The Shack Remembers: Dungeon Master! The 1987 FTL classic for the Atari ST

[@Mike011972]

Every time the disk drive started to spin while playing the game had you convinced something nasty was about to happen.

[@MacMelmac]

Oh I had forgotten that! That made the heart rush!

[@jaysmith2858]

It was possible to tell what area of the game was being loaded based on the sound the disk drive was making.

[@DymondMatt]

I recall reading an interview with the developers that this was only to scare players, the whole floor was already stored in memory..

[@ncjunkgoian]

The disk spin! gave me heart palpitations 😆

[@thegamesninja3119]

Each time the cassette player STOP making noise while loading, I worried. 🥷

[@kristoferstoll587]

I'll never forget Dungeon Master and my first day with it. I was 11 years old and took a Bus to the local Mall to purchase it. I remember reading the box and manual on the Bus trip home and the excitement I had. And best of all, I remember being blown away with how immersive the game was and how it didn't only not fall short of my hugely inflated expectations but fully surpassed them! Truly in my top 3 games of all time list. I loved that time in gaming and cherish the memories of my beloved Atari ST. Edit: I also wanted to give a shout out to the Devs. and that haunting coin they included in the box... I remember it said something like "Danger, thus reveals it's face" and had a demonic face on the one side. I remember convincing my buddy I found that coin while waling through the woods one day and it TOTALLY freaked him out! What fun! Good times!

[@ridiculous_gaming]

Coming from 8 bit to my STFM, this game was simply mind blowing. This was the first time when a player could throw a Shirikan at a closed gate and sometimes the flying weapon would fly through the space between the bars. It brought a level of realism never dreamed possible.

[@alittlebitofwaffle4072]

How this game isnt mentioned more when reeling off the classics I never understand. Brilliant game.

[@sk73]

Probably my all-time favourite gaming experience.

[@stewiedarkinvisibleid]

I'm a 60 year old gamer who played Dungeon Master on the Amiga when it first released. To this day, after having played possibly 1K+ games over the years, Dungeon Master STILL remains my favorite game of all time. Besides all of the countless games that followed in it's footsteps (Eye of the Beholder(s), Lands of Lore, Wizards and Warriors, etc, etc), little compares to the special place Dungeon Master holds in the history of this genre.

[@darrenball4620]

Dungeon Master is my main memory from the 16bit days - nothing ever came close to the atmosphere of that game back then. My 53 year old brain still has some of the levels embedded in there. I may upset the wife and disappear into my lair later on to have another play for a couple of hours ;)

[@45CaliberCure]

I miss Dardu. That was our brawler back in the day. The halls where you picked your characters was epic in itself. Hell of a game.

[@ncjunkgoian]

I remember getting the Atari ST and waiting for Dungeon Master to be delivered via mail order. A battered box arrived and it had the manual with a little back story in it and the instructions. I remember the excitement of reading the manual, the ftl logo appearing, which was amazing, and clicking the button on the entrance. It was exactly as you said in the video....the hall of heroes was wonderful and the game hadn't even begun. Great memories, thanks for the video.

[@shoutingstone]

35 years since I played this and I still remember the final fight against the big red dragon at the end. Trapping it in a doorway, freezing it with a spell and pelting it with every firebomb, poison cloud I'd horded over countless hours finally managing to kill it just as it unfroze before it could throw a party wiping fireball :).

[@45CaliberCure]

That's cool as hell. We were trying to capture it in the cage, but no longer had a freeze "box", so never managed to beat it. Really neat to hear that someone actually beat it. Oh, the hours of farming the sprouts and worms...:)

[@XORISHE]

Fantastic! DM is a game I know very well and also think it's one of the most revolutionary games made. A few years back, I could still do the first 4-5 levels completely in the dark, that's how many times I did it. 2 years back, I downloaded, compiled and analysed the source code - then I spent several months working out what all the code did, how the mechanics of spells, combat and xp gain actually worked. I left a thread on the Dungeon master forums called "DM mechanics - Azizi through the mirror of dawn" which details in pseudo code and real language, how the game actually works. As much as I appreciated the game when it came out and played it on my ST, I had that burning itch to find out what the game was really doing and it was suprisingly complex. As a little easter egg - Only on the atari ST versions - due to a compile error, the stats anti-magic and anti-fire never actually worked in the game. P.S. Sonja is the best char :)

[@45CaliberCure]

Sonja for the win, indeed. Forgot about her.

