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''Temple of Apshai'' is a
dungeon crawl A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video games an ...
role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
developed and published by Automated Simulations (later renamed to
Epyx Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before rena ...
) in 1979. Originating on the
TRS-80 The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of '' ...
and
Commodore PET The Commodore PET is a line of personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. A single all-in-one case combines a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read-only memory, keyboard, monochrome monitor, an ...
, it was followed by several updated versions for other computers between 1980 and 1986. ''Temple of Apshai'' is considered one of the first graphical role-playing games for home computers, predating even the commercial release of
Richard Garriott Richard Allen Garriott de Cayeux (''né'' Garriott; born July 4, 1961) is an American video game developer, entrepreneur and private astronaut. Although both his parents were American, he maintains dual British and American citizenship by birth. ...
's '' Akalabeth: World of Doom''. It was an enormous success for its era, selling 20,000 copies by the end of 1981, and 30,000 copies by 30 June 1982 and remaining a best-seller for at least four years. It was followed by several sequels and two expansions. The latter were bundled with the main game into the remake ''Temple of Apshai Trilogy'' in 1985. Games using the ''Apshai'' engine were collectively known as the ''
Dunjonquest Dunjonquest is a series of single-player, single-character fantasy computer role-playing games by Automated Simulations (later known as Epyx). ''Temple of Apshai'' was the most successful and most widely ported game in the series. The games relie ...
'' series.


Gameplay

The player in ''Temple of Apshai'' assumes the role of an adventurer who explores the mysterious ruins of the Temple of Apshai. The
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
investigates room after room of the
dungeon crawl A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video games an ...
while seeking treasure and combatting monsters. Along the way, the player discovers powerful weapons and armor with which to overcome the Temple's inhabitants. The game consists of four dungeons with over 200 rooms in total and features 30 monster types. ''Temple of Apshai'' consists of two programs: the Innkeeper and the Dunjonmaster. The game starts with the Innkeeper and the choice to either generate a new character or input an existing one. The game uses six base values taken from ''Dungeons & Dragons'' Early tape versions of the game had no means to save progress. The player was prompted to write down all statistics when quitting the game and had to type them in when resuming play. Later floppy versions fixed this by saving the status on the disk. Weapons and armor are purchased in a shop, where it is possible to haggle with the shopkeeper for a discount. Character stats determine which items can be worn. Finally, the player chooses between four dungeons of increasing difficulty to enter the Dunjonmaster part. In the Dunjonmaster program, the screen is divided into a birds-eye view representation of the surroundings and a status summary for the character. Traps, treasures and secret doors are hidden inside the dungeons. ''Temple of Apshai'' uses a hybrid between a
turn-based In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress cont ...
and a real time combat system. A player's turn can be used to walk up to 9 steps in the direction the character is facing, turning towards either direction, trying to talk the monster out of the fight, or executing a number of different attacks. A bow and arrows can be used to attack enemies from afar. If the player doesn't make any input for a while, the enemies continue to move and attack in set intervals regardless. All actions decrease the player character's fatigue rating, depending on stats and carrying weight. When this value sinks below zero, the character cannot act anymore before resting. The player gains experience points while adventuring, which raise a number of hidden statistics. ''Temple of Apshai'' was the first computer role-playing game with room descriptions. Detailed descriptions of all the rooms in the game's manual complement the sparse graphics and provide vital information. Pen-and-paper games like ''Dungeons & Dragons'' frequently make use of verbal depictions given by dungeon masters to suggest to players what is of interest in a setting. Similarly, in ''Temple of Apshai'' the player matches an on-screen room number to its entry in the manual that accompanies the game. One sample entry reads: "The aroma of vanilla makes the senses reel and the floor of the room is covered with the shiny stuff previously observed. Bones lie scattered across the floor and the clicking sound grows fainter from within. Gems stud the south wall." A vanilla scent is used in the game to suggests the presence of Antmen, the dominant monster type in the temple. When beaten by a monster, the player character may be rescued by one of several non-player characters. Depending on the rescuer, a portion of the player's inventory is removed as payment. The game has no particular goal other than fighting monsters, collecting treasure and gaining experience points.


