Dungeon Keeper Gold
Jordan Tucker
Dungeon Keeper is a strategy video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and released by Electronic Arts in June 1997 for MS-DOS and Windows 95. In Dungeon Keeper, the player builds and manages a dungeon, protecting it from invading 'hero' characters intent on stealing accumulated treasures, killing monsters and ultimately the player's demise. The ultimate goal is to conquer the world by destroying the heroic forces and rival dungeon keepers in each realm. A character known as the Avatar (resembling the Avatar from Ultima VIII: Pagan) appears as the final hero. Dungeon Keeper uses Creative Technology's SoundFont technology to enhance its atmosphere. Multiplayer with up to four players is supported using a modem, or over a local network.
Dungeon Keeper took over two years to develop, and an expansion pack, a Direct3D version, and a level editor were released. Midway through development, lead developer Peter Molyneux decided to leave Bullfrog when the game was complete, which was the motivation for its success. Versions for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation were in development, but cancelled. The game received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the uniqueness and depth. Dungeon Keeper was re-released on GOG.com in 2011, Origin in 2016, and Steam in 2024. A fan-made mod, KeeperFX, was released, which fixes bugs and adds features. Dungeon Keeper was followed by a sequel, Dungeon Keeper 2, in 1999, and influenced games such as Lego Rock Raiders and Ghost Master.
The player constructs and manages a dungeon, recruiting and catering for minions to run it and defend it from enemy invaders.[1][2] The primary method of control is the hand, used to pick up creatures and objects in the dungeon, carry them around, and drop them. The hand allows the player to 'slap' creatures and objects, and interact with them.[3] Dungeon Keeper's gameplay exemplifies a dark sense of humour.[4]
The Dungeon Heart represents the Keeper's link to the world. If it is destroyed, the player loses.[5] Along with the heart, the player begins with a small number of imps, the generic work force for dungeon activities: they dig tunnels into the surrounding soil, capture enemy rooms and Portals, mine gold and gems, and set traps. Imps are obtained by using the Create Imp spell.[6] Slapping creatures forces them to work faster temporarily, but removes some of their health.[7] Gold is obtained primarily by digging Gold Seams, and Gem Seams provide an unlimited supply, though take longer to accumulate. Gold is used to build rooms, cast spells, and train creatures.[1][8][9] To order the imps to dig a tile, the player need flag the tile.[10] Throughout the game, a "mentor" will advise the player as to various happenings and problems within the dungeon, as a sinister voiceover.[11]
Once the Imps are working, the player must then set up a basic infrastructure: Lairs for monsters, a Hatchery (where chickens, which serve as food, are grown), and a Treasury. After connecting the dungeon to a 'Portal', minions will arrive. Minions include dragons, warlocks, and the horned reaper, as well as undead creatures such as vampires and skeletons.[1] As the game progresses, the player moves along a technology tree, unlocking further rooms and spells.[8] Rooms can only be built on tiles belonging to the player.[10] The player is red and the tiles are coloured accordingly. Other keepers have different colours, and the heroes are white. Unaligned creatures and rooms are multicoloured.[12] The player can build traps and doors, created in the workshop. Traps include lightning and boulder traps, the latter instantly killing creatures it comes into contact with. As with rooms, they can only be built on tiles that belong to the player. Traps are not built instantly; Imps need to place them on the blueprint.[8][13] The Temple is a room where creatures are made happy, and the player can sacrifice creatures to the dark gods. The gods may reward or punish the player, or be indifferent depending on the sacrifice.[1][5]
The dungeon has a fleshed-out ecology: certain creatures are natural enemies. For example, Flies and Spiders are often found at odds with one another.[8] Common behaviours when a creature is angry include vandalising the dungeon and deserting the player.[8] The creatures are varied in their statistics; some excel at certain tasks, and others refuse to perform certain tasks. Which creatures enter the dungeon depends on which rooms the player has and how large they are; most creatures have prerequisites for entering service.[8] Creatures require paying regularly, and when 'Payday' comes, will head for the Treasure room to collect their wages.[14] Other ways to obtain creatures include imprisoning and torturing them, 'scavenging' (persuaded to defect to the player) from enemy keepers, and performing certain sacrifices at the Temple.[5][8] Creatures entering via the Portal are at the lowest experience level, and must gain experience, usually by training in the training room. Training creatures increases their attributes (such as hit points) and abilities (such as which spells they can cast).[8] Such spells include lightning bolts, rebounding projectiles, and increasing armour.[8][15] Creatures will frequently enter combat with heroes or creatures belonging to another keeper. Each creature has a star of the colour of the keeper it belongs to above it, displaying its experience level. The star is a health meter; as a creature takes damage, the spikes turn black.[16] The player has the ability to possess a creature, seeing the dungeon from its first-person perspective and using its attacks and abilities. This is one of the spells; others include speeding creatures up, and healing them.[8][17]
