''The Warlock of Firetop Mountain'' is an

action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform gam ...

published by

Crystal Computing Crystal Computing, later renamed Design Design, was a British video game developer founded in 1982 by Chris Clarke and Ian Stamp while students at the University of Manchester. Graham Stafford, Neil Mottershead, Simon Brattel and Martin Horsley, j ...

in 1984 for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It is loosely based on the adventure gamebook of the same name (the first in the ''

Fighting Fantasy ''Fighting Fantasy'' is a series of single-player role-playing gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volume in the series was published in paperback by Puffin in 1982. The series distinguished itself by mixing Choo ...

'' series) written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and published by Puffin Books in 1982. The game was sold both as a regular cassette-only release and as a "software pack" edition that included a copy of the original ''Fighting Fantasy'' title at a higher price point.

Gameplay

As a third-person arcade adventure game, the player takes the role of an adventurer on a

quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...

to find the treasure of a powerful warlock, hidden deep within Firetop Mountain. The treasure is stored in a chest with fifteen locks, with the keys guarded by various monsters (e.g. orcs, slime moulds and spiders) in the dungeons of Firetop Mountain. The adventurer (equipped with a bow and a sword) must attempt to retrieve the keys, with an added feature (over the game's predecessor, ''

Halls of the Things ''Halls of the Things'' is a video game developed by Design Design for the ZX Spectrum and released by Crystal Computing in 1983. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64. The player travels through seven floors of a tower, searching f ...

'') being the ability to open and close doors to block the path of pursuing monsters. Gameplay varies with each new game as the maze is

randomly generated In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated assets and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. In ...

Development

''The Warlock of Firetop Mountain'' was announced in issue two of ''Micro Adventurer'' magazine, which published a feature on the expansion of Penguin Books children's imprint

Puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

into the science fiction software market with the video game ''The Warlock of Firetop Mountain'', hoping to emulate the success of the book title. The game was announced as the first in the "Puffin Personal Computer Collection" line together with three other unrelated titles (based on science fiction titles by author Peter K. McBride). Puffin contracted

, who had developed the fantasy game ''

'', to create the game. Game designer simon Brattel stated "We ended up doing it quite by accident — we simply bumped into Steve Jackson, one of the authors of the book, in Currys one day — we got talking, he came back and looked at ''Halls'' and liked it." According to hidden text within the game's code the developers only had three weeks to complete the project. The Peter Andrew Jones artwork for the original title was used for the video game cover. Puffin Books briefly continued the trend of adapting the ''Fighting Fantasy'' titles into video games, with early titles ''

The Citadel of Chaos ''The Citadel of Chaos'' is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by Russ Nicholson. Originally published by Puffin Books in 1983, the title is the second gamebook in the ''Fighting Fantasy'' series. It was ...

'' and ''

The Forest of Doom ''The Forest of Doom'' is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Ian Livingstone, and illustrated by Malcolm Barter. Originally published by Puffin Books in 1983, the title is the third gamebook in the ''Fighting Fantasy'' series, and the f ...

'' being released for the ZX Spectrum 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 ...

respectively.

Reception

''ZX Computing'' described the game as simply a "variation" of ''Halls of the Things'', but praised the inclusion of the book as it encouraged children to read.Booked!, ''ZX Computing'', issue 4, p.119, Argus Specialist Publications Ltd, April/May 1984 ''Micro Adventurer'' also commented on the similarities, stating that "it is so similar that it would be pointless buying both games".''The Warlock of Firetop Mountain'' review, ''Micro Adventurer'', issue 4, p.24, Sunshine Books, February 1984 '' CRASH'' magazine criticized the control scheme (the number of control keys and the developer's decision to use the horizontally adjacent N and M keys to move the player's character up and down) but also claimed the game less difficult and confusing, and with better graphics.''The Warlock of Firetop Mountain'' review, '' CRASH'', issue 1, p.13, Newsfield Publications Ltd, February 1984 ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' expressed disappointment that the game had little resemblance to the original ''Fighting Fantasy'' title.A Thing is a Thing is a Thing, ''

'', issue 29, p.151,

EMAP Ascential plc, formerly EMAP, is a British business-to-business media business specialising in exhibitions & festivals and information services. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Ric ...

, March 1983

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Warlock of Firetop Mountain 1984 video games Crystal Computing games Europe-exclusive video games Fighting Fantasy Single-player video games Video games about witchcraft Video games based on novels Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games ZX Spectrum-only games