''Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures'', also known as ''Unlimited Adventures'', or by the acronyms ''FRUA'' or ''UA'', is a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

originally released on March 17, 1993, by

Strategic Simulations Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) was a video game developer and video game publisher, publisher with over 100 titles to its credit from its founding in 1979 to its dissolution in 1994. The company was especially noted for its numerous wargames ...

, for the

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

and

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

Gameplay

''Unlimited Adventures'' is a construction kit for computer

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

s, and drew its content from the prior

Gold Box Gold box may refer to: * Decorative boxes made in gold *'' Gold Box'', a series of video games of 1988 to 1992 * Gold box (phreaking), a phreaking box to create a bridge between two telephone lines {{disam ...

engine games, with improved graphics. SSI's contract with

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

required the former to stop using the Gold Box engine, so the company released its development tools. Games created by users can be shared with other players who also own ''Unlimited Adventures''. As of 2022, the program still has an active community of users. The original game allowed the user to create

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

modules, some editing and renaming of

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

s and characters, and to import pictures and monster sprites. However, some art, such as walls, combat backdrops, and title screens, could not be changed in the unmodified game. Those limitations have been overcome by community-made mods. The availability of these mods has led to the creation of comprehensive "worldhacks", designed to allow the creation of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

adventures, among others. A program called "UASHELL" applies and manages these hacks and enables the player to apply them. The fanmade game design program ''Dungeon Craft'' (originally called ''UA Forever'') is a standalone program that partially emulates ''FRUAs engine, but with a greater ease of user modification.

Compilations

''Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures'' is included in the compilation "The Forgotten Realm Archives - Collection Two".

Reception

SSI sold 32,364 copies of ''Unlimited Adventures''. ''

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 ...

'' in 1993 called it "the best adventure-construction kit available" despite the "sorely lacking" Gold Box engine. According to

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...

in 2004, although "the game's graphics were poor ..and using the tools could be a little complicated, ''Unlimited Adventures'' was an excellent tool for budding RPG designers".

References

External links

*
The FRUA & Dungeon Craft Community Forums
The Unofficial FRUA/Dungeon Craft Forum for Module Designers and Players
The Magic Mirror
The largest FRUA resource online
Dungeon Craft at SourceforgeDungeon Craft at The Ironworks
{{Dungeons & Dragons video games 1993 video games Classic Mac OS games DOS games Forgotten Realms video games Gold Box Role-playing video games Strategic Simulations games Tactical role-playing video games Video game development software Video games developed in the United States Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender Video games scored by George Sanger Video games with oblique graphics Video games with user-generated gameplay content