THE MAKING OF Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Pool of Radiance
IN THE KNOW
PUBLISHER: STRATEGIC SIMULATIONS INC
DEVELOPER: STRATEGIC SIMULATIONS INC
RELEASED: 1988
PLATFORM: COMMODORE 64, APPLE II, PC, NES, VARIOUS
GENRE: ROLE-PLAYING GAME
DEVELOPER HIGHLIGHTS
PANZER GENERAL
SYSTEM: PC, VARIOUS
YEAR: 1994
REALMS OF DARKNESS
SYSTEM: APPLE II, C64, VARIOUS
YEAR: 1987
SOUTHERN COMMAND (PICTURED)
SYSTEM: APPLE II
YEAR: 1981
You wouldn’t think it today, but there was once a time The concept of a Dungeon Master was just too much for any programmed AI. Even if someone could have wrangled a computer into running a game, things like dialogue with NPCs, maps, notes, and the many classes and spells were all just too much for the hardware of the Eighties. It’s for this reason that we’ll always be in awe of Strategic Simulations Inc’s Pool Of Radiance. While it wasn’t the first D&D game, it was the first to capture the D&D rules properly, paving the way for classics like Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights, not to mention introducing a swarm of gamers to the Forgotten Realms.
