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Lords of Chaos (video game)

Topic: Software

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 7 min

Lords of Chaos
Developer(s)Mythos Games
Publisher(s)Blade Software
Designer(s)Julian Gollop, Nick Gollop, Martin Beadle
Composer(s)Matt Furniss
Platform(s)Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amiga, ZX Spectrum
Release8-bit: April 1990
16-bit: August 1991
Genre(s)Turn-based tactics, tactical role-playing game
Mode(s)1 to 4 players, turn based, depends on scenario

Lords of Chaos is a turn-based tactics tactical role-playing game published by Blade Software in 1990. It is the sequel to Chaos and an ancestor of the popular X-COM series of games, also written by Julian Gollop. In Lords of Chaos each player controls a wizard who can cast various magic spells. The spells have various effects, for example summoning other creatures (which the player also controls), or damaging opposing creatures and wizards. The game can be played against a computer-controlled opponent or by up to four human players.

Gameplay

Before embarking on the game's levels, the player is asked to design a wizard. This is done by splitting experience points amongst mana, action points, stamina, constitution, combat, defense and magic resistance. Remaining experience points are spent on spells. Spells may be offensive in nature (Magic Bolt, Curse), potions (Speed Potion, Healing Potion), utility (Teleport, Magic Eye) or summoning (Goblin, Unicorn, etc.). These spells continue the theme from Chaos and include some of that game's more unusual elements (Gooey Blob, for example). After completing each scenario, the player may spend accumulated experience points to further improve their wizard.

The aim of each level of the game is for a player's wizard to reach a portal which appears after a preset number of turns. To do this, the player's wizard and creatures move around a map composed of square tiles, each of which represents one of various terrain types (for example, forest or the wall of a building). During a player's turn, only the parts of the map which that player's wizard or creatures have previously seen are shown, thus leading to other human players having to look away from the screen during each turn to avoid learning information they "shouldn't" know. Points are awarded for a player's wizard reaching the portal, for holding items of treasure (for example, valuable gems) when the wizard reaches the portal, or for enemy creatures killed during the level. Each level ends when all wizards have reached the portal or been killed, or when the portal disappears after a fixed number of turns (in which case all the remaining wizards lose). During each turn, each creature has a fixed number of action points which it can use to accomplish actions, for example moving, fighting hand-to-hand or shooting ranged weapons. When a creature's action points are used up for the turn, it can take no further actions until all the players have had a turn.

The game came shipped with three scenarios: "The Many Coloured Land" provided both indoor and outdoor environments; "Slayer's Dungeon" was a traditional monster-inhabited dungeon containing a powerful sword; and "Ragaril's Domain" was single-player only, set in a trap-filled palace. An expansion pack was also available if purchased directly from Mythos Games which contained two further scenarios: "Islands of Iris" and "Tombs of the Undead", the latter being single-player only.

A demonstration scenario called "Escape From Zol" was released on the covers of Your Sinclair and Zero magazines. It was single-player only and very similar in style to "Ragaril's Domain" where the player had to escape from a trap-filled building. However, even if the player won, their wizard's experience could not be used in the other five scenarios.

Release

Lords of Chaos was released on both 8-bit and 16-bit platforms. The 8-bit versions (for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC) were released in April 1990, with the 16-bit versions (Atari ST and Commodore Amiga) following in August 1991. The prices were £9.95 for the Spectrum/Commodore 64/Amstrad CPC tape, £19.95 for the Atari ST disk and £24.95 for the Commodore Amiga disk. An IBM PC version was scheduled for release but never emerged.

Reception

The Spectrum version of Lords of Chaos was reviewed in 1990 by Your Sinclair, awarding 90%,[1] and by CRASH, awarding 80%.[2] Both reviews highlighted the game's detailed, colourful graphics and the complexity and depth of the strategic gameplay.

The game won the award for best adventure game of the year, as voted by the readers of Crash.[3] It was also voted number 21 in the Your Sinclair Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Wilson, David (June 1990). "Lords of Chaos review". Your Sinclair (54). http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/lordsofchaos.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-01. "A whopper of a game - perhaps not the kind of fodder to keep die-hard arcadesters happy, but D&D fans, sword and sorcery nuts and strategy enthusiasts will absolutely lap it up. If you fall even vaguely into any of these categories then you'll certainly want to check out Lords Of Chaos.". 
  2. ↑ "Lords of Chaos review". CRASH (76). May 1990. http://www.crashonline.org.uk/76/chaos.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-01. "I liked Laser Squad, and budding and hard core strategists should love this. It has the same sort of feel as Laser Squad, and indeed the same type of graphical detail. Reviews rarely do justice to games as complex as this. Just take my word: it's worth looking out for.". 
  3. ↑ "CRASH 87 - Readers' Awards". http://www.crashonline.org.uk/87/awards.htm. 
  4. ↑ "Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time". Your Sinclair. September 1993. 
  • 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.

Features

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.

History

Logo used until March 2014

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]

See also

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

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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