| Dragon Wars | |
|---|---|
| File:Dragon wars cover.jpg Boxart | |
| Developer(s) | Interplay Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Designer(s) | Interplay |
| Engine | enhanced version of The Bard's Tale game engine |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, C64, Nintendo Family Computer, Tandy and DOS, NEC PC-9801 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Dragon Wars is a fantasy computer role-playing game developed by Interplay Entertainment and distributed by Activision.
Story
The story 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.
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[citation needed], though the auto-mapping feature did make it in to Bard's Tale III.
These design improvements came in this next game, Dragon Wars.[citation needed] In essence, the game was a fusion of Bard's Tale and design philosophy pioneered in Wasteland — spiritually, it was Bard's Tale IV.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]