Eye of the Beholder on Commodore 64. Really.

After 16 years, the legendary PC game arrives on the C64 and 128! Let’s take a look at this highly anticipated port and the work that went into bringing it to life!
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00:00 Introduction
01:47 Setup
02:24 The Game
07:56 Dual Monitor
09:16 Development
10:42 Gameplay Features
14:08 Performance and Compatibility
15:43 Inspiration
17:18 Conclusion
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[@retrobitstv]

The game is now available here! eotb64.com/

[@JBOpie13]

Works with the MouSTer, by the way.

[@SashkAleX]

@@JBOpie13 thank you, sir. I was just wondering about it!

[@Isoquant]

This is unbelievable! They went all out and created a modern retro masterpiece with full mouse support, 2 Mhz support, dual monitor support, lovingly crafted graphics and audio that max out the system's capabilities, and retains the full complexity of the original title... I'm speechless!

[@ace942]

Never had a C64 (Had an Atari 800XL) but it is impressive that on such a small system they were able to create a very faithful recreation of Eye of the Beholder. Thanks for showing the game.

[@BadManiac]

This is... I'm speechless. This is incredibly impressive. A single Megahertz and 0.064MB RAM and it does this! Hang on, let me pick my jaw up off the floor...

[@rabarebra]

You do not realise that you can load another 64kb from a disk image, and another one, and another one, and another? What is so impressive?

[@X1L3]

@@rabarebra Where's yours?

[@rabarebra]

@@X1L3 There.

[@zacmussatt9267]

An important thing to keep in mind is that 6502 architecture is vastly different than x86. That 1ish MHz clock cycle is used a lot differently. In a way it’s more efficient than say an 8088. Arguably the c64 is a more powerful machine that an 8088 running at I believe around 4mhz.

[@demoman1596sh]

@@rabarebra Bitter for some reason?

[@st3ddyman]

That's an incredible achievement. It looks even more beautiful running on the C64.

[@Charles_Bro-son]

The more muted colour palette fits the dark sewers fantasy dungeon setting well.

[@tubejay1]

I never had a C64 or any Commodore, but I have to admit, the SID chip is freaking great. What a cool sounding chip. The raunchy distortion it produces is just so awesome and good sounding.

[@retrobitstv]

Completely unrelated to the game but there are some great SID tunes still being made. LukHash recently released a full album for the C64 (it's also on Spotify, etc.) that's amazing! kzbin.infoQgIVV-Zjnbg

[@Riva1000]

I started making games long time ago on 8bits, then Amiga, then 90s IBM PCs. I know all the tricks. But this, this is next level !

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

It warms my heart, truly, to see so much love and attention being given to retro systems nowadays, from our beloved C64 to the Atari 2600 and everything in between. This includes both hardware and software! It shows how much of an impact these old systems had on us when we were kids. Now that we have money to spend and time to burn, many of us have decided to make - or buy - these games for our own gratification. Awesome!

[@darkridearts]

I love it. Modern games are just not as interesting overall.

[@ArttuTheCat]

I played EYE OF THE BEHOLDER a lot on my Amiga 500, and the Commodore 64 version of this game looks amazing 😺👍.

[@datriaxsondor590]

Wow. If this game had been made back in era, it would've blown people's minds, including my own. XD It looks incredible for the C64. Props to everyone involved with this. Very, very nicely done.

[@archieil]

It'd cost $10k ;-)

[@Damaniel3]

This whole thing is pretty impressive, but that dual monitor C128 mode is super slick.

[@darkridearts]

I was legitimately shocked when he got to that part 😅

[@t0xcn253]

I'm SAYING

[@YourXavier]

3:35 That 3d turn is brilliant, considering the time.

[@shaolin95]

The c64...such a legend. Insane what some can do with it

[@fourthhorseman4531]

That is hands down one of the most amazing things I've ever seen! I would not have thought a port of this quality possible. Amazing!

[@cheater00]

What an amazing port. Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention.

[@LeftoverBeefcake]

Since we have such awesome hardware add-ons available for the C64 now, it's wonderful that people are taking advantage of them like this. I hope this trend continues!

[@luomotigre2803]

Holy moly...Getting my C64 fixed, now! Was superfan of this on Amiga back in the days...and I actually think it looks better in this color palette + there is automap!

