Sword of Fargoal

File:Sword map1.jpg

Screenshot of original sprite graphics from Sword of Fargoal

Sword of Fargoal was a computer game written in 1982 by Jeff McCord. The November 1996 anniversary issue of Computer Gaming World listed Sword of Fargoal as #147 on the "Top 150 Best Video Games of All Time."

History

File:Sword map.jpg

Screenshot from Sword of Fargoal ported to the PC. Here the Sword has been found by the player.

Sword of Fargoal was created by author and programmer Jeff McCord and based on his original dungeon adventure, Gammaquest II, which was programed in BASIC for the Commodore PET computer and written while he was still in high school in Lexington, KY. Gammaquest II created randomly generated dungeons which were revealed piece-by-piece as the character explored the map, and stayed "lit" behind the character as it moved, emulating the "mapping" of a dungeon level. Graphics were limited as the game could only use the computer's text character set to draw maps and represent monsters. It spawned a small following among his high school friends, however, and McCord was encouraged to keep writing new routines (spells, maps, monsters) for the game.

McCord submitted the game to three game publishers, and he accepted an offer to publish the game from the software company, Epyx Inc. in 1982, earning a $2,000.00 advance on royalties. He used the advance to move to Silicon Valley where he wrote a Commodore VIC-20 version of the game using a custom character set for the font and graphics. The following year, with the release of the Commodore 64, McCord was able to implement sprite-based graphics for the first time. At Epyx, well-known game producer Susan Lee-Merrow helped McCord develop the story "lore," the game box design, rule book contents and visuals (with illustrations by Heinlein cover illustrator, Terry Barr). McCord, unable to port the game successfully to the C64 (as it was written in Basic) asked his friend, Scott Corsaire (then Carter) to rewrite several of the key BASIC routines into machine language code so that game would perform fast enough for the Commodore 64 version of the game (including the main redrawing of the dungeon levels and clearing of the screen in a spiral pattern, monster A.I., collision detects, joystick reads). This coding feat was accomplished in 72 hours of straight programming by the self-taught Corsaire.

Sword of Fargoal is a roguelike game, with the player controlling an adventurous warrior attempting to reclaim the "Sword of Fargoal" from the depths of a monster-infested, treasure-stocked, randomly generated dungeon. The Sword is placed randomly somewhere between the fifteenth and twentieth dungeon level. This so-called "Sword Level" also had the unique characteristic of being a randomly generated, twisty maze of passages — rather than a conventional dungeon level like the others — which helped make reaching the "Sword Level" an exciting event in the game-play.

Sword of Fargoal is noteworthy for being one of the first microcomputer games to introduce elements later used by so-called roguelike games — such as dungeons which are randomly generated for each session of play, and gave a nod to earlier games such as Adventure (later called Colossal Cave Adventure), which was played without graphics on mainframe computers of the day using TTY terminals. Sword of Fargoal has remained somewhat notorious within Commodore 64 fandom as being extremely difficult to win. Once the Sword was claimed by the player, he or she had exactly 2,000 seconds (33 minutes and 20 seconds) to escape the dungeon by going back through each level, or the Sword would be destroyed by a curse. Complicating matters further was the fact that if the Sword was lost for any reason, the player must return to the level he or she originally found it, and the clock did not stop or reset when this occurred.

The game was originally released on computer cassette tape and 5¼" floppy disk formats.

An open source remake exists in both PC and Macintosh versions, and a shareware download is available on the official Sword of Fargoal website.

Game Play

In the game, the player controls a warrior who explores numerous dungeon levels in search of the legendary "Sword of Fargoal" artifact. The levels become progressively harder to survive as the player descends deeper and deeper into the dungeon. Each dungeon is covered in complete darkness that illuminates as the dungeon rooms and corridors are explored. When the Sword successfully found, a clock countdown begins where the player must successfully escape the dungeon before the time expires, or the Sword is lost.

The warrior gains character levels, (similar to the classic Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game), by gaining experience points which increases the character's fighting ability and hit points, (called Hits), as they progress through the dungeon. There are several items in the dungeon that help the character which can be found in treasure chests or on slain adversaries.

Combat in the game is controlled by the computer and the player has no control over how well or how bad their warrior fights. A warrior can flee an attack at anytime, unless they fall victim to a sneak attack (which is when a monster engages in combat before the warrior has a chance to move). The only escape from a sneak attack is by using a Teleport spell.

The warrior can move freely about the dungeon, whereas monsters take intermittently timed steps. Their movement increases in speed the deeper the dungeon goes until they move just as fast as the warrior.

Staircases

Each dungeon has a number of staircases that go up or down. Because each map is randomly generated, a level the player returns to will not be the same as when they left it. Stairs also provide an entry for wandering monsters that, over time, replace slain ones on a level.

