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Castle of the Winds (Version 0.5.4A)

by: Rick Saada

Publication date: 1991-01-24

Topics: Windows 3.x games, Game prototypes

Language: English

Castle of the Winds

Copyright (c) 1989-1990 by Rick Saada

This game is not a Microsoft application. It has been developed entirely without the use of Microsoft resources or equipment. This pre- release version is provided for the enjoyment of Microsoft Employees ONLY! Please do not distribute it beyond the corporate campus.

Castle of the Winds is a Windows based graphical adventure game. While still in the early stages of development, enough of the game is implemented to make a great waste of time. The current object of the game is to explore the dungeons below the city, killing the foul monsters that lurk there, and gathering the money and magical treasure to be found. You are on a quest to retrieve the Crown of Storms, a potent artifact to be found on the deepest level of the dungeon. Castle of the Winds is loosely based on Dungeons and Dragons, and draws much inspiration from such character based adventure games as Larn, Rogue, and Moria. The Windows graphical interface, however, provides the opportunity for a much richer game

Build 0.5.4A
------------
This version will load 0.5.4 files.
Two Bug Fixes:
1.     Phase Door no longer risks a UAE. I had a signed/unsigned conversion
    error in my limit checking, and it was letting you jump outside the
    dungeon!
2.    Exit, Prompt for Save, Say Yes, now correctly exits after the save.

Addeddate: 2017-06-23 19:41:44

Identifier: W3CASTLE

Scanner: Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1.6.3

Year: 1991

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Reviewer: HippieRabbitFish - - August 28, 2017
Subject: Early version of a classic!

I stumbled upon a pre-release version of Castle of the Winds many, many years ago, and I don't recall if it was through a dial-up BBS or through AOL. Regardless, it was my introduction to the "roguelike" genre, long before I understood what Rogue or NetHack were.

It wasn't too complex, and provided a solid challenge to beginners and hardcore players. Being able to save before any event and restore at-will ("save scumming" is the term the Roguelike community uses) made it hard to stand by the hardcore mentality. Some of us have more willpower than others!

I always wanted to see further versions or expansions or mods added on to the game (see "Unlimited Adventures" by SSI for AD&D for comparison to what I would have hoped). For a Windows point-and-click interface, it was revolutionary to me, and no roguelike since was as easy to pick up and play.

I'm so pleased it is archived for posterity!

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