[@zubazub66]

It really did feel like you were going embarking on an adventure when that metal gate clanked open at the beginning. I've never felt again that nervous excitement like I did with this game, even when playing games like Fallout or Elder Scrolls. And that moment when I first opened that wooden door and met my first mummy is burnt into my memory. It scared the bejezus out of me. A brilliant game even today.

[@darrenball4620]

I still remember the day I went to work in 1987, bought a magazine at lunchtime and saw the review of Dungeon Master, spent most of the afternoon looking at the clock and bought the game for my ST on the way home. It was probably the first 16bit game that really blew me away. I still play it now and again on my Amiga and emulators, it takes me right back to 1987 every time.

[@stephanschmidt2334]

It was the first game in 1987 that induced fear into me when hearing the mummies.

[@changofett77]

We were so impressed by that FTL animation at the beginning back in that day!

[@magicknight8412]

One of my favourite games ever. Loved this playing on my mates Atari st. The atmosphere is so good. Had to wait till Bloodwych came out until I could have this experience on my Amstrad !

[@Pedro8k]

Best game ever I remember going out to buy an ST just to play it I still have both played it for hours

[@random007nadir]

Loved this on my Amiga. Unique magic system.

[@sambranton3346]

I loved this on the amiga too

[@RokkitGrrl]

I played the hell out of this on my Amiga 500 back in high school. I loved the syllabic magic system and trying to discover new spells before I was supposed to learn them haha

[@Realmasterorder]

Same here one of my all time favourites so far ahead of its time and refreshing in Real time 3D

[@amyworrall9246]

Anyone remember the Knightmare computer game for the ST? (The one by Mindscape.) it was dungeon master style, with a moody colour palette and outside areas, and monsters out of Tolkien. I loved it as a kid!

[@RockYourBrand]

Absolutely. I loved Knightmare, had it on my Amiga 500, along with Captive (which I think was also Mindscape).

[@priestfan81]

I believe Anthony Crowther was responsible for Captive and Knightmare. The guy had an amazing vision for fps rpgs.

[@ozthekeymaster]

The game that literally changed my life. Got an ST as a graduation present after four years of Economics. Played Dungeon Master into my mouse stopped working. Took it to the local computer shop (Capital Computers in Edinburgh) who cleaned it, and after several months of helping in the shop gave me a job. Been in IT ever since.

[@45CaliberCure]

Cool story. Mine involved a divorce. I like yours better. :) And Azure hybrid joining may kiss my ass until my dying days. Government IT support, whilst paying the bills, will drive you crazy.

[@erwindewit4073]

Oh I love Dungeon Master. I played it on the Amiga and PC. And now, on the Mister, the original ST version (which I prefer). What a great game that is!

[@larsdahl5528]

I vaguely remember that I got my own Amiga back in 1989, and this was the first game I bought for it. An interesting detail it had, which still many new games of today lack, was look-ahead when loading stuff.

[@iain075]

It *was* amazing. I had a friend with an ST who moved to the other end of the country. We would send tips and spell instructions to each other via post. Absolutely loved my time playing this. Running accidentally into my own fireballs less so. 😊

[@bazza5699]

classic game..defo one of the reason I bought an ST.. great video too, hope you do some more retro reviews of classic games

[@MacMelmac]

Same here. DM and the MIDI ports.

[@-Sunny--]

My faaaave game! Scared the crap out of me back in the days. In retrospective i believe that dungeon master felt so alive and creepy when the monster moved on different levels, even if you where not near them. Would really like to see an interview with the creators! Keep up!

[@HarryMorris69]

Amazing that this has now been rereleased for the C64, and it is absolutely perfect!

