1998 was perhaps one of the best for video games. Ocarina of Time, Half -Life and Resident Evil 2 came out for twelve months – and this is only some of them. Published on April 30, 1998, Might and Magic 6: The Mandate of Heaven is 25 years old.
In Might and Magic 6, you fall into the world of Enrrot as a party of four whose hometown is destroyed "devils". However, the path to revenge is blocked by the medieval equivalent of the United Nations, which you must pacify in order to gain access to the mysterious oracle. The secret of victory over "devils", As it turned out, it is in the lasers. Lasers. Big lasers.
"I started playing computer games in college. Ultima and Wizardry were my two favorite games at that time, but I also played a lot of board games, as well as Dungeons & Dragons", – Said designer John Van Kanegem on the occasion. "Might and Magic was my desire to make a game with everything that I liked in board games, combined with what the computer did well".
As a result, a series with an unprecedented scope and nonlinearity that gives the players the opportunity to scratch the itching of fantasy, even when their group d&D could not get together. This gave the level of freedom, which only increased as the series developed.
"Much of what we now perceive for granted, then it was new", – Paul Rattner, who worked several roles on the series and as a designer over Might and Magic 6. "With each new release [Might and Magic], new technologies were constantly emerging that allowed us to do much of what we could not do before".
3DO purchased New World Computing in 1996, and Might and Magic joined the jump in the industry to 3D.
Since at that time the 3D darts had all responsibility for rendering on the central processor, "This created many problems for everything in the game, and when developing, I had to go to what was possible to maintain the frequency of personnel and memory", – explains Van Kanegem. "I am still amazed that we managed to do this, but for that time, I think, we have achieved something special".
For players of that time "Special" it was precisely this word. The consoles may have ruled the ball in most families, especially with the release of Nintendo 64, but many of us first felt the potential of computer role -playing games thanks to Might and Magic 6. An extensive, colorful world, devoid of an isometric perspective and "Stop start" The gameplay of many CRPGs of that time, in Might and Magic 6, was created in the first person with real freedom of movement.
It was a undoubted step forward compared to The Secret of the Inner Sanctum, written on Apple II, when Van Kanegem studied at the University of California. In just ten years, the series has gone from battles, based exclusively on the text, up to 3D realeization in real time. Productivity was facilitated by a mixture of polygonal and spree graphics, which was surprisingly well preserved. And all this was reinforced by the soundtrack written by Steve Buck, Paul Romero and Jennifer Wang, who is a symbol of how durable the music of the video game of the 80s and 90s remains.
"I think, – added Van Kanegem, – "Might and Magic 6 is a milestone for a series and an important milestone in computer RPG".
Thanks to the abundance of loot, weapons and spells, as well as dungeons that were larger and richer than most Skyrim, Might and Magic 6 caves did not seem to have restrictions on what the player could do where he could go and how he played and how he played. In many respects, Might and Magic 6, probably, came closest to the feeling of playing in the campaign D&D, not getting D20. She never drove you to the path with an insurmountable complexity, did not push to pass through the limiting narrative. It was a rare video game that inspired the imagination even for that time, and in the freedom inherent in Might and Magic 6, there are several lessons that modern role -playing games could adopt.
"For many people of the Might and Magic game, they became fundamental, like any art that you have encountered in youth", – Says Rattner. "I feel the same in relation to some other games that I played at that time".
Van Kanegem, for his part, is glad that the fun continues even for so long after the release of the game.
I am very proud of what we have achieved, and I am very glad to hear what people like today! Wow, 25 years old, it’s amazing.