.gif)
Chaos (video game)
Encyclopedia
Chaos: The Battle of Wizards is a turn-based tactics
computer game which was released on the ZX Spectrum
in 1985
. It was written by Julian Gollop
and originally published by Games Workshop
.
board game Warlock. He was an avid card game designer but then saw computers as a way of hiding game rules too complicated for pen-and-paper scenarios. Thus the board used in the card game became the tiled map in the video game.
. Computer controlled wizards do not cooperate; they will attempt to kill each other as well as the human players.
Chaos is a turn-based game. Each turn, every player in order selects and casts a spell, then moves their wizard and any summoned creatures.
During the game, the type of spells cast affects the subsequent difficulty of other spells. Casting many lawful spells results in a more lawful environment, which in turn makes other lawful spells easier to cast. The same principle applies to chaotic spells. Spells of the opposite alignment are not more difficult to cast however. Neutral spells are unaffected either way, and are always cast at the same difficulty percentage. This feature has a big impact on the strategy of the game, as a viable tactic is to cast lots of easy spells of a certain alignment, in order to make it easier to cast the more powerful spells of that alignment.
Spells fall into various categories and have various ranges.
Creature spells summon a monster adjacent to the wizard, which can then be moved in the movement phase. These include standard units such as goblins, lions and giant rats; undead creatures which can only be attacked by other undead creatures or magic weapons, such as ghosts, spectres and zombies; flying creatures such as bats, dragons and manticores; mountable creatures which can be ridden by their wizard, such as horses, centaurs and unicorns; some creatures may have a ranged attack, such as the elf's and centaur's bow and the dragon's breath.
Some creatures are harder to cast than others, with the more powerful creatures having a lower base percentage chance to cast. Creatures can be cast as an "Illusion", with a 100% chance of being cast, with the disadvantage that they can be destroyed if another wizard casts a "Disbelieve" spell at them.
Creatures have attack and defense ratings which govern how effective they are, move ratings which control how many squares they can move a turn, maneuver ratings which govern how easily a creature can break off combat and magic resistance for governing defence against magical assaults. Flying creatures movement ratings govern how many square they can fly. Wizards also have these ratings, as well as a magic rating governing how many spells they initially have.
Several spells create objects on the board. "Magic Wood" creates eight trees which any wizard may enter for protection and a chance to gain a new spell. "Shadow Wood" creates eight trees which may attack adjacent enemies. "Gooey Blob" and "Magic Fire" spread over the course of the game, engulfing enemy creatures (although creatures can be recovered by attacking a "Gooey Blob"). "Wall" creates four obstructing blocks, whilst "Dark Citadel" and "Magic Castle" may be entered by the wizard for protection.
A player may also receive spells that improve his wizard, such as "Magic Sword" or "Shadow Form", or spells that directly attack other creatures, such as "Magic Bolt" or "Vengeance".
Other miscellaneous spells include those that change the global law or chaos level, raise dead creatures to undead status, subvert an enemies creature. One rare spell, "Turmoil", moves all creatures and objects on the board to a random location. The rarity of this spell was due to a bug that caused it to appear only once every 64 games, and only via "Magic Wood"; however, in Julian Gollop's words: "...that's probably a good thing."
Whereas the human players select their spells before each turn begins, the computer wizards actually select their spells during the play stage of each turn. This is not documented, although it becomes apparent in play, as the computer wizards often cast spells that would have required foreknowledge of the other players' actions. For example, a computer wizard might cast a "Disbelieve" spell immediately after a human player has conjured a powerful creature, or the computer might fire a "Magic Bolt" at a player-summoned creature when no targets were in range beforehand.
Once all spells have been cast, surviving wizards take it in turns to move themselves and any creatures under their control (unless they are 'engaged' in combat), and attack other wizards/creatures.
Success depends on the attacking creature's combat rating vs. the defending creature's defense rating and a certain amount of randomness. Some creatures have ranged combat, allowing them to attack other creatures from afar, so long as there is a clear line of sight. An undead creature can only be attacked by other undead creatures (or magic weapon equipped wizards), but can attack both undead and non-undead creatures itself.
Creatures with ranged attacks may fire, after movement and close combat, at any creature in range.
Once all wizards have taken it in turn to move and fight, the turn sequence starts over from the beginning. For human players, no actions are compulsory, they may simply skip any actions they do not want to take. Computer controlled wizards will always move, unless in a Magic Wood, Castle or Citadel, even when it is not in their best interest to do so. Likewise all computer controlled creatures always attempt to move each turn.
