Star Saga One: Beyond the Boundary
| Star Saga | |
|---|---|
| File:Star-Saga-One.jpg Cover of Star Saga: One - Beyond The Boundary | |
| Genre(s) | Adventure/Role-playing |
| Developer(s) | Masterplay Publishing |
| Publisher(s) | Masterplay Publishing |
| Creator(s) | Andrew C. Greenberg, Rick Dutton, Walter Freitag, and Michael Massimilla |
| Platform(s) | Apple IIGS, Apple II, MS-DOS |
| Original release | 1988 (Star Saga: One) |
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Star Saga One: Beyond the Boundary is the first game in the Star Saga series.
Gameplay[edit]
Star Saga: One - Beyond The Boundary, released in 1988, was the first in a short-lived series of science fiction adventure/role-playing games by Masterplay Publishing. Loosely based on the Rekon pen & paper role-playing system,[1] the game series was designed by Andrew C. Greenberg (co-creator of Wizardry), Rick Dutton, Walter Freitag, and Michael Massimilla.[2] In this first title, players leave their homeworlds setting out to explore the vast unknowns of space. Per the official game text:
- In 2815 A.D., the majority of the human race is afraid of space. They are cloistered in the Nine Worlds (Earth and eight colonized planets) in a region called the Galactic Fringe. Even though space travel has been practical since the invention of the dual-axis hyperdrive in 2257, humankind's attempt to colonize "Beyond the Boundary" came to an abrupt halt in 2490. The "Space Plague," a gargantuan epidemic caused by an organism of alien origin, killed more than half the humanoid population of the galaxy, threatened the extinction of civilization, and forever changed mankind's attitude towards space.
- Now, a Space Patrol enforces the "Boundary," that one-way border around the Nine Worlds in order to prevent anything like the "Space Plague" from ever happening again. Now, anyone may leave the area enclosed by the Boundary, but they may not return.
- Thus far, the Boundary has proven effective in keeping ships from entering the Nine Worlds for three centuries, keeping humanity safe from the unknown. Of course, this does provide for a bit of stagnation, as well. After all, no new discoveries, no new challenges, and countless lost opportunities hardly seem compatible with a growing standard of living. Finally, there are those who sense that something is amiss...
The game includes 13 manuals, 6 character booklets, 2 maps, and a reference guide. [3]
Reception[edit]
Star Saga was hailed as being completely new and different from games which came before. The Computer Gaming World review of the first title summarizes this sentiment as "Star Saga: One - Beyond the Boundary is probably the most unique and well-written role-playing experience yet to appear in a computer game". The same reviewer noted that it was easy to lose track of time playing "just one more turn" due to the deep experiences provided by the game.[2] In 1989 the magazine gave Star Saga One a Special Award for Literary Achievement.[4] Compute! was less favorable, describing the game as "far more a social event than a computer game". The magazine stated that "it's lackluster without interaction" with other players, and described the user interface as "almost crude by today's standards".[5] Star Saga One: Beyond the Boundary was reviewed in 1989 in Dragon #142 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 31⁄2 out of 5 stars.[6] Tony Watson reviewed Star Saga: One - Beyond the Boundary in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 84.[7] Watson commented that "Through imaginative writing, an appreciation of SF, and an appropriate sense of humor (and Will McLean's illustrations help too), the designers have made the paragraph system work. Star Saga: One is simply a lot of fun ."[7]
Jeff Donahue for Family Computing said "Star Saga is light-years ahead of the "which-way" adventures."[8]
Reviews[edit]
- The Games Machine - Sep, 1989
- ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) - May, 1991
References[edit]
- ↑ Barton, Matt (2007-02-23), The History of Computer Role-Playing Games Part 2: The Golden Age(1985–1993), Gamasutra
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kritzen, William (August 1988), "The Stars... My Destiny", Computer Gaming World, 50, pp. 39–40
- ↑ "SEASON'S NEW COMPUTER GAMES UNDERGO A TEEN-AGER'S SCRUTINY". Washington Post. December 19, 1988. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Game of the Year Awards", Computer Gaming World, p. 8, October 1989
- ↑ Keiser, Gregg (August 1988). "Star Saga: One—Beyond the Boundary". Compute!. p. 60. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (February 1989), "The Role of Computers", Dragon (142): 42–51.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Watson, Tony (December 1988). "Space Gamer Reviews". Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer. World Wide Wargames (84): 26–27.
- ↑ "Family Computing Magazine Issue 61". September 30, 1988 – via Internet Archive.
External links[edit]
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