Dungeon Keeper

The player constructs and manages a dungeon, recruiting and catering for minions to run it and defend it from enemy invaders. The primary method of control is the hand, used to pick up creatures and objects in the dungeon, carry them around, and drop them. The hand allows the player to 'slap' creatures and objects, and interact with them. Dungeon Keeper gameplay exemplifies a dark sense of humour. The Dungeon Heart represents the Keeper's link to the world. If it is destroyed, the player loses. Slapping creatures forces them to work faster temporarily, but removes some of their health. Gold is obtained primarily by digging Gold Seams, and Gem Seams provide an unlimited supply, though take longer to accumulate. Gold is used to build rooms, cast spells, and train creatures. To order the imps to dig a tile, the player need flag the tile. Throughout the game, a "mentor" will advise the player as to various happenings and problems within the dungeon, as a sinister voiceover. Once the Imps are working, the player must then set up a basic infrastructure: Lairs for monsters, a Hatchery (where chickens, which serve as food, are grown), and a Treasury. After connecting the dungeon to a 'Portal', minions will arrive. Minions include dragons, warlocks, and the horned reaper, as well as undead creatures such as vampires and skeletons. The player can build traps and doors, created in the workshop. Traps include lightning and boulder traps, the latter instantly killing creatures it comes into contact with. As with rooms, they can only be built on tiles that belong to the player. Traps are not built instantly; Imps need to place them on the blueprint. The Temple is a room where creatures are made happy, and the player can sacrifice creatures to the dark gods. The gods may reward or punish the player, or be indifferent depending on the sacrifice. The dungeon has a fleshed-out ecology: certain creatures are natural enemies. For example, Flies and Spiders are often found at odds with one another. Other ways to obtain creatures include imprisoning and torturing them, 'scavenging' (persuaded to defect to the player) from enemy keepers, and performing certain sacrifices at the Temple. Creatures will frequently enter combat with heroes or creatures belonging to another keeper. Each creature has a star of the colour of the keeper it belongs to above it, displaying its experience level. The star is a health meter; as a creature takes damage, the spikes turn black. The player has the ability to possess a creature, seeing the dungeon from its first-person perspective and using its attacks and abilities. This is one of the spells; others include speeding creatures up, and healing them. A world map is available and, at the beginning, the player is allocated one of the twenty regions of a fictional, idyllic country to destroy. As the player progresses through these regions, each representing a level, the areas previously conquered will appear ransacked, twisted, and evil. The dungeon can be protected from being breached by having the imps fortify the walls. In the final level, the Avatar (resembling the Avatar from Ultima VIII), the most powerful hero, appears as the Lord of the Land, and is resurrected after being defeated. He must be defeated again when he reappears with a large army. Multiplayer with up to four players is supported via a modem or over a local area network (LAN). The game features twenty multiplayer levels, playable as single-player levels. ==Development==

Dungeon Keeper was developed by Bullfrog Productions under Peter Molyneux, who wrote the game design, testbed, and the computer players and assistant. Programmers Simon and Dene Carter also said Dungeon Keeper is a parody. Development began in November 1994 by the lead programmer, Simon Carter, and took two and a half years to develop. The navigation system proved difficult to develop because computers of the time lacked power. Artificial intelligence was considered crucial, as the navigation and other aspects relied on it. According to co-designer Jonty Barnes, the team wanted the creatures complex without high computational costs. Healey came up with the idea of slapping creatures to make them work faster, and Barnes considered it a "great game decision". Dungeon Keeper uses lighting algorithms used in Magic Carpet, which provided effects such as fireballs lighting corridors. According to Molyneux, in May 1995 publisher Electronic Arts told him he had to ship Dungeon Keeper in six and a half weeks. Though he satisfied their demands by producing another game, Hi-Octane, in the required time frame, his relationship with the publisher was strained. Development on the level editor began in May 1995. The first-person view was developed in September 1995, and the creatures had shadows added, which was believed impossible at the time. He explained that it was mostly complete, but wanted to make sure that it was "absolutely brilliant". In February 1996, Molyneux decided to focus on the project full-time. In July 1996, Alex Peters joined the project and ported the game to Windows 95. Dungeon Keeper was shown at the European Computer Trade Show in September 1996, Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation versions were in development and due for release in 1997, but cancelled. An internet version was in development, and would have supported up to 250 players. Carter wrote and organised 800,000 lines of code. The music was composed by Russell Shaw and, according to Healey, this came late in development. Healey produced 90 per cent of the graphics. Most of the creatures were the team members' ideas, although Molyneux was involved with the Imps. who ultimately become the game's mascot. Before the redesign, instead of having Imps dig the gold and minions entering through portals, the game had the player dig gold and use it and mana to create minions. Molyneux also liked the fact that the game adapts to the player, enabling the choice of the preferred methods and strategies, He stated that he was proud of Dungeon Keepers concept, but remarked that doing original things takes time. He also liked that people were unable to describe Dungeon Keeper in any particular way. Molyneux also disliked the lack of opponent personality, and some features being hidden too well, including (according to him) a cheat code that made the mistress creature naked. Dungeon Keeper was Molyneux's final project with Bullfrog before he left in July 1997 to form Lionhead Studios, and after completion, he stated that he wanted to make "the coolest game ever". and his departure was one reason he wanted to make the game good. A sequel, Dungeon Keeper 2 was released in 1999, and the series was rebooted by Mythic Entertainment with the release of a remake (also titled Dungeon Keeper) for iOS and Android on 30 January 2014. SoundFont support The game uses SoundFonts to provide additional ambient sound effects. A Sound Blaster AWE32 or AWE64 is required to use this feature. The player can load a SoundFont and use it for ambient sound effects. Customised SoundFonts can be created to personalise the dungeon. The game features three SoundFonts, one of which is loaded at game startup, Expansions An expansion pack, The Deeper Dungeons, was released on 26 November 1997. It features fifteen new levels each for single player and multiplayer, and an improved artificial intelligence for the enemies. The Avatar also reappears in the final level. Re-releases The game was re-released in 1998 as Dungeon Keeper Gold Edition, which included the Deeper Dungeons expansion as well as a Dungeon Keeper-based desktop theme. In Japan, a similar edition was released as Dungeon Keeper Premium, under the EA Best Selection brand. This version included the content from the Gold release, as well as both Japanese and English text and audio options. GOG.com launched a macOS version in October 2012. The game was available there free of charge for a few days in February 2014. In October 2016, Dungeon Keeper was released free of charge on Origin, via its "On The House" programme. ==Reception==

