Dragonflight (video game)

Dragonflight is a 1990 role-playing video game developed and published by Thalion Software for the Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. The game started development in January 1987 by two German programmers Udo Fischer and Erik Simon.[3]

For the 2022 video game, see World of Warcraft: Dragonflight.

Dragonflight
Developer(s)Thalion Software[1]
Publisher(s)Thalion Software[1]
Designer(s)Erik Simon[2]
Programmer(s)Udo Fischer[2]
Artist(s)Erik Simon[2]
Composer(s)Jochen Hippel[2]
Platform(s)Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS
Release1990[2]
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

The game came with a 104-page novella that told the backstory of the game. Once abundant, the disappearance of magic and dragons has led to the world needing both to save humans, dwarves and elves from evil powers. The party consists of four characters: a human fighter, a human wizard, a dwarf fighter, and an elf all-rounder.[3] Their quest is to find the dragons and a number of magical items.[4]

Gameplay

The overworld is depicted from Ultima-style overhead view. The dungeons are in first-person perspective. When the turn-based combat starts the perspective changes to a sideview. Combat is played on a grid map and an overhead view of the battlefield is also displayed on screen.[3] The game is entirely controlled with a mouse.[5]

Reception

ST Format thought the plot was outdated and documentation awful but liked the non-linear aspect of the gameplay.[3] One Amiga Action reviewer said the gameplay is bland and unimaginative, another reviewer noted the combat as stiff and annoying. The difficulty was said to be too easy for RPG veterans.[4] The Australian Commodore and Amiga Review said the game is technically excellent and compared the game favorably to Legend of Faerghail, saying that Dragonflight has more depth and stronger storyline.[5] Aktueller Software Markt said Dragonflight is competitive with the Ultima series.[1] Play Time had trouble getting the DOS version to run on a VGA card and when it worked the graphics were poor and the sound annoying.[6]

By 1992, Dragonflight had sold 25,000 copies on all platforms, making it the best-selling game by Thalion Software at that time.[7]

References
  1. Oppermann, Torsten (May 1990). "Adventure Corner - Da rollt was Gewaltiges an!" (PDF). Aktueller Software Markt (in German). No. 5/90. Tronic-Verlag. pp. 102–104. Grafik: 9-10/12, Sound: 10/12, Story: 11/12, Atmosphäre: 10/12, Preis/Leistung: 10/12
  2. Thalion Software (1990). Sega Chess (Amiga). Thalion Software. Level/area: Credits screen. Erik Simon: graphics, gamedesign; Udo Fischer: program; Jochen Hippel: musik; (C) 1990 THALION
  3. Masterson, Sean (October 1990). "Leisure - Dragonflight". ST Format. No. 15. Future plc. p. 73.
  4. Johns, Doug; Mitchell, Andy; Simmons, Alex (December 1990). "Review - Dragonflight". Amiga Action. No. 15. Interactive Publishing Ltd.
  5. Kamikaze, Andy (February 1991). "Adventurers Realm - Dragonflight". The Australian Commodore and Amiga Review. Vol. 8, no. 2. Saturday Magazine Pty Ltd. p. 78.
  6. Borovskis, Thomas (March 1992). "Konvertierung - Dragonflight" (PDF). Play Time (in German). No. 3/92. Computec Verlag. p. 77.
  7. "Le petit coin desdemos". ST Magazine (in French). No. 57. SARL Pressimage. January 1992. pp. 132–135. ST: Quel est le nom du plus grand hit de Thalion? ES: Il s'agit de DragonFlight, qui s'est vendu en 25000 exemplaires, toutes versions confondues (ST, PC, Amiga).
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