[@space302]

I remember having a terrible outdated PC that could barely play anything anymore at that time, yet Eye Of the Beholder was running flawlessly on it, and had way more depth than I expected, I didn't even manage to finish it back then.

[@hooankee]

It looks like a 16 bits version. Amazing.😲

[@lauraiss1027]

The condition in which your monitors and console are and whole clean setup, is a sight to behold on it's own. Love when retro hardware is being looked after like that. Thank you!

[@charlesjmouse]

Speaking as a person of a certain age I have no nostalgia for the C=64 having not owned one BITD ...but I own one now because I am in to retro electronics and it has to be said development for this machine is more vibrant than any other platform - hence regular minor miracles like this. Very well done developers! (I'm finally going to have to build myself a cartridge solution it seems)

[@YoreHistory]

Just so absolutely stunning and nostalgic for this old Gen Xer to see his beloved C64 able to run a modern version of classic EOTB...what amazing work went into this.

[@kh2387]

I remember spending weeks on EOTB 1 and 2. Such awesome games. That intro brings back memories :) Having the map on a second screen would have made it so much easier :P

[@robintst]

I am utterly blown away by the quality of this port. Gotta be honest, I think I like the overall visual presentation of this more than any of the originals.

[@Murrlin27]

6:40 Fine! You attack the darkness!

[@TheLastLineLive]

Wow, this is super impressive, visually and audibly it's amazing and that dual monitor feature is mind blowing for such an old system.

[@earthlydescent]

When developers are given time and resources, the possibilities are endless.

[@ian_b]

To be fair, it's a double edged sword. It can also mean games that never come out whether commercially (Duke Nukem Forever) or particularly in the Kickstarter type scenario. Constraints do tend to mean products get delivered.

[@espressomatic]

Resources being the most important here. This game would not have been possible to make as a commercial product in the C64's production period for a few reasons. The most significant I believe is simply storage requirements for all the assets. Next is the intensive set of development requirements, that at the time of EoB's PC release, would have pushed a C64 port to an unsustainable budget - it would have been commercial suicide for a system past its prime even if the storage didn't make it an impossibility. This is a beautiful port done at a time where all the above (and more) concerns are simply non-issues. Non-commercial in nature, decades of experience doing things with the C64 that no one had time nor budget to explore when developing commercially in the 80's and products like EasyFlash (and compatible devices) offering cheap (and reusable) storage that weren't even a dream in 1991.

[@thecappeningchannel515]

@@espressomatic agreed. This could only work as a labor of love. Not a commercial product.

[@Virtualblueart]

I love how people keep doing amazing things with my favourite old beige breadbin. I would think things like this would be impossible if I didn't see it here.

[@t0xcn253]

Truly outstanding! With the addition of the second monitor map, I think this may really be the ideal way to play the game. Mind-blowing.

[@bennewnham4497]

I was there when it came out all those years ago. This game was amazing only bettered by the sequel. People have no idea how stunning this was in 1991 well before the era of VR and CoD. It was totally immersive.

[@m0nde]

Very thorough review, thanks for all of your work telling us about this amazing achievement. Super Mario Bros, Sonic and now this, I hope more ports like this come our way on the C64!

[@Szederp]

This is the first video I watch on your channel. (sry for my English I am Central Europe and I still live in Europe). Watching this video was a humbling experience. From one hand, as you mentioned, the amount of work done here is crazy, and on the other hand your video and humility also elevated my heart-rate. I am now 36 years old, I was around 7 when I got a C64. You know what? Well, you already know this but this system was fun not for so called "Gamers" ,as they are mentioned today, but it was enjoyed by the whole family. Back then I did not even know that a mouse existed for the C64, we used Datasette (magnetic tapes copied from tapes to tapes to tapes etc.). Thank you for this video. Keep this spirit alive. Greetings from Europe!

[@scality4309]

What country are you from if i may ask?

[@mbrochh82]

this is one of my earliest childhood memories. I was watching my dad play and my job was to draw a mini map on paper while he traversed the dungeon.

[@matthewweng8483]

Such a cool game. Westwood made some really cool stuff... I still play my PC version when I'm itching for a nostalgia fix.

[@carlchapman4053]

This was one on my all time favourites and my absolute best RPG until I got a PC and found Daggerfall but I still think of it even now, 30+ years later.

[@walterwalker2978]

your wizard looks like he's ready to attack the darkness if needed

[@steveleadbeater8662]

I'm always amazed at how well the old hardware is used. I'd have bought this back in the day. Astonishingly good, Andreas may be an alien.

