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Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum

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Might and Magic Book One: The Secret Of The Inner Sanctum
DOS cover
Developer(s)New World Computing
Publisher(s)New World Computing
Designer(s)Jon Van Caneghem
Platform(s)MS-DOS, Apple II, C64, Macintosh, MSX, NEC PC-9801, NES, TurboGrafx-16
ReleaseApple II
NES
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum (also known as Might and Magic Book 1, Might and Magic 1, MM1 or simply Might and Magic) is an early computer role-playing game released for the Apple II, IBM PC, NES and a number of other platforms, and is the first game in the Might and Magic series. It was published in 1986 by New World Computing and also later re-released in the Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven Limited Edition and then Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven Special Edition.

Development

The original Apple II version of the game was written almost single-handedly by Jon Van Caneghem over three years.[1] Van Caneghem had difficulty finding a publisher to distribute MM1, so he handled the distribution himself from his own apartment until he was able to broker a deal with Activision.[citation needed]

Due to its popularity it was ported to a number of other platforms that were popular at the time, and eight sequels were released over the next fifteen years.[2]

A port of Might and Magic was released for Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992[3]. While the basic gameplay was similar to ports released on earlier platforms, the graphics and general polish on the game reflected the later release date and greater capability of the Nintendo platform.[4]

Plot and setting

File:Varn.jpg
Map of the World of VARN.

The game is set on the world of VARN (Vehicular Astropod Research Nacelle) which features expansive outdoor terrain, castles, caves, underground cities and an Astral Plane.

The game centers around six adventurers who are trying to discover the secret of the Inner Sanctum: a kind of "holy grail" quest. While trying to discover the Inner Sanctum, the heroes discover information about Corak's hunt for the missing villain Sheltem. They end up unmasking Sheltem, who had been masquerading as the King, and defeating his evil machinations.[5] At the end of the game they go through the "Gates to Another World" and travel to CRON, not knowing that Sheltem has also escaped to that world.[6]

Although VARN is populated mostly by medieval fantasy tropes such as knights in armor, mythical monsters and magicians, a number of science fiction elements enter the setting. As an example, the Sheltem plot is first introduced when the adventurers visit the site of a crashed space ship and are told by aliens that their prisoner is at large in the world.[7]

Game mechanics

Characters

The characters in Might and Magic and its successors are defined by a number of rules, conforming loosely to the fantasy roleplaying archetypes.

Characters have "statistics" (analogous to Dungeons and Dragons Ability scores) of Might, Endurance, Accuracy, Personality, Intelligence and Luck.[8]

There are six character classes:

  • Knight characters are based on the Dungeons and Dragons Fighter class.
  • Cleric characters are like D&D Clerics.
  • Robbers are like the old D&D Thief class.
  • Sorcerers (called Wizards in the NES version) are like the old Magic-Users.
  • Paladins are fighter type characters who gain access to Clerical magic at higher experience levels. Unlike their D&D equivalent, there is no restriction on their alignment.
  • Archers are more limited fighter characters, who can use ranged weapons even when on the front line of combat, and gain access to Sorcerer spells at higher levels.[9]

The player assigns each character a race at creation time: Human, Elf, Half-orc, Gnome or Dwarf. This affects the character's starting statistics, and their resistance to various forms of attack.[10]

Alignment is also chosen for all characters, but because the party acts collectively all of the time, the implications of this are minimal. Alignment plays some part in the game, in particular to determine the reward for one of the game's quests.[11]

Characters can also be male or female.[12] Like alignment, gender serves minimal purpose in the game, save for a few situations (notably, the city of Portsmith, in which all males, and only males, are injured when stepping through certain areas of the city). A character's gender can be changed back and forth via certain actions within the game world.[13]

Magic

There are two types of magic spells in Might and Magic: Sorcerer spells and Clerical spells. Sorcerer spells are available to Sorcerer and Archer characters; Clerical spells are available to Cleric and Paladin characters.[9] Daily spellcasting ability is limited by a character's spell points.[10] For users of Sorcerer spells, the number of spell points available depends on that character's Intelligence statistic. For Clerical spellcasters, the number of spell points depends on the character's Personality statistic.[14]

Sorcerer spells tend to be of an offensive nature, inflicting damage on enemy creatures.

Clerical spells are usually more defensive, focusing on healing, defense and removal of poison and other undesirable effects.[9]

Exploration

A typical screenshot of the IBM-PC port of the game in exploration mode

The world is presented as a labyrinth, utilizing a first person perspective interface similar to that employed by The Bard's Tale, where the gaming world is divided into a maze-like grid and the player's movement options are to move forward or backward, or turn ninety degrees left or right. The walls represent mountain ridges, cave stone, rows of trees or whatever obstruction might be expected in the terrain being explored.

