Tower of Doom

INTELLIVISION CARTRIDGE [INTV #8600]

Release 1987

Started as ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS TOWER OF MYSTERY Cartridge [Mattel Electronics #4692]

AKA: D&D III, Arcade D&D, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS REVENGE OF THE MASTER Cartridge

Finished by Realtime Associates for INTV Corp.

Design/Program: Dan Bass, John Tomlinson

Graphics: Monique Lujan-Bakerink, Connie Goldman, Karl Morris

Music/sound effects: David Warhol, Joshua Jeffe

Package composite photograph: Ultimatte Corporation


Instructions Posted Here

MATTEL CATALOG DESCRIPTION (1984 CES)

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS™ TOWER OF MYSTERY (working title)

Stuck on top of the Tower of Mystery, you must preserve your strength and protect the treasure as you attempt to escape.

Find treasure in the mazes of the tower! Symbols and messages help you!

CATALOG DESCRIPTION (INTV 1987 SPECIAL EDITION)

Monsters. Magic. Good. Evil. Strength. Cunning. Traps. Mazes. You are about to face the greatest challenge any mortal has ever known -- the Tower of Doom.

The Tower of Doom. Treasure and glory are yours...if you can escape...ALIVE!

  • Discover what powers your treasure possess! Be careful! Some can cause you great harm!
  • Requires quick reflexes and quicker wits -- some monsters can only be defeated in battle, others must be bribed with treasure!
  • Select one of 10 characters! Different characters have different abilities to fight, bargain, and endure! You must make the most of your character's skills!
  • Select one of 10 adventures! Some require more strength, some require more brains! Choose a tower where the mazes are always the same, or a tower where the mazes are different every time you enter!
  • Explore winding corridors! Collect magical treasures! Battle vile monsters! Escape perilous traps!

For one player

A dragon blocks the way! Prepare to fight for your survival!

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

With the success of the first Dungeons & Dragons cartridge, Marketing wanted a continuing series of D&D games. They were a bit concerned that the second release, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS TREASURE OF TARMIN Cartridge, was a bit too complex, so when adding a third D&D game to the schedule, they took to calling it Arcade D&D. "Arcade" was their code word for more action, less brains.

After completing Loco-Motion, Dan Bass took up the challenge of defining what Arcade D&D would be. He designed a screen layout with scrolling text instructions that made the game easy to follow, but would still allow the complex, strategic play that D&D fans expected. Battle scene close-ups provided the action Marketing wanted.

A limited demo of the game appeared at one trade show with the name ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS REVENGE OF THE MASTER Cartridge (once again, the bizarre capitalization and inclusion of the word "cartridge" in the title was demanded by contract), but by the time it appeared in Mattel Electronics catalogs it had been renamed ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS TOWER OF MYSTERY Cartridge.

The game was only half-completed when Mattel Electronics closed its doors in January 1984. Over two years later, INTV Corp. expressed an interest in releasing it. Dan, working full-time in Massachusetts by this time, was not available to finish it, so John Tomlinson (Mission X) was hired for the job. Connie Goldman (Thunder Castle) completed the graphics started at Mattel by Monique Lujan-Bakerink and Karl Morris.

Not wanting to pay for the Dungeons & Dragons license, INTV released the cartridge in early 1987 under the new name, Tower of Doom.

Mattel Electronics had planned M Network Atari 2600 and Apple versions of the game, but little or no work was done on either.


EASTER EGG: Press 0 (zero) on either hand controller while the title screen is displayed to see game credits.