Online Gaming - Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons and Dragons

The concept of Dungeons and Dragons was created more than twenty years ago and its popularity comes in many forms.  It originally started out as a board game but its popularity grew very quickly and with technology moving so quickly, developers and designers were quick to realise the potential market for a game like Dungeons and Dragons and video consoles.  The game is fundamentally a role-playing game and it really set the scene for many role playing games of its type throughout the past 11 years from when it was originally released as a computer game. 

The original Dungeons and Dragons was first published in 1974 and was designed by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax.  The initial style of play was to play in a fantasy land where players would create fictitious characters that would go into battle against fictional monsters in order to locate and gather treasure which would earn the player rewards or experience points.  During the game a referee or Dungeon Master would oversee the play and ensure that rules were followed.  In 1977 the game was split in two creating the basic Dungeon and Dragons game and the harder game of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.  However, in 2000, the basic Dungeons and Dragons game was discontinued leaving the 3rd edition of the Dungeons and Dragons series to be released.

There have been many versions of the games that have been available for various consoles, pc and handheld computers.  The latest console game is Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone.  This particular game is available for a host of consoles including Xbox and Ps2.  The game is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign within Dungeons and Dragons and there are 3 different playable characters to choose from which are Illius the sorcerer, Rannek the human fighter and Zhai, a half drow and wood elf.  There also two villains Ygorl and Cireka who hate each other and as that hatred is so strong they have been locked in to a demon stone by Khelben Blackstaff.

The online version of Dungeons and Dragons (DDO) was published by Atari in February 2006.  The developers, Turbine Inc designed the game specifically for the pc.  This particular version of DDO is called Stormreach and is set in the Eberron campaign.  It is based on the Dungeon and Dragon 3.5 ruleset; the 3rd edition saw the largest amendment to the Dungeon and Dragon rules.  Following these changes to the rules, players can now create their characters that enables them to play indoor and outdoor which also includes various dungeon settings.  Most of the game is set in the centre of the city of Stormreach which includes a number of various areas within it.  These areas range from the harbour, the docks, the marketplace and four different dragonmarked houses which are house deneith, house jorasco, house kundarak and house phiarlan.  The game can also take players beyond the city to other lands such as Threnal, Three Barrel Cove, Tangleroot Gorge and Sorrowdusk Isle.  The plot of the game is to follow the dark plots which are made up of giants trying to recover mastery over the city of Stormreach, minions of Khyber trying to get power over Xen’drik and cultists endeavouring to reopen the gate to Xoriat.  There are various quests in the game and when the quests have been completed, players gain experience and rewards for doing so.  There are four levels of quests, solo, normal, hard and elite being the hardest.

During the years, the Dungeons and Dragons game has evolved from a role playing board game to a massively popular computer game.  There are lots of fans that believe the game has changed in style and has therefore lost its originality, however, as there are billions of players worldwide, that is the true testament to the games popularity worldwide.