If a wizard is destroyed, all his creations immediately vanish also.
awarded Chaos 8 out of 10 in issue 16, praising neatness of presentation, efficient sound effects, pleasing sprites and concluding that it was a very good multiplayer strategy game. Criticisms included the sparseness of the initial playing area, lack of status report for the wizards and information on how much damage was being dealt. The reviewer also felt there could have been a wider range of missile attack spells. Sinclair User
rated Chaos 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "fast-moving and colourful" with simple, functional graphics. It was seen to be complex enough to appeal to players of both Dungeons & Dragons
and strategy game
s. White Dwarf
awarded 7 out of 10, finding particular fun in the spells "Magic Fire" and "Gooey Blob" but criticising the poor quality of the instruction booklet.
In the final issue of Your Sinclair
(issue 93, September 1993
), Chaos was listed at position 5 of the Your Sinclair Readers' Top 100 Games Of All Time. The same issue featured a Chaos play-off between various staff members and contributors: Rich Pelley, Steve Anderson, Craig Broadbent, Chris Buxton, Jonathan Nash (then editor), Jonathan Davies, Jeff Braine and Steph (an inflatable shark, filling in for an absent Stuart Campbell).
The September 2006 issue of GamesTM magazine listed Chaos at position 44 of the top 100 games of all time. This made it the second highest rated Spectrum game, behind Manic Miner
.
Turn-based tactics
Turn-based tactics , or tactical turn-based , is a computer and video game genre of strategy video games that through stop-action simulates the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics in generally small-scale confrontations as opposed to more strategic...
computer game which was released on the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
in 1985
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
. It was written by Julian Gollop
Julian Gollop
Julian Gollop is a British designer of strategy video games and founder of the defunct game studios Mythos Games and Codo Technologies.Gollop's career spans over 25 years, during which he has designed games for numerous systems over the years, from the early 8-bit home computers to 32-bit PCs...
and originally published by Games Workshop
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
.
History
Chaos was written by Julian Gollop, based on his 1982 design for a traditional card game, itself inspired by the early Games WorkshopGames Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
board game Warlock. He was an avid card game designer but then saw computers as a way of hiding game rules too complicated for pen-and-paper scenarios. Thus the board used in the card game became the tiled map in the video game.
Gameplay
In Chaos, players take the role of wizards who vie with one another to win the game. The aim of the game is to be the 'last wizard standing' by destroying all other wizards. The game allows for anything between two and eight wizards, any of whom can be human or computer controlled. The level of the computer controlled wizards must be selected, ranging from 1 to 8. Higher levels improve the computer wizards' combat statistics, but does not improve their artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
. Computer controlled wizards do not cooperate; they will attempt to kill each other as well as the human players.
Chaos is a turn-based game. Each turn, every player in order selects and casts a spell, then moves their wizard and any summoned creatures.
Spells
Each wizard is given a random selection of spells at the start of the game with which to defeat the other wizards. Spells are either Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic, and have a difficulty value expressed as a percentage chance of success when cast. A spell can only be cast once, with the exception of the "Disbelieve" spell which is always available to every wizard. New spells can only be acquired via the "Magic Wood" spell.During the game, the type of spells cast affects the subsequent difficulty of other spells. Casting many lawful spells results in a more lawful environment, which in turn makes other lawful spells easier to cast. The same principle applies to chaotic spells. Spells of the opposite alignment are not more difficult to cast however. Neutral spells are unaffected either way, and are always cast at the same difficulty percentage. This feature has a big impact on the strategy of the game, as a viable tactic is to cast lots of easy spells of a certain alignment, in order to make it easier to cast the more powerful spells of that alignment.
Spells fall into various categories and have various ranges.
Creature spells summon a monster adjacent to the wizard, which can then be moved in the movement phase. These include standard units such as goblins, lions and giant rats; undead creatures which can only be attacked by other undead creatures or magic weapons, such as ghosts, spectres and zombies; flying creatures such as bats, dragons and manticores; mountable creatures which can be ridden by their wizard, such as horses, centaurs and unicorns; some creatures may have a ranged attack, such as the elf's and centaur's bow and the dragon's breath.
Some creatures are harder to cast than others, with the more powerful creatures having a lower base percentage chance to cast. Creatures can be cast as an "Illusion", with a 100% chance of being cast, with the disadvantage that they can be destroyed if another wizard casts a "Disbelieve" spell at them.
Creatures have attack and defense ratings which govern how effective they are, move ratings which control how many squares they can move a turn, maneuver ratings which govern how easily a creature can break off combat and magic resistance for governing defence against magical assaults. Flying creatures movement ratings govern how many square they can fly. Wizards also have these ratings, as well as a magic rating governing how many spells they initially have.
Several spells create objects on the board. "Magic Wood" creates eight trees which any wizard may enter for protection and a chance to gain a new spell. "Shadow Wood" creates eight trees which may attack adjacent enemies. "Gooey Blob" and "Magic Fire" spread over the course of the game, engulfing enemy creatures (although creatures can be recovered by attacking a "Gooey Blob"). "Wall" creates four obstructing blocks, whilst "Dark Citadel" and "Magic Castle" may be entered by the wizard for protection.