A world map is available and, at the beginning, the player is allocated one of the twenty regions of a fictional, idyllic country to destroy. As the player progresses through these regions, each representing a level, the areas previously conquered will appear ransacked, twisted, and evil.[1] The goals for each level are straightforward: they generally fall along the lines of eliminating the heroic force or destroying all other Dungeon Keepers.[8] The first few levels are tutorials, teaching the player the basics.[1] Special items are hidden throughout certain levels. Such items perform actions such as increasing the player's creatures' experience level, or revealing the map. They can reveal a hidden level, where the player must perform a specific task, and is rewarded upon completion.[8]
Heroes will appear at various points and times, sometimes accompanied by a tunneller dwarf, who, like imps, are able to dig.[18] The dungeon can be protected from being breached by having the imps fortify the walls.[10] Heroes include giants, wizards, and samurai warriors.[1] Most levels have a 'Lord of the Land', a heavily armoured knight, who must be defeated.[1][19] In the final level, the Avatar (resembling the Avatar from Ultima VIII),[1][20] the most powerful hero, appears as the Lord of the Land, and is resurrected after being defeated. He must be defeated again when he reappears with a large army.[1][8]
Dungeon Keeper was developed by Bullfrog Productions under Peter Molyneux, who wrote the game design, testbed, and the computer players and assistant.[8] In an interview, Molyneux explained that he came up with the ideas for Dungeon Keeper while sitting in a traffic jam, and become so engrossed in them that when the traffic had moved, he did not notice.[8] Bullfrog's chairman Les Edgar stated that the intention was to use the Dungeons & Dragons theme with "slightly weird Bullfrog humour".[22] Programmers Simon and Dene Carter also said Dungeon Keeper is a parody.[23] Dungeon Keeper is a simulation game because Molyneux viewed the villain's duty as a management exercise.[24]
Development began in November 1994 by the lead programmer, Simon Carter, and took two and a half years to develop.[8] The game used the engine for Magic Carpet, and the first version was merely scrolling around a map and entering third-person.[25] The engine was built by Glenn Corpes.[26] Molyneux then developed a 2D prototype containing features that made it into the final game. The prototype focused on constructing the dungeon, and included the Treasure room, Hatchery, Training room, and Dungeon Heart. The characters were designed by the artist, Mark Healey.[25]
The navigation system proved difficult to develop because computers of the time lacked power. Artificial intelligence was considered crucial, as the navigation and other aspects relied on it. According to co-designer Jonty Barnes, the team wanted the creatures complex without high computational costs. Healey came up with the idea of slapping creatures to make them work faster, and Barnes considered it a "great game decision".[25] A great deal of time was spent working on the user interface, and at one point the idea of having no interface was considered.[25] Carter stated that the team tried to make the sounds atmospheric and industrial so players got a sense of power. Using others' 3D sound routines proved troublesome, so he and his colleague Tony Cox wrote their own.[23] Dungeon Keeper uses lighting algorithms used in Magic Carpet, which provided effects such as fireballs lighting corridors.[27]
According to Molyneux, in May 1995 publisher Electronic Arts told him he had to ship Dungeon Keeper in six and a half weeks. Though he satisfied their demands by producing another game, Hi-Octane, in the required time frame, his relationship with the publisher was strained.[28]
Development on the level editor began in May 1995. The first-person view was developed in September 1995, and the creatures had shadows added, which was believed impossible at the time.[8] Around that time, Barnes left the project to complete a degree at the University of East Anglia, and returned in July 1996.[8][25] In November 1995, Barrie Parker began writing levels, and developed content for the script language.[8] Bullfrog tried to get a version out for Christmas 1995: it was originally scheduled for release in November 1995, and Molyneux, until September, believed that it would be ready by Christmas.[8][29] He explained that it was mostly complete, but wanted to make sure that it was "absolutely brilliant".[29] It was then the development team realised the game should focus on a living world created by the player.[8] A December 1995 PC Zone preview reported a feature that would have let the computer take control of the player's dungeon after logging out of an internet multiplayer game.[30]
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