Exploration, like combat, is turn-based in Might and Magic; hence in-game time does not pass while the player delays.[15]

If the party moves to a place where there are hostile creatures, or if a random encounter occurs, the game switches to a combat phase.[16]

Combat

When hostile creatures are encountered, the player is usually given the option to run away, attempt to surrender to the creatures, or to attack. If the player elects to attack, or if their combat evasion attempt fails, the game enters combat mode.[17]

On most platforms, the combat interface is presented in a text-only format.[18] Turn-based combat is conducted, with each combatant acting in order of their speed statistic. Each round a random speed bonus is applied to either the player's party or the enemy creatures.[19] On each player-character's turn, the player selects an action from a limited list of options, including attacking a creature, casting a spell or attempting to run away.[20]

Combat ends when all combatants from one side or the other have either been rendered unconscious or dead (usually by having their hit points reduced to zero), or fled from combat. The player can also lose at combat by allowing all members of the party to succumb to sleep or paralysis effects.

Reception

In 1987, Compute! magazine praised Might and Magic for its wealth of content, non-linear play and aspects of its graphics, though it notes that the game graphics lack animation, and that there is limited graphical representation of enemy combatants.[21] Computer Gaming World similarly praised the game's extensiveness, but noted early versions of the game only equipped new party members with clubs, making the beginning of the game very difficult.[22] Modern commentators acknowledge MM1 for the immense scope of its world, for its freedom of exploration and for pioneering aspects such as incorporating player characters' race, gender and alignment into the gameplay.[23]

The Apple II version of the game was reviewed in 1987 in Dragon #122 by Patricia Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. Lesser stated "This adventure is awesome in its scope, completely fascinating, graphically pleasing, and one of the top five games ever produced for a computer."[24] In a subsequent column, the reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars.[25] Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser reviewed the IBM version of the game in 1988 in Dragon #132, also giving it 5 out of 5 stars.[26] The Lessers reviewed the MacIntosh version of the game in Dragon #140, giving the Macintosh II version 4 1/2 stars, and the Macintosh Plus version 3 1/2 stars.[27] The Lessers reviewed the Sega Genesis version of the game in Dragon #175, giving that version of the game 5 out of 5 stars.[28]

References

  1. ^ Green, Jeff, 2004. Jon Van Caneghem Speaks, Computer Gaming World, April 2004
  2. ^ Jahn, Oliver et al. Might and Magic Series, MobyGames
  3. ^ Gamespot: Might and Magic for NES
  4. ^ See screenshots at ConsoleClassix.com
  5. ^ Kaplon, Jay Might and Magic History, Celestial Heavens - All Things Might and Magic
  6. ^ Fander Treespook's Might and Magic Grove - MM1 Quests
  7. ^ Fander Treespook's Might and Magic Grove - MM1 Overland Map Area E2
  8. ^ Butler-Knight, Marie and Van Canegham, Jon, 1997. Might and Magic Book One Secret of the Inner Sanctum Second Edition game documentation page 23, New World Computing
  9. ^ a b c Butler-Knight, page 24
  10. ^ a b Butler-Knight, page 25
  11. ^ Might and Magic (1) Walkthrough
  12. ^ Butler-Knight, page 4
  13. ^ Might and Magic I FAQ/Walkthrough
  14. ^ Butler-Knight, page 23
  15. ^ Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum at MobyGames
  16. ^ Butler-Knight, pages 7-12
  17. ^ Butler-Knight, page 13
  18. ^ Butler-Knight, page 15
  19. ^ Butler-Knight, page 16
  20. ^ Butler-Knight, pages 17-18
  21. ^ Might And Magic, review by James V. Trunzo, COMPUTE! ISSUE 87 / AUGUST 1987 / PAGE 57
  22. ^ Scorpia (April 1987), "Might and Magic", Computer Gaming World, pp. 24–26
  23. ^ The History of Computer Role-Playing Games Part 2: The Golden Age (1985-1993) by Matt Barton, Gamasutra
  24. ^ Lesser, Patricia (June 1987). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (122): 76–80.
  25. ^ Lesser, Hartley and Patricia (October 1987). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (126): 82–88.
  26. ^ Lesser, Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk (April 1988). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (132): 80–85.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Lesser, Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk (December 1988). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (140): 74–79.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ Lesser, Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk (November 1991). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (175): 57–66.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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