Development and releases

''Temple of Apshai'' was originally programmed by Jim Connelley, founder and president of Automated Simulations / Epyx Software, for
TRS-80 The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of '' ...
and Commodore PET, using
BASIC BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
. The role-playing system, named ''Dunjonquest'' was designed by Jon Freeman, while the level design of the dungeons was provided by Jeff Johnson ('' Roadwar 2000''). According to Connelley, his motivations to create ''Temple of Apshai'' were "the popularity of noncomputer role-playing games" and the opportunity "to create a graphics-oriented adventure game". Like most early computer RPGs, ''Temple of Apshai'' was influenced by ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Both Connelley and Freeman played ''Dungeons & Dragons'' in a group where Connelley acted as the Dungeon Master. An advertisement for ''Temple of Apshai'' called the game a "version of Dungeons and Dragons" and described Connelly as an experienced "Dungeon Master, running continuous D & D campaigns". The game's documentation included instructions for importing
pen-and-paper role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participan ...
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
s. ''Temple of Apshai'' was first released in August 1979. The original release contained the program cassette and the manual in a plastic bag, an unusually professional packaging for the time. Early advertisements promoted versions for TRS-80 and Commodore PET, but a version for the Apple II followed in 1980. The TRS-80, Apple II, and PET versions were sold for $24.95 on cassette and $29.95 on disk. A port to Atari 8-bit computers was advertised by retailers from winter 1981, while Epyx announced a version for
IBM PC compatibles IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...
to be released in March 1982. Aric Wilmunder coded the Atari program, while Connelley himself is credited for the IBM PC version. In 1983, the game was released for the
VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PE ...
and
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
, sold at $39.95. Connelley identified Steve Bryson as the programmer of the Commodore 64 version. In 1983, Gessler Educational Software distributed a French language version with the title ''Le Temple D'Apshaï'' for the purpose of French language education. Both the game and manual were translated entirely, kept in a French Canadian writing style. in 1984, a Version was made for the Mac Classic under contract with Applied Computer Technology, Inc. located in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was authored by
Louis Castle Louis Castle is an American video games designer. He is known for co-founding Westwood Studios, designing the PC game ''Blade Runner'', and collaborating with Steven Spielberg on the ''Boom Blox'' and ''Boom Blox Bash Party'' video games for the ...
.


Legacy

''Temple of Apshai'' was the first game in Automated Simulations' ''
Dunjonquest Dunjonquest is a series of single-player, single-character fantasy computer role-playing games by Automated Simulations (later known as Epyx). ''Temple of Apshai'' was the most successful and most widely ported game in the series. The games relie ...
'' series, which span ten individual titles, including expansions, smaller games, and a full sequel, ''
Hellfire Warrior ''Hellfire Warrior'' is a dungeon crawl video game for the Apple II, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 published by Automated Simulations in 1980. An Atari 8-bit family port was released in 1982. ''Hellfire Warrior'' is the direct sequel to 1979's '' Templ ...
''. Two of the releases, ''Upper Reaches of Apshai'' and ''Curse of Ra'', were add-ons to ''Temple of Apshai'' which required the original program to run. The level design and room descriptions for both were created by Tim Bird, Mark Madrid and Andrew Martin. ''Upper Reaches of Apshai'' contains four new dungeon levels for beginning characters, and conveys a more humorous tone with suburban environments like a vegetable garden and enemies like killer tomatoes. ''Curse of Ra'' is set in ancient Egypt and has higher difficulty. It also consists of four dungeon levels, with 179 rooms total. In 1983, Epyx released the action-oriented ''
Gateway to Apshai ''Gateway to Apshai'' is an action-adventure game for the Commodore 64, ColecoVision and Atari 8-bit family, developed by The Connelley Group and published by Epyx as a prequel to '' Temple of Apshai''. It is a more action-oriented version of ''Tem ...
'', a prequel to ''Temple of Apshai'' whose story is set at a time before the Temple of Apshai, where the original game took place, was rediscovered. In 1985, Epyx published the
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
''
Temple of Apshai Trilogy ''Temple of Apshai Trilogy'' is a remake of three games from the ''Dunjonquest'' series, ''Temple of Apshai'', ''Upper Reaches of Apshai'', and ''Curse of Ra''. Development In 1985, Epyx published a remake of ''Temple of Apshai'', featuring new ...
''.


