Defender of the Crown was Cinemaware's first title. Due to financial strains, Cinemaware decided to release the initial version without all the features originally planned for because of their need for revenue. Some features were partially implemented, but were removed so the game could be shipped. Some additional features completed but never seen in the shipped game include flaming fireballs (launched via the catapult), more locations (more varied castles to attack) and more in-depth strategy. Some of these features were implemented in the ports of the game.

Jim Sachs, the primary artist for the game, showcased some of these features on the Amiga during interviews after the release of the game.

[edit] Legacy

Defender of the Crown 2 was published by Commodore in 1993 for the CDTV and Amiga CD32.

After a string of successful games and game series, Cinemaware eventually went bankrupt (apparently, the owner's fondness for developing for new platforms that never became popular led to a disruption of much-needed revenue). In 2000, however, the founders of the company, Lars Fuhrken-Batista and Sean Vesce, regrouped and restarted the company, naming a remake of Defender of the Crown for modern PCs as one of the reformed company's first projects.

The new version, titled Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 (September 30), Xbox (October 6) and Windows (October 15).

Cinemaware has also embarked upon creating "Digitally Remastered Versions" of some of their classic games. The "Digitally Remastered" version of Defender of the Crown for Windows and the Macintosh is available in Europe and should be available in the US soon.

The Danish band Press Play on Tape remixed the theme music of the game, replacing the instrumental tune with proper medieval-sounding lyrics.

During the second half of 1980s, some games directly inspired by Defender of the Crown were released. Among these was for example Joan of Arc (Rainbow Arts, 1989).

In February 2007, an homage to the game called Defender of the Crown: Heroes Live Forever was released by eGames.[1] Heroes Live Forever features many of the elements of the original game, including jousting and archery tournaments, raiding castles, rescuing princesses, and laying siege to enemy fortresses via catapult. A new addition to the game involved the use of Hero and Tactic cards during battles, giving the user's army various upgrades during the on-screen melee.

[edit] Reception

Computer Gaming World lavished praise upon Defender of the Crown's graphics and animation, calling the game "a showcase program to demonstrate the power of the Amiga to your friends." Although the gameplay was not as complex as other strategy games of the time, the reviewer was still exceptionally pleased with Cinemaware's first game.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Defender of the Crown: Heroes Live Forever from eGames
  2. ^ Lee, Wyatt (Jan-Feb 1987), “Defender of the Crown”, Computer Gaming World: 36-37, 68-69 

[edit] External links

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