Temple of Apshai Trilogy (HQ Remix) - Title
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Originally released in 1979, 'Donjonquest' was made by a company called Automated Simulations. They would go on to release their most famous game a year later, in 1980, under their new name -- Epyx. That game was 'Rogue'. Rogue-like (or Rogue-lite, for systems that have lighter RPG systems) is the name we still use to define games with RPG features and (usually) permadeath in a dungeon crawling adventure.
The Temple of Apshai Trilogy is a 1985 remake of the original Donjonquest games that featured improved graphics and music. Today, you'd probably list this a Rogue clone, but the fact is that it's the other way around.
Temple of Apshai Trilogy is 3 games in one: Temple of Apshai, Upper Reaches of Apshai, and Curse of Ra. It was ported to many of the early computers of the time: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh, Thomson MO5/MO6, and Thomson TO7/TO9.
The game itself was advertised as a Real Time RPG, but it was actually more of a hybrid turn-based/real-time RPG. You could choose the interval at which the monsters would keep acting even if you did nothing.
Gameplay featured the ability to move (via keyboard) in walking speeds 1-9, with faster speeds incurring more fatigue. When you hit 0 fatigue, you were forced to rest in order to move again, making it a familiar story of resource management that you still see in rogue-like games today. Unlike Rogue, however, Temple of Apshai Trilogy's dungeons were fully designed, not randomly generated.
Due to limitations of early computers, this game featured numbered rooms that were listed with detailed descriptions (including sights, smells, in the manual. This also served as a basic form of copy-protection. This method of using descriptions in the manual would become a staple for SSI's Gold Box series, and was also featured in Wasteland (1).
Temple of Apshai (1979) was the first game. It featured over 200 rooms with no set goal beyond exploration and improving your character.
Upper Reaches of Apshai (1981) had 4 levels, including one for beginners, and took on a sillier tone.
Curse of Ra (1982) took on an Egyptian theme, had 4 levels and around 180 rooms, and was more difficult.
Another fun historical tidbit is it was Westwood Studios who ported the Temple of Apshai Trilogy to 16-bit computers. They added mouse support and in-game room descriptions from the manual.
Original score by (Unknown - if you know, tell us!) ©1985
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