A player may also receive spells that improve his wizard, such as "Magic Sword" or "Shadow Form", or spells that directly attack other creatures, such as "Magic Bolt" or "Vengeance".
Other miscellaneous spells include those that change the global law or chaos level, raise dead creatures to undead status, subvert an enemies creature. One rare spell, "Turmoil", moves all creatures and objects on the board to a random location. The rarity of this spell was due to a bug that caused it to appear only once every 64 games, and only via "Magic Wood"; however, in Julian Gollop's words: "...that's probably a good thing."
Turn sequence
Each (human) wizard takes it in turn to view the board (if desired), examine their spells and select one to cast on the next turn (selecting a spell is not compulsory). Typically, the other human players look away during spell choice to avoid unfair advantage. Once all players have chosen their spell, they attempt to cast them in order.Whereas the human players select their spells before each turn begins, the computer wizards actually select their spells during the play stage of each turn. This is not documented, although it becomes apparent in play, as the computer wizards often cast spells that would have required foreknowledge of the other players' actions. For example, a computer wizard might cast a "Disbelieve" spell immediately after a human player has conjured a powerful creature, or the computer might fire a "Magic Bolt" at a player-summoned creature when no targets were in range beforehand.
Once all spells have been cast, surviving wizards take it in turns to move themselves and any creatures under their control (unless they are 'engaged' in combat), and attack other wizards/creatures.
Combat
Other creatures or wizards are attacked by either moving into them, or flying onto them. Moving or flying next to an enemy creature automatically 'engages' them, and allows for an immediate attack. If an attack is successful the enemy creature disappears/dies and the attacking creature moves onto its square. Flying onto a creature allows an attack, but the flying creature remains in place unless it succeeds in killing its target, in which case it takes its place as above. Only defending creatures can be killed, attacking creatures are safe until attacked themselves.Success depends on the attacking creature's combat rating vs. the defending creature's defense rating and a certain amount of randomness. Some creatures have ranged combat, allowing them to attack other creatures from afar, so long as there is a clear line of sight. An undead creature can only be attacked by other undead creatures (or magic weapon equipped wizards), but can attack both undead and non-undead creatures itself.
Creatures with ranged attacks may fire, after movement and close combat, at any creature in range.
Once all wizards have taken it in turn to move and fight, the turn sequence starts over from the beginning. For human players, no actions are compulsory, they may simply skip any actions they do not want to take. Computer controlled wizards will always move, unless in a Magic Wood, Castle or Citadel, even when it is not in their best interest to do so. Likewise all computer controlled creatures always attempt to move each turn.
If a wizard is destroyed, all his creations immediately vanish also.
Critical reaction
CRASHCRASH (magazine)
Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress.-Development:...
awarded Chaos 8 out of 10 in issue 16, praising neatness of presentation, efficient sound effects, pleasing sprites and concluding that it was a very good multiplayer strategy game. Criticisms included the sparseness of the initial playing area, lack of status report for the wizards and information on how much damage was being dealt. The reviewer also felt there could have been a wider range of missile attack spells. Sinclair User
Sinclair User
Sinclair User, often abbreviated SU, was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum...
rated Chaos 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "fast-moving and colourful" with simple, functional graphics. It was seen to be complex enough to appeal to players of both Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
and strategy game
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
s. White Dwarf
White Dwarf (magazine)
White Dwarf is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop. Initially covering a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing and board games, particularly the role playing games Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest and Traveller...
awarded 7 out of 10, finding particular fun in the spells "Magic Fire" and "Gooey Blob" but criticising the poor quality of the instruction booklet.
In the final issue of Your Sinclair
Your Sinclair
Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated, was a British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum.-History:...
(issue 93, September 1993
1993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
), Chaos was listed at position 5 of the Your Sinclair Readers' Top 100 Games Of All Time. The same issue featured a Chaos play-off between various staff members and contributors: Rich Pelley, Steve Anderson, Craig Broadbent, Chris Buxton, Jonathan Nash (then editor), Jonathan Davies, Jeff Braine and Steph (an inflatable shark, filling in for an absent Stuart Campbell).
The September 2006 issue of GamesTM magazine listed Chaos at position 44 of the top 100 games of all time. This made it the second highest rated Spectrum game, behind Manic Miner
Manic Miner
Manic Miner is a platform game originally written for the ZX Spectrum by Matthew Smith and released by Bug-Byte in 1983 . It is the first game in the Miner Willy series and among the pioneers of the platform game genre. The game itself was inspired by the Atari 800 game Miner 2049er...
.
Influence
The developers of award-winning indie PC strategy game Darwinia cite Chaos as an influence during its early development. Chaos has also been the subject of many homebrew remakes such as Chaos Funk: Gollop regularly receives requests from people wishing to create remakes, and believes that the appeal is the game's balance of randomness and strategy.External links
- A USENET message describing the internal structure of Chaos and naming the missing spells.
- List of Chaos remakes
- Chaos at alt-tab.net