[@bwgti]

Everyone in the comments saying how amazing this is seems like an overreaction. It is not. They have taken advantage of every c64/c128 trick and technique imaginable to produce a very, very nice version of this game. It’s the UI that gets me. This was always a huge shortcoming on the more involved c64 games. This version of the music is fantastic on the SID as well. Incredible work.

[@Darius12235]

hot damn I want more retro fantasy gaming content. This scratched my soul deeply and left me with an unquenchable thirst for more

[@nomorecontinues6564]

Excellent overview video, well done!

[@Virtualblueart]

I never would have expected this to be possible let alone look and play this well. Amazing!

[@TheRememdium]

Oh man! Me and my older brother played this, II and III to bits when we were young and it was a game that stuck with me so many years later, easily a favorite among many. What better game to bring back to life. Imagine having that dual screen with the map back in the day, would have been considered cheating back then. Great work on the re-texturing and everything else to everyone who was involved in this. And great video.

[@andrewloranger]

Wow - such an amazing feat getting this ported while making it look and feel true to the original. BRAVO!

[@marccram6584]

The artwork of the great Rick Parks who unfortunately passed away several years ago.

[@jubsy]

Absolutely brilliant. This is so impressive!

[@RetroGameStream]

Dang such a cool project and I really enjoyed how the video was presented. New fan right here!

[@gearsofgames]

This looks amazing! Supremely impressive work from the devs! Also didn't know the C128 had dual monitor output, this game certainly makes perfect use of that! 😁

[@ZZKJ396]

This would have been a monster hit back in the day, when there were millions of C64s too... these guys would have been millionaires.

[@EFreD-ed4ds]

Yes, because all the pirates from back in the day are also millionares.

[@DanLekin]

@@EFreD-ed4ds It would have been a cartridge game - not so easy to copy.

[@EFreD-ed4ds]

@@DanLekin What does that have to do with anything?

[@DanLekin]

@@EFreD-ed4ds It would have been sold pretty good, even back then when everyone had pirated games. I also had (and still have) a C64 with only a few original games, but if this game would have been this good, I would have considered to buy it and I think many people would had back then.

[@EFreD-ed4ds]

​@@DanLekin It would not have made them millionaires though. Not by a long shot. A cartridge game may be harder to copy, but I don't see how they would manage to distribute it to a large enough market back in the eighties.

[@keithbeard7133]

Truly, a labour of love and it certainly shows! Thanks for rasing awareness of this project RB!

[@youuuuuuuuuuutube]

Fantastic work. Shows you how much is possible with enough time and enough memory.

[@stewiedarkinvisibleid]

Unbelievable! Incredible! Back in the day, I played Dungeon Master and Eye of the Beholder 1-3 on Amiga. Those were the days!

[@stolz_ar]

Simply amazing. Great video!

[@DLeif-bk3ye]

Absolutely incredible.

[@L0wcash]

This level of quality, 2Mhz support, dual monitor support AND it's free to download?! I must be dreaming.. Amazing work from these coding gods!

[@fffUUUUUU]

You can always donate to show your support. But will ya?

[@L0wcash]

@@fffUUUUUU Sure will! But maybe there will be a dedicated cartridge version i'd like to buy..

[@MrMarianoamigo]

love c128 features

[@retro3188]

Awesome! I love this port!

[@terrylyn]

This game looks incredible.

[@shaunhall960]

This was my game back in the day! Incredible skill went into making this game. Thank you so much for doing this video!

[@rawberg_se]

Achievement unlocked - C64 Ninja Master Coder It's mindblowing!

[@BrettLevin4096]

That’s amazing. It looks beautiful and the dual monitor support is super rad.

[@Mysticsword]

Amazing! I love those old Commodore computers (Vic-20, C64 and Amiga, which I owned them all back in the day) and also much enjoyed such classic RPGs / Dungeon-Crawler types games as presented in this video. For this game to be on a C64, it's very impressive.

