The Bard's Tale Construction Set
A 1991 dungeon crawl game creation system for Amiga and MS-DOS.
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Released in 1991 by Interplay Productions and distributed by Electronic Arts, The Bard's Tale Construction Set is a tool for building dungeon-crawl games using the engine from the original Bard's Tale series. It ran on the Amiga and MS-DOS. A key difference from similar engines was that players didn't need to own the Construction Set itself to run games made with it, and designers could add custom title screens. This made it easy to share and distribute homemade games, and several freeware and shareware titles were created and released with the system.
The software came with a sample scenario called Star Light Festival, meant for learning and play. It takes place in the worn-down village of Isil Thania, where a group of adventurers has come to see the annual Star Light Festival—a night when an eerie starbeam turns darkness into daylight. While waiting at the Rainbow Bar, a small, twisted man leads them into the sewers (which reuse maps from the original Bard's Tale), and from there the party embarks on a quest through various city locations, eventually uncovering the hidden truths behind the Star Cult and the town itself.
Several companies released commercial games built with the program. VisionSoft's Alex Ghadaksaz produced The Bard's Quest, a three-part series for PC in 1994. Flying Buffalo Inc. offered The Buftale, a game based on the company's own offices and employees.
In a 1992 review in Dragon #183, the Lessers gave the program 5 out of 5 stars. Computer Gaming World's Scorpia noted the limited number of graphics and damage spells but still recommended it to anyone interested in designing their own computer role-playing games.
Feargus Urquhart, who later founded Black Isle Studios and Obsidian Entertainment, worked as a play tester on The Bard's Tale Construction Set.
Lore & Background
The Bard's Tale Construction Set was developed by Interplay Productions in 1991 and distributed by Electronic Arts. It was released for the Amiga and MS-DOS platforms. A sample scenario titled Star Light Festival was included with the software, set in the rundown village of Isil Thania, where adventurers attend the annual Star Light Festival and eventually uncover secrets behind the Star Cult. The sewers in this scenario reused maps from the original Bard's Tale game.
Various companies created commercial games using the program, including The Bard's Quest, a three-part series by Alex Ghadaksaz of VisionSoft (PC, 1994), and The Buftale by Flying Buffalo Inc., based on the company's offices and employees. Feargus Urquhart served as a play tester for the Construction Set and later founded Black Isle Studios and Obsidian Entertainment.
Reader's Guide
The Bard's Tale Construction Set holds significance as an early accessible game creation tool that allowed users to design and distribute their own dungeon crawl games without requiring players to own the construction set itself. This feature encouraged a community of creators, leading to a number of freeware and shareware titles. Its inclusion of a sample scenario, Star Light Festival, provided a ready-made example for learning. Commercial games like The Bard's Quest and The Buftale demonstrated the system's use beyond hobbyists.
Reception was mixed: Computer Gaming World's Scorpia criticized the limited graphics and damage spells but recommended it for aspiring RPG designers, while Dragon magazine's reviewers gave it 5 out of 5 stars. The involvement of future industry figure Feargus Urquhart as a play tester adds to its legacy. The system remains notable as an early example of user-generated content in video games.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Bard's Tale Construction Set?
It is a 1991 game-creation tool that lets users build their own first-person dungeon-crawl adventures using the engine from the original Bard's Tale series. Rather than being a playable game itself, it functions as an authoring kit for designing custom scenarios.
What platforms could The Bard's Tale Construction Set run on?
It was released for two platforms: the Amiga and MS-DOS. No other systems received an official version.
More in First-person party-based dungeon crawler video games
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: The Bard's Tale Construction Set (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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