Bloodwych

Bloodwych
Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Founded	1989; 37 years ago
Founder	Anthony Taglione, Philip Taglione
Successor	Hexx: Heresy of the Wizard
Headquarters	United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Richard Hewison (project manager)
Products	Bloodwych (video game)
Owner	Mirrorsoft, Walking Circles (IBM PC port)

Bloodwych is a dungeon-crawling RPG created for platforms including Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. The game's cover art was crafted by the acclaimed fantasy illustrator Chris Achilleos. Players assume the role of a Trazere champion who assembles up to three companions to explore dungeons, battle various monsters, and ultimately confront the sinister Zendick to expel the Lord of Entropy.

Development

Richard Hewison, Mirrorsoft’s project manager, provides an in-depth account of Bloodwych's creation in his piece "The Trazere Trinity".

The initial development started on the Commodore 64 during Anthony Taglione’s university days. Drawing inspiration from Dungeons & Dragons and early concepts by Pete James for a first-person strategy game resembling chess, the team was also influenced by FTL Games' Dungeon Master. Although they intended to produce a C64 version, licensing restrictions led them to pivot towards a two-player split-screen design initially named The Crystal Maze. After Channel 4 launched a show with the same title, the project was renamed Bloodwych.

Mirrorsoft became involved after observing the project’s advancement and decided to prioritize versions for 16-bit systems such as the Atari ST and Amiga. Anthony Taglione managed development on these 68000-based machines, while his brother Philip was responsible for the 8-bit editions on Amstrad and ZX Spectrum; Anthony also supported the Commodore 64 adaptation.

The box cover was entrusted to Chris Achilleos, who was given complete artistic autonomy. His depiction of a "crystal guardian" later became central to the game as The Lord of Entropy, appearing in Zendick’s tower during the final stage.

A separate IBM PC port was created by Walking Circles, featuring an original soundtrack by David Whittaker. However, this version suffered from numerous bugs that prevented players from completing the game.

Gameplay

Players select champions from four distinct classes: Warrior, Mage, Adventurer, or Thief (also called 'cutpurse'). Each class includes four characters tied to magical affinities identified by Red, Blue, Green, or Yellow colors. These hues represent specific spell categories: Green ('Serpent') focuses on physical abilities; Blue ('Moon') governs mental and illusionary powers; Red ('Dragon') controls fire and energy; and Yellow ('Chaos') relates to magic and entropy.

The game's structure features four Towers and corresponding Crystals that adhere to this color scheme. Equipping wands matching these colors amplifies spell potency, while rings and certain weapons also correspond with these elemental alignments.

A distinctive mechanic allows players to use preset medieval phrases during combat to converse briefly with merchants, allies, or enemies. Such interactions can sway party members’ attitudes, provoke adversaries, or negotiate better prices—such as reducing a longsword’s price from 10 gold pieces down to 6 or 7 by flattering a shopkeeper. This effect is enhanced when combined with the Beguile spell (a Blue/Moon magic typically cast by the character Megrim).

Demonstration Level

A customized version of the first-level map served as a demo and was included on the cover disk of issue 1 of ST Format magazine.

Expansion

An expansion titled Bloodwych: Data Disks Vol 1, also known as Bloodwych: The Extended Levels, was released for Atari ST and Commodore Amiga. This add-on introduced a feature allowing players to convert certain enemy creatures into allies. It required importing a saved file from the original game and presented tougher foes, recommending characters be at level 14 or higher. Characters below this threshold gained experience at an accelerated rate. Additionally, a complimentary hints booklet was provided to help players complete the initial dungeons before transferring their progress.

Reception

The IBM edition received criticism from Computer Gaming World for its subpar graphics but was lauded for its robust gameplay, making it a recommended choice for fans of dungeon exploration. CU Amiga-64 honored the game with a CU Screen Star, noting its more diverse gameplay compared to Dungeon Master and praising the presence of puzzles that could be logically unraveled.

Reviews

Jeux & Stratégie nouvelle formule #2

Hexx: Heresy of the Wizard

Psygnosis introduced Hexx: Heresy of the Wizard in 1994 as a follow-up to Bloodwych. This installment showcased enhanced visuals, a revised lineup of champions, and an expanded magic system, departing from the conventional grid-based movement typical of first-person party RPGs.

External links