[@pedrotimoteo329]

This? Wasn't it Eye of the Beholder?

[@EgonOlsen71]

​@@pedrotimoteo329 Yes, it was.

[@esc2dos]

Played it first in 89 on an Amiga 2500, even during the day with the shades pulled it was genuinely frightening. You really felt lost in the depths of those dungeons. Great review.

[@tailzer42]

Played on ST, took over from Elite on Speccy as my biggest time absorber! Interestingly I played it with mates like I did Elite previously. Ground breaking and loved it got me close to the AD&D I also loved to play away from the computers.

[@kaitlyn__L]

I was thinking about that modern game in the same vein the whole time, so I was glad to see the shoutout for it at the end :) I love how influential this one was, and it really made the best use possible out of the new 2D and sprite based powerhouses. No more empty or flashing boxes around items, now they're integrated seamlessly within the stones and brickwork. Just click on them and point to where you want the item to go. Lovely.

[@avoidconfusion]

That feeling of walking through the hall of champions and picking your characters for the first time was so epic

[@toottoot3344]

Good to see this getting some love, this was so brilliant for its time.

[@peylow2]

I’ve played this game at least once every year since I first booted it up in 1990. The jump scare of the first mummy will forever be with me. A true classic.

[@Pest789]

Being surprised by the FTL boot screen while checking out my friend's new ST is what made me buy mine. The game felt so advanced back then. I played for a *ton* of hours.

[@da1otta]

This was the game that made me buy a 1 Meg RAM expansion for the Amiga 500. I remember mapping the entire dungeon on square paper. Once the floppy where I kept my save game became corrupt. I was desperate, but then I discovered that the game had 2 saves, the current one and the previous one, which I managed to salvage from the floppy. My relief was palpable!

[@dabanjo]

My favorite game of all time! I still play it from time to time, see if I remember all the secrets and strategies. Grind them shriekers in that little room.

[@45CaliberCure]

Hours of grinding them, and then the "worms" later on, which gave more XP. Me and my friends took turns doing that over weeks, or maybe it was months. Cool game.

[@RicoLen1]

I was 8 years old when this game came out and my two much older brothers, (15 and 18 years older than me) would play it on the weekends. The younger of my older brothers still lived at home, and my eldest brother would come visit every weekend and I'd watch them play. I was genuinely terrified of some of the monsters like the giant rats, and the death knights, and especially that crazy ass level with the materializers, the death knights and the oitu's which we called ants was the stuff of nightmares. And then there was the dragon. That dragon was awesome! I remember when my brother was at work I would get on his Atari ST and make new groups and I'd always end up dying on the purple worm level because of all the poison and I never learned to attack and move, so I'd just stand there tanking all the damage they'd deal and just use my back row character as healers making potions and it just wasn't enough. Then Dungeon Master's expansion pack, Chaos Strikes Back came out! OMG I love that game to this day it's the best dungeon crawler ever. Trying to figure out how to get the corbumites and make it to the laughing pit alive with all the viperdemons, and Lord Chaos himself. It's such a hard game and still incredibly fun. I was talking to my son and he asked me what game that doesn't have a sequel announced would I like to see get made most, and I instantly hit him with Dungeon Master 3 with Legend of Grimrock 2's graphics. I loved Dungeon Master 2. Not as much as Chaos Strikes Back, but I loved how it had settlements and outdoor settings and such as well as that tower. Legend of Grimrock 2 felt a whole lot like that in a lot of ways, but the spell system just isn't as good and it just lacks a little something, not a lot, but something to make it really take the place of Dungeon Master & Chaos Strikes Back. I would love a Dungeon Master 3. I constantly look for a game like that on Steam and nothing shows up that interests me enough to buy.

[@waynehingley6356]

Loved the game. I played it multiple times on snes. I always thought I had beaten it, after I killed the dragon, but...I've installed ot on my tablet, in2023, and discovered, through reading information online, that there was still more to do!.

[@birgerolovsson5203]

Dungeon Master on the Atari ST is the best game I've ever played!! On second place comes Black Crypt on the Amiga.