[@shanilmisra]

I cannot believe that I played this game on PC thirty years ago (yes thirty!!!) and even made a walkthrough for it back then. I see the walkthrough still survived (RIP to my hand-drawn maps though), and just reading it again after so many years made me smile. Back then a 'mouse' and the 'internet' were novelties, and it showed. Also I see the walkthrough has garbled characters, and even back then I must have used extended ASCII to draw lines and blocks and so on. Anyway, having owned a VIC-20 I am ASTOUNDED that this game has been released for C-64. Brings back so many fond memories both of the era of the home computer as well as the early days of PC games. Fast forwarding about 8 years through to Baldur's Gate, it shows how much the genre as well as PCs grew in such a short time. Long live this game and the fascination it brought me back then.

[@ridiculous_gaming]

When I first ran Dungeon Master on my ST in 1987, it was simply jaw dropping. Running Eye of the Beholder, which was an Amiga favorite, is inconceivable to imagine running well on an earlier 8 bit.

[@mattcole6230]

Just awesome! The developers must be overwhelmingly proud if this achievement!

[@ohioterran7374]

Wow! This is extremely impressive!

[@Ephmral]

I loved Eye of the beholder game. This, and years later, Morrowind, were huge moments in my gaming life.

[@agahnimous]

Wow, that is jawdroppingly impressive. Who would have thought this possible? Amazing work.

[@zosxavius]

This is a masterpiece. Seriously impressive work here.

[@Liquidcadmus]

This is incredible, makes you really wonder what the C64 is really capable of

[@mrr8702]

my mouth dropped on the automap on the 2nd monitor, woooow! super cool :)

[@TheGunnarRoxen]

That is gorgeous. What an achievement!

[@datassetteuser356]

Simply stunning. Can't wait to give it a go on my C128! 🤩👍

[@ScavengerFX]

This was a great video, thank you!

[@jovmilos]

This might be the best C128 game ever!

[@pw1169]

Thankyou for showing this in a CRT!!

[@Huddison]

This is an incredible achievement - time to dig out my C64!

[@jokerzwild00]

Holy crap. I tried to get into EotB so many times when I was a kid but I never had the patience to map for myself. With this setup I could finally finish the game. Amazing, thanks for showing this.

[@thecappeningchannel515]

You saved yourself much grief. EoB 1 is pretty much unmappable by hand. Especially with the resources of a kid. Illogical levels and lots of portals and pits. EoB 2 is more map friendly (and a lot easier).

[@tony92506]

WOW!! This is amazing!!

[@paolodea666]

I'm blown away. Absolutely speechless...

[@xenogearsmegadrive8499]

NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THIS WORK ! AWESOME !

[@CorrodedCoder]

I can't believe he utilised a second display on the C128 - I had never heard that was even possible!

[@toomanymodz]

Amazing work. I'll be buying the box set for sure!

[@exodous02]

Wow, this is amazing. Imagine going back in time with this game. I guess it wouldn't be possible with the cart, that kind of space just wasn't possible.

[@MirageDU]

That is just awesome. Imagine showing someone back than what can be achived on this mashine.

[@realmchat6665]

Wow, so cool and an amazing accomplishment.

[@DoctorMobius]

Dual screen gaming on a Commodore?! Incredible

[@alexandredevert4935]

This is mindbogglingly beautiful

[@scality4309]

Wow. What a project it is.

[@arcadesfreaktesco5423]

This port is incredible beyond belief. It's amazing how many things you can fit in 64kb of memory if you know what you are doing. Kudos to the developer.

[@codingwithculp]

Absolutely stunning. Love that one of the characters was named Galstaff.

[@glenndoiron9317]

I cast magic missile on the darkness.

[@Ryan-ok2ks]

I almost choked on my soup when I saw that

[@Mclaneinc]

It's not my sort of game, BUT you have to admire the level of work that has gone in to this, Amazing!!

[@gonzo3915]

This is truly remarkable, thanks for the video good Sir.

[@retrobitstv]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Charleshawn66]

OMG It is out!! It is so good!!!!! Just rewatched your video as a tutorial. TY again for the content!

[@Mortac]

This is just amazing!

[@fmichlick]

Looks amazing!

[@shireoryx6153]

That's incredible 👏

[@erwindewit4073]

Wow, that’s fantastic! I could theoretically connect 2 crt’s and it sound like a great game to try! And buy it if I like it.. (I did buy the Dungeon Master games, both for the Amiga and the PC)

[@WillCooper1]

That right screen gave me Sword of Fargaol vibes! 🙂

[@IndigoIndustrial]

This is an impressive achievement on many levels.

[@420glass]

I loved Tunnels of Doom on Ti 99