Dungeon Keeper received critical acclaim. The gameplay and uniqueness were its most heavily complimented aspects. Chris Lombardi of Computer Gaming World praised the multiplayer mode, saying that it "promises to be extraordinarily rich and subtle". His conclusion was that Dungeon Keeper is "The most unique game in years; stylish, multifaceted, and as deep as the pits of hell". Gamezilla's Chris McDonald called the game a "classic" and concluded, "Any real-time gamer with a yearning for the dungeon life and the nerve to slaughter an army of Monks, Fairies and Lords will be pleasantly surprised with Dungeon Keeper". Dungeon Keeper was a finalist in the Software Publishers Association's 13th Annual Excellence in Software Awards Best of 1997 Codie awards for Best Strategy Software Game. In 1997, Dungeon Keeper appeared #4 on PC Gamers list of top 100 games, and, in June, was named as their Game Of The Month. At the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards (now known as the D.I.C.E. Awards), Dungeon Keeper won "PC Role-Playing Game of the Year" and was nominated for "Computer Entertainment Title of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Design". Sales During 1997, Dungeon Keeper sold 113,407 copies in the United States alone. It received a "Gold" award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) in August 1998, for sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The game's global sales reached 700,000 copies by 2003. Molyneux considered it a "missed opportunity" in comparison to his earlier games such as Theme Park, which sold millions of units. Impact and legacy Many reviews of video games that have similar elements mention Dungeon Keeper as both an influence for the designers and a standard for comparison. These include: • 1999's Lego Rock Raiders. According to Retro Gamer, this was asserted to be "the ultimate sequel to Dungeon Keeper". This game was developed by Mucky Foot Productions, which consisted of staff from Bullfrog. Retro Gamer said that "they'd taken Dungeon Keeper and set it in space". the second game developed by Elixir Studios. Players control a James Bond-style lair and construct military and scientific installations, with the goal of expansion. in which players play the role of the enemy. It was described as "Dungeon Keeper meets Dig Dug". • 2011's Dungeon Overlord, an Adobe Flash application via the social-networking website Facebook. • 2013's Impire has been called "Dungeon Keeper with a side of Dawn of War". • 2013's The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot has been called "A weird combination of Diablo and Dungeon Keeper". • 2015's War for the Overworld is a project held by its creators Subterranean Games as "a true spiritual successor to Dungeon Keeper". • 2015's Dungeons 2 has been described as a combination between "Dungeon Keeper and an RTS". Dungeon Keeper was referenced in Theme Hospitals introduction scene twice: a doctor is briefly seen playing a console version, and the Horned Reaper makes a cameo appearance as a patient. Early concept art for Black & White used Dungeon Keepers Horned Reaper to represent creatures. The Horned Reaper unit was so popular that the producers of Dungeon Keeper 2 made it a character with an important role in the game's story. Dungeon Keepers engine was an inspiration for Minecraft. ==See also==