[@The_Wave]

Played this when I was 10 years old, and was hooked. Great memories, thanks!

[@robertkilbourne323]

DM's 36 years old. Bloody hell! This is why I bought an ST.

[@RockYourBrand]

This was the game that had me save up my pocket money for months to get the half meg upgrade for my Amiga 500 so I could play it. Absolutley loved this game!

[@Grizazzle]

I was so immersed in this game. Played it on on Amiga 1000.

[@magellan94]

I've played a lot this game til the end (so cryptic... thank you old magazines to give the solution!) I've a remark to make to this great video: you've not shown the magic system! it's one of the most innovative and clever system i've ever seen! In other games, you don't spell, you click on a "already made" spell, where Dungeon Master needed to master the system of spells. Remember... - first rune the strength of the spell - Second: Element of the spell - Third and fourth: other combinations! What was smart? - Low level means a low strength for the first rune... or a great mana consumption! - Some spells had to be used with a flask to make water or healing potions. Simple and efficient! - Some spells were cryptic with only one use... but so useful when you knew where. - Some spells specially dedicated to a special type of monster (ghosts...) This game has introduced so much, and is almost forgotten. The technology has made DM out of date? I don't think so. I dream of a remake with the respect of the smartests elements (magic system in top 1)!

[@45CaliberCure]

That would be cool. Definitely would be niche, but if you could get the same vibes as the original it would be epic.

[@mpetty0226]

Played this on the Amiga Computer, my favorite dungeon crawler of all time, thanks!

[@Jamalen]

I have played and beaten Dungeon Master on... The Atari ST, the Amiga (both 500 and adapted CD32), the PC (both floppy in 1990 and recently on Dosbox), Super Nintendo and Super Famicom.. I own a copy on the Sharp X68000 but haven't been able to find a machine to play it on... It is the greatest game ever made... I play it every year in the summer to keep it fresh in my mind..

[@joemelnick]

I owned and played Dungeon Master on my Atari ST when it came out in 1987. Having played AD&D through High School this game was particularly fun.

[@2001pl]

an all-time classic. such a great game, even today, still plays great.

[@RokkitGrrl]

Haha, good ol' THAC0. Also it was fun to get the spell to see through walls. I remember going all the way back up to the beginning of the whole dungeon, to the door that was sealed, and peering through it with that spell. That was a real treat to see what was on the other side.. :D

[@RetroWK]

One of my top 3 games of all times. Awesome video. Thanks!

[@merman1974]

I saw it on the ST first, at a friend's house, and loved it. Of course, Amiga owners had to wait and pay for memory expansion (in large part due to the sound driver). I was fascinated by the Hall of Champions and how you could still attack enemies through the portcullis. The big step forward from Ultima/The Bard's Tale series was always being in first-person view, and the clever inventory management by moving the physical objects around. It's still a great game today. One of my favourite stories about Dungeon Master - Tony Crowther played it so much, he made a massive walkthrough with maps for the roleplaying magazine GM. And of course he went on to write his own dungeon crawlers in the form of Captive and Knightmare.

[@Bellthorian]

All those experiences you talk about were my experiences when I first played the Eye Of The Beholder trilogy on the PC.

[@tharrigan5661]

Thank you for this video. This brings back a lot of great memories. Played this game on my 1040ST. Incredible game for its day.

[@Itsallfun3000]

This isn't my sort of genre but I had this on the 520st. I would have been 3 or 4 when this came out and it absolutely terrified me!!! And still does to this day but I need to dig it out from time to time. Nice video 😊😊

[@TheZ3roCool]

Loved this game to death. Felt like I was the only person who played it back then which felt even more special. Atari ST. I also loved Bloodwych, this game allowed my brother and I to spend days doing similar but 2 player! :D

[@kennethg9277]

Ahh bloodwych. Good creature design

[@HobbesDan]

Dungeon Master, the game that started my love for dungeon crawlers

[@readtruth6670]

I loved this game. The music was good but played so seldomly. Camped for years eating screamers and worm rounds. I still have entire levels of this game imbedded in my memory.

