Dunzhin (fully titled, but not shown on the box cover, as Warrior of Ras: Volume I - Dunzhin) is a fantasy role-playing video game developed by Med Systems Software. It was released on the TRS-80 in 1982, then ported to the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, and Commodore 64. An IBM PC port, as a self-booting disk, added digitized speech.
| Dunzhin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publisher(s) | Med Systems (TRS-80) Screenplay |
| Designer(s) | Randall Don Masteller[1] |
| Series | Warrior of Ras |
| Platform(s) | Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, IBM PC, TRS-80 |
| Release | 1982: TRS-80, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, IBM PC 1983: C64 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
editDunzhin is a game in which the player explores a new, randomly generated dungeon each time the game is played. The fighter player character encounters monsters and human enemies, and the character earns experience points based on the disparity comparing their statistics with those of the monster. The player is in search of a well-guarded treasure located on the deepest level of the dungeon.[2]
Development
editThe IBM PC port performs all disk access via IN/OUT instructions to the floppy controller instead of using the BIOS (this was done both to improve performance and as a copy protection). It also was not completely rewritten from the ground up, but instead contained the original Z80 code from the TRS-80 with an interpreter to convert it to x86 assembly language.
Reception
editDunzhin was reviewed in Dragon magazine #71 by John Warren. The reviewer noted that while this game was able to accept more complex commands than other games of its time, the extra typing involved slowed the game down.[2] Describing Warriors of Ras as "yet another Dungeons-and-Dragons style game series", The Commodore 64 Home Companion wrote that Dunzhin "is the first—and easiest—in the series".[3]
References
edit- ^ Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
- ^ a b Warren, John (March 1983). "Dunzhin Cures Terminal Boredom". Dragon (71): 70–72.
- ^ Beekman (1984). "Screenplay Software (HesWare)". The Commodore 64 Home Companion. p. 173. Retrieved August 19, 2016.