Reception

''Temple of Apshai'' was very successful. Automated Simulations reported that it had sold 20,000 copies of the game by 1981. By 30 June 1982, it was 30,000 copies. Sales reached 400,000 copies by 1986. After the Commodore 64 Version was released in 1983, it appeared on top of the ''Compute! Gazette'' list of best-selling Commodore 64 Entertainment programs, generated from surveys with retailers and distributors. It constantly remained among the five best-selling Commodore 64 games according to that list until the column was discontinued after March 1984. The VIC-20 version also appeared on the list of best-selling games for that system from December 1983 onwards. At the middle of June 1983, the wholesale software distributor Softsel International placed ''Temple of Apshai'' seventh in a list of best-selling computer games, compiled from sales to 4,000 retail outlets in 50 states and 30 countries. By that time, the game had been in the distributor's top 50 chart for 38 weeks. ''Temple of Apshai'' was Epyx's third best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987. Early reviews of ''Temple of Apshai'' praised the game's graphics and unusual complexity, while criticizing long loading times and slow screen build-up for the dungeon graphics. ''
Compute! ''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', was an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET c ...
'' stated that ''Temple of Apshai'' for the PET "is for anyone who is tired of simple 'video games' ... tis quite an experience". It advised readers to be aware that "this is a serious game. Be prepared to THINK".
Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. In the 1960s ...
in ''
BYTE The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
'' called it "an excellent real-time dungeon game", and later reported that his sons had "nearly worn out the Dungeons of Apshai". ''
Kilobaud Microcomputing ''Kilobaud Microcomputing'' was a magazine dedicated to the computer homebrew hobbyists from 1977 to 1983. How ''kilobaud'' started Wayne Green, the editor and publisher of ''kilobaud'', had been the publisher of ''BYTE'' magazine, (another i ...
'' criticized the long load times, but liked the game's graphics and "excellent" documentation. ''
PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...
'' stated that the IBM PC version did not fully exploit the computer's graphics capability, but that players "will find excitement and entertainment ... it's certainly worth the silver to grab this game for the PC". The magazine was also favorable towards ''Upper Reaches of Apshai'', which it called "better than ''Temple of Apshai'' in some ways". ''
Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
'' called ''Temple of Apshai'' "a good example of a graphic adventure game", but also stated that in it and other games like it "the play seems to drag" because "it takes time to draw the pictures". ''The
Addison-Wesley Addison-Wesley is an American publisher of textbooks and computer literature. It is an imprint of Pearson PLC, a global publishing and education company. In addition to publishing books, Addison-Wesley also distributes its technical titles through ...
Book of Atari Software 1984'' gave ''Temple of Apshai'' an overall B rating, concluding that it was "an excellent game, one that's very involving", and gave the same grade to ''Hellfire Warrior'' and ''Curse of Ra''. Robert Plamondon reviewed ''Temple of Apshai'' for ''
Different Worlds ''Different Worlds'' was an American role-playing games magazine published from 1979 to 1987. Scope ''Different Worlds'' published support articles, scenarios, and variants for various role-playing games including ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Ru ...
'' magazine and stated that "I found both ''Datestones of Ryn'' and ''Temple of Apshai'' highly enjoyable. ''Temple of Apshai'' is more expensive, but well worth the extra cost because it is so much bigger than ''Datestones of Ryn''." In 1991 and 1993 ''
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 ...
''s Scorpia stated that the graphics "caused a sensation when it first appeared", but also criticized a lack of polish in the programming and slow speed due to the use of BASIC, issues which were improved upon in the Atari 8-bit version. A 2012 overview of TRS-80 games described it as "slow, clunky and crash-prone ... this early attempt at an action role-playing game managed little of either", and inferior to later Atari and Commodore versions, but "quite clearly compelling" as an early dungeon crawl. ''Temple of Apshai'' was awarded the
Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 aw ...
for "Best Computer Game of 1980", the first to receive this distinction.


References


External links

* Images of the package and manual for ''Temple of Apshai''Game box and screenshots
(some
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)--> {{Dunjonquest 1979 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Apple II games Atari 8-bit family games Atari ST games Classic Mac OS games Commodore 64 games Commodore PET games VIC-20 games Epyx games Fantasy video games Origins Award winners Role-playing video games Video games based on Egyptian mythology Video games developed in the United States Video games set in Egypt Video games with expansion packs Dungeon crawler video games Single-player video games