Bags of gold

Characters can find bags of gold scattered around the dungeon. The bags can be taken by enemies if they step over them. Gold can also be stolen from the character by humanoid enemies. If those thieves are killed, the gold is returned to the warrior. A warrior can only carry 100 pieces of gold and Magic sacks must be located that allow the warrior to carry more. If there is too much gold for the warrior to carry, they hide it (indicated on the map by an "X"), so that enemies cannot steal it.

Temples

Each dungeon level contains a temple. Every time the warrior steps on a temple, their gold is sacrificed to their deity which earns additional experience. When enough gold is sacrificed, the warrior receives a "blessing" and regains full hit points which is useful in a pinch. If a warrior remains standing on a temple, it acts as a sanctuary where they become invisible to enemies around them and heal hit points at twice their normal rate.

Chests

Chests in the game are both a bane and a boon to the player. Some contain something useful, or contain a deadly trap. Some chests explode, causing damage, and others release crumbling ceiling or pit traps. A player doesn't know however, if a chest contains a trap or a useful item, and must take a chance of encountering either. Chests can be picked up by enemies if they step over them. Chests contain the following:

• Amulet of Health - This rare item acts like a permanently active regeneration spell, allowing fast recovery of hit points.
• Amulet of Light - This rare item acts like a continuously active Light spell, allowing more of the dungeon around the character to be seen.
• Beacons - Beacons are magical crystals that can benefit the warrior greatly. When placed on the ground, they create a permanent invisibility effect that hides the warrior from monsters should he step into and stand over the beacon. Secondly, they can teleport the warrior to the dungeon's temple.
• Ceiling Trap - A trapped chest can cause a ceiling collapse. A Teleport spell can be used to avoid the damage.
• Enchanted Weapons - Increase the damage of the warrior's weapon.
• Explosions - Some chests are trapped and explode to cause damage. The player can avoid this damage with an active Shield spell.
• Healing Potions - Increase the character's hit points.
• Magic Sacks - A magic sack increases the amount of gold the warrior can carry by 100 gold pieces. Multiple sacks stack and allow the character to carry a lot of gold.
• Maps - Some chests have a map of a particular level. When the warrior reaches that level, the entire dungeon is exposed.
• Pits - If a chest opens a pit, the character falls and takes damage. They can avoid this damage with an active Drift spell. Open pits can be climbed which allows the character to bypass levels of the dungeon. The depths of a pit varies. If properly "baited", a warrior can lure an enemy monster into a pit where they fall. Humanoid adversaries are smarter however, and actively avoid pits.
• Spells - Some chest contains spells useful to the character.
• Teleports - Randomly sends the character somewhere in the dungeon. Often, the character loses his dungeon "map" and has to retrace their steps in the dungeon.

Spells

There are six spells that can be found in the dungeon:

• Drift - This spell allows the warrior to ignore damage taken during the fall from a pit trap. It expires after the fall and must be recast to protect against another pit trap.
• Invisibility - This spell makes the character invisible to enemy creatures. They will not approach the character when this spell is active. This spell remains in effect throughout the time spent on a single dungeon level. It expires when the character proceeds to the next level.
• Light - This spell expands the amount of darkness that is cleared as the character explores the dungeon. It is useful in avoiding sneak attacks by monsters. This spell remains in effect throughout the time spent on a single dungeon level. It expires when the character proceeds to the next level.
• Regeneration - This spell speeds up the amount of hit points the character has as they heal on their own. It remains active throughout the time spent on a dungeon level and expires when the character enters another level of the dungeon.
• Shield - This spells allows the warrior to ignore the damage during a monster attack, or damage caused by an exploding chest. The spell expires after the foe is slain, or the chest explodes and must be recast to use it again against another attack or explosion.
• Teleport - This spell sends the character to a random part of the dungeon level. It's particularly useful during combat with a powerful monster that may kill the character or when the warrior is in the midst of a ceiling trap.

Monsters

There are several enemies in the dungeon. In general "human" type enemies are more dangerous than creatures:

• Assassin - Assassins are particularly dangerous as they are invisible until the warrior happens upon one and they can make sneak attacks. Sometimes they appear and disappear on the map depending on their location from the warrior.
• Barbarian
• Dark Warrior
• Dimension Spider - These spiders can teleport around the dungeon and pass through walls to attack the warrior.
• Dire Wolf
• Dwarven Guard
• Elven Ranger
• Fyre Drake
• Hobgoblin
• Mercenary
• Monk
• Ogre
• Rogue
• Shadow Dragon
• Swordsman
• Troll
• Warlord
• Werebear
• Wyvern

Mages and Demons - special characters that appear looking like any of the other adversaries. Mages can steal the warrior's spells, while Demons can steal experience levels.

Game Settings

The latest version of the game ported to modern computers allows the player to adjust the settings and difficulty of the game. The player can choose such things as graphics themes, and monster behavior. The player can also trade increased skill in combat over hit points, or vice versa.

External links

• Official website
• Sword of Fargoal at MobyGames
• Cross-platform remake
• Sword of Fargoal fan site