''Dragonsphere'' is a

point-and-click Point and click are the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse, usually the left button (''click''), or other pointing device. An example of point and cli ...

graphic adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...

developed and published by

MicroProse MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilizatio ...

in 1994. It has graphics which were considered high-quality at the time it was published, considered a novelty. It is still a cult classic for many. The game was the third, and last, graphical adventure game developed by MicroProse, following '' Rex Nebular'' and ''

Return of the Phantom ''Return of the Phantom'' is a Point-and-click adventure game, point-and-click graphic adventure game developed and published by MicroProse in 1993. It was produced by Matt Gruson and designed/written by future James Bond novelist Raymond Benson. ...

''. It was designed by Douglas Kaufman and developed using the MicroProse Adventure Development system with 256-color graphics.

Plot

The story, taking place in a fantasy world, revolves around a magical sphere where the evil sorcerer, Sanwe, was trapped by the late King of Gran Callahach 20 years ago and he is about to break free. The newly crowned king, Callash, goes on a quest to stop the wizard before he regains his powers. However, when he faces Sanwe, he discovers that he is not the real king but a shapechanger named Pid Shuffle. It is revealed that the Queen Mother concocted the scheme to get rid of Callash and put his evil brother MacMorn on the throne, persuading the Court Wizard to aid her under the false pretense of saving Callash from mortal danger. It falls to Pid to rescue the rightful King and defeat MacMorn.

Characters

*King Callash: The newly crowned king of Gran Callahach. *Pid Shuffle: A shapechanger, can change into a snake, seal and a bear. *Sanwe: The main villain of the first half of the game, a magically trapped evil sorcerer. *MacMorn: King Callash's overambitious brother. *Llanie de Summers: A young Duchess, loyal to King Callash. *Queen Mother: Wife to the late king and mother of Callash and MacMorn. *Fiona: King Callash's wife and reigning Queen. *Ner-Tom: The Court Wizard of Gran Callahach.

Reception

Pelit ''Pelit'' ("Games") is a Finnish video games magazine published in Helsinki, Finland. History ''Pelit'' dates back to 1987, as an annual extra games-only issue of '' MikroBitti'' and '' C-lehti''. Another annual issue was published in 1988, and in ...

'' gave the game 92 out of 100 and summarized that ''Dragonsphere'' is "a really enjoyable and atmospheric adventure which holds the player's attention until the end." ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'' rated the game four stars out of five, praising its "true-to-life" animation. Although stating that experienced players might find the game too easy or short, the magazine concluded that ''Dragonsphere''s puzzles and story made it "an enjoyable and satisfying piece of work". ''Computer Gaming World'' nominated ''Dragonsphere'' as its 1994 "Adventure of the Year", although it lost to '' Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure''. The editors praised ''Dragonsphere'' for incorporating "an intriguing storyline, imaginative fantasy cultures, and a wonderful conversation system".

Legacy

In 1994,

Sanctuary Woods Sanctuary Woods Multimedia, Inc. was a Canadian-American multimedia developer and third-party game publisher. It was one of the early multimedia companies developing products for CD-ROM distribution. The founders, Brian Beninger and Toni Benin ...

purchased the MicroProse Adventure Development System

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...

. In 2011,

GOG.com GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...

released the game for free. It was released on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

in 2014.

Tommo Tommo Inc. is an American video game publisher based in City of Industry, California. Founded in 1990, Tommo started out as a small independent distributor of imported video games. Since 2006, Tommo also operates a publishing subsidiary, UFO In ...

purchased the rights to this game and digitally published it in 2015, through its Retroism brand.

References

External links

* *{{imdb title, 3830186 1994 video games DOS games Fantasy video games Freeware games Games commercially released with DOSBox MacOS games MicroProse games Point-and-click adventure games Single-player video games Video games developed in the United States Video games with rotoscoped graphics Windows games Tommo games