[@mulletmcnugget]

This was the game that convinced me to purchase the half meg memory expansion for my A500 bitd.

[@LaughingPsycho]

I loved this on the ST. I also had the sequel, Chaos Strikes Back. It's screaming out for a sequel/remake.

[@campisimike]

Played on my friends Amiga. If I recall properly, wasn't this one of the first CRPG type games where when you use a weapon or skill, that skill can improve? It wasnt just leveling up and gaining stats, you had to work for what you wanted to get better at. Also, while this game definitely tied you to the world, I think the one that did it most for me was The Magic Candle. The original version of that came with a thick book that doubled as the manual as well as the royal courts guide to the heroes you could select from. I remember reading that for hours before making my selections. It was like I knew the characters before I even got a chance to play with them.

[@priestfan81]

One of my favourite games of all time with ff7 and DooM. Atmosphere, great mechanics and puzzles and very clever use of colour in the graphics. I still play through it every couple of years.

[@mephistoxarses8585]

Dungeon master was my gateway to classic Dungeon crawlers. Eye of the beholder, Captive, Black crypt and Nightmare etc.

[@cannfoddr]

Loved it - played it endlessly on my 520 STFM. Final fight was so tense I still remember that……

[@JamesLaserpimpWalsh]

What a game that was. I loved the naughty giggle when the thief scampy thing taxed something off you and ran off lol. Happy times man.

[@45CaliberCure]

We should get a giggle when doing our taxes. Thanks for reminding me of the thief. I'd forgotten about him.

[@iRDaBrit]

I remember getting DM for my STFM. It was like nothing we'd ever seen before (except for maybe Starglider). What a time!

[@aaronhersey8466]

I still have a working Windows port of Dungeon Master and Chaos Strikes Back. I spent countless hours playing these on Amiga and Atari ST as a teen in the early 90s.

[@jfloydsea]

This game was a pivotal part of my youth. Wore out two mice for my Atari ST grinding up levels of ninja and fighter!

[@sierrakobold6896]

Released the same year as the VGA graphics card, always found that impressive, great video!

[@Asterra2]

Had this on the Amiga. I didn't make much progress, but I do remember that pretty early in the game, like 90% of the food in my bags was "screamer slices". I was thinking damn, good thing I didn't need to rely on normal food because this would have been one truncated adventure.

[@ichigen511]

Excellent review of one of my favorite games ever. You really sell how it was different from everything else available at the time (though I thought Wizardry deserved it's place in this video) and how it felt to play the game for the first time. Cheers! Edit: Eye of the Beholder deserves mention as continuing on the legacy of this style of computer game. Also one of my favorites.

[@se7enity648]

I totally agree with you, one of the best games I ever played. I would love to play it again. I still remember my original characters, Hisssa, Chani, Gothmog, and Zed.

[@jayme69]

Great retrospective. Loved this game back in the day on my beloved Atari 520 ST FM. Keep up the great work :-)

[@runnerthemoose]

The fact that Gothmog isn't in your team is disturbing ......

[@MacMelmac]

Dungeon Master on the ST and Last Ninja on the C64 was games that made me love the machines. Both came 1987.

[@brothermaynard5155]

Ah, what a classic. My favourite was its sequel, though, The Legend of Skullkeep. That's when I think DM hit its peak, although arguably too late, as only 2 years later Daggerfall made all previous RPGs obsolete. But DM2's incredible atmosphere, sound effects, better variety of environments and beautiful graphics were just phenomenal. And the fascinating magic system, obviously, inherited from the first game. Of course, it wasn't as revolutionary as the original game, such an innovation can probably happen only once per game genre per decade. Even though FTL disbanded fairly soon afterwards, they left a huge mark on PC gaming.

[@TheRetroEngine]

oh god yeah remember it on the Amiga back in '87. Just after I'd migrated from the C64. Great vid.

[@AndyHewco]

I had this on the ST. Loved it along with another FTL title called Oids.

