Demon Stalkers

Demon Stalkers: The Raid on Doomfane
Developer(s)	Micro Forté
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts[1]
Platform(s)	Commodore 64, IBM PC
Release	1987: C64 1989: IBM PC
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Demon Stalkers: The Raid on Doomfane is an action role-playing video game released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and in 1989 for IBM PC compatibles. The game is a top-down dungeon crawl about killing monsters during the descent. A sequel, Fire King, was released for the same systems.

The game can be played in either single player mode or two player co-operative mode, using two joysticks, or a joystick plus keyboard. Players can choose to control either the hero, armed with throwing knives, or the heroine, armed with a crossbow. During the game, players will find various relics which permanently increase attack power, defense, or magic power, as well as an arsenal of magic scrolls, and special amulets that create temporary effects. Food can be picked up to heal damage, but occasionally turns out to be poison which hurts the player. Similarly, some scrolls turn out to be a "slow death curse," which takes a way the player's health continuously until death, unless the exit from that level is found. Enemies in the game include rats, ghosts who can walk through walls, dervishes who can steal a player's possessions, snappers who remain dormant until disturbed, and mad mages, who shoot fireballs. These monsters emerge from special spawning areas called vortexes, which can be destroyed by the player with several shots, except for the rats, who emerge from indestructible sewer grates.

The dungeon consists of many interconnected maze-like levels which rooms, hallways, and doors. There are several multi-level mazes, where the player must ascend and descend between levels several times before finding the correct path. The collecting of keys to open doors is a fundamental part of the game, while fighting against a horde of monsters. Most of the levels entail some sort of puzzle solving, involving clues in the form of scrolls that are picked up along the way. These scrolls also tell the story of an unsuccessful group of adventurers who journeyed through the dungeon before the current players. This ill-fated party included members Arthur, Bloodaxe, Grindlewald, Furrowfoot, and Imelda, as well as Mellack, a mage whom the previous adventurers met along the way. Correctly answering some questions after each story section yields bonus health points.

Level 100 is unique in the game, as its geography includes large, irregularly shaped caves, rather than straight or diagonal walls as in the other levels. Level 100 also only features one enemy, the demon boss, Calvrak. Demon Stalkers includes its own level-editor, allowing the player to modify all levels except 100.

A review in Computer Gaming World, comparing the game to Gauntlet, noted "Gauntlet seemed to have ten times more monsters than Demon Stalkers. Thus, despite the similarities, Gauntlet is primarily an action game and Demon Stalkers is a search game with action thrown in". The review concluded by saying neither game would disappoint.^[2]

James V. Trunzo reviewed Demon Stalkers in White Wolf #17 (1989) and stated that "If you enjoy non-stop action, grab your crossbow with its unlimited supply of quarrels and get ready to wreak havoc as you fight your way through level after level in Demon Stalker."^[3]

• Demon Stalkers at Lemon 64
• MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.^[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".^[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.^[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.^[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.^[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.^[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.^[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.^[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.^[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.^[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).^[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,^[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.^[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.^[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.^[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.^[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.^[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.^[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.^[17]

• IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

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• Images of Commodore 64 version of Demon Stalkers box and manual at C64Sets.com

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