A short play of Thomas G. Hanlin III's Caverns of Zoarre, released as freeware for IBM PCs in 1984.
Hanlin's inspiration came from Daniel Lawrence's 1982 title, Telengard, and the game was initially developed for the TRS-80 as Dungoen of Mirador but as the interest in the TRS-80 quickly faded it remained incomplete and unpublished. Hanlin turned to the IBM PC and spent the better part of a year completing what would become Caverns of Zoarre.
Caverns of Zoarre was released as freeware but Hanlin offered up his support, and a 20-page manual describing the game and its mechanics, for $25.
Caverns of Zoarre is a text-based roguelike dungeon crawl with simple role-playing elements, similar to those found in Telengard, which was derived from Dungeons & Dragons.
You can only choose between two classes, Fighter or Sorcerer, as you dive down into the dungeons. As the game doesn't offer any new weapons or upgrades as you play, the role of Sorcerer offers a bit more varied gameplay, using a small selection of spells.
Enjoy and please remember to visit my blog at https://www.retro365.blog where I post new articles every month.
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