[@KagusakiUrufu]

We had this game on our Apple IIGS back in the late 80s and kids mode was uber fun since you didn't need a torch unless you go down the dragon's den. Regular mode was scary back then and it still is today lol

[@MrSketchydave69]

Loved Dungeon Master. I played it on my shiny new Amiga 500 back in 1987. Loved this retrospective ,keep up the good work!

[@lookout101]

oh the amount of hours i sunk into that game... amiga version ... then quickly went on to play eye of the beholder .. or before .. dont remember anymore^^ .. good times

[@r0bhumm]

I played on an Atari ST and I still remember vividly to this day. The time I discovered you could close a portcullis gate on the rock monster and it will kill it. Those things were tough apart from that.

[@SprocketWalker]

I really enjoyed your video. I never had the chance to play this title but I did play the eye of the beholder series. Thanks again!

[@ianmorgan4747]

Played on the Amiga. Spent hours at the first wooden door getting the mages to hit it and the non-magic users to cast fireball. Made it a hell of a lot easier when everyone can cast fireball and wield a sword, fun times!!

[@CastleKnight7]

Probably my favourite game on my Atari 520ST. Had me enthralled until the very end.

[@spectrumdays]

I LOVED this on the Amiga and ST, I can never see/here mention of a fireball in a film etc without also hearing the word `Mon`

[@slavaukraini1991]

shout out to Bloodwych as well, many who played Dungeon Master also enjoyed it ❤

[@Evercade_Effect]

Would have loved this game back then. I geeked out over this. Thanks for the video.

[@opa-age]

Over 30 years it still has the best UI design for a dungeon crawler. Lots of games have tried to improve on it but I think the problem is it was already perfect. You can't improve perfection.

[@fourthhorseman4531]

This game was the main reason I bought my Atari 520STfm. Great memories!

[@rcschmidt668]

Oh yeah!!! Dungeon Master, Bard’s Tale 1 and 2, and Ultima V were my jams on the Apple 2.

[@John-k6f9k]

Ah, nostalgia has inflicted a crippling strike on me! The magic system was very clever. You weren't just equipped with ready made spells, you had to learn spells by finding scrolls. I remember the runes for a medium strength fireball looked a bit like the word "one"

[@Realmasterorder]

Very nice Episode i love the Revision you made for the RPG games up to that time so people can understand a bit just how revolutionary this was at the time.I Remember it on the Amiga what an awesome game it was it really changed the way RPG's were played on the Home computers and consoles.

[@mattplus09]

This game consumed me when it arrived...wonderful memories :) Good journey...Peace!

[@gd515051]

I made it to about level 7, mapping and solving puzzles on my own. Eventually I bought the cheat sheets and maps to finish the game. It was amazing when it came out. Ghosts would jump out and truly scare you. Lol!

[@ryanfarmer4882]

Loved this, and the Eye of the beholder series

[@jonahfalcon1970]

*I* played it on the Amiga, thank you very much.

[@AtariCrypt]

Still play this regularly - awesome ST game :)

[@bob23301]

My god, 36 years later and i can still remember a few spells off the top of my head......zo ka ra. Lol

[@jmullner76]

Apple IIGS: I remember hearing one of the monsters laughing and running around before you even saw it.

[@jamesbell8148]

I love the custom dungeons people have made on RTC😊

[@elecdrum6700]

Its why I bought an ST played it for days weeks even before I finished it. That led on to Captive which kept me going for months.

[@ThisismineIguess]

My experience was with The Legend of Skullkeep. Certainly don't mind it - probably would've loved this back then, but the rainstorms in II left a huuuuuuuuuge impression on me. Especially your first foray with a lightning storm where stepping outside is a great way to get extra crispy. Game does boil down to Guard/Attack Minion Simulator later on, but a dual-wielding Fighter in the Master levels with double Blue Steeles is a scary thing. Also a case where they really strived to juice up the original. Neat to see it, though it's a little too mellow for me nowadays.

[@PeterKreft]

I still remember that Shieker room on the 2nd level, where you could level up as high as you liked before you continued.