Dun Darach
Encyclopedia
Dun Darach is an arcade adventure published in 1985 by Gargoyle Games
for the ZX Spectrum
and Amstrad CPC
computers.
The background history is based on Celt
ic folklore about the hero Cuchulainn
, and his battles against the people of Connachta
in ancient Ireland
. "Dun Darach" or "Dún na nDarach" means "Oak Fort" in the Irish language
. The game is a prequel
to the 1984 game Tir Na Nog
as the story takes place before that game, when Cuchulainn was still alive.
and Loeg was persuaded to help a beautiful young woman named Skar whose chariot
was damaged. Cuchulainn took refreshment at the inn and on leaving realised Loeg was missing. He later discovered that Skar is a sorceress and ally of the Connachta and had taken Loeg to the timless Secret City of Dun Darach in retribution fro the death of Prince Amhair. Cuchulainn went on a long search for the mysterious city and eventually discovered it and entered Dun Darach to find Loeg.
based on collecting objects, solving puzzles based on word puns or lateral thinking and interacting with other characters wandering through the city. The animation is in the same standard as Tir Na Nog, although there is no parallax scrolling
. Since the game can take many hours to complete, there is support for saving its state to cassette tape.
Dun Darach improves over its predecessor in that other characters can give short hints to the player, rob him, and confiscate his belongings if he carries stolen goods. The player can also now buy, steal and sell goods from the many shops in the city, bet at a casino (Iomain Ludum) and even deposit money at a bank with daily compound interest
. The city of Dun Darach is large and consists of different quarters with shops and the current time of the day is indicated by torches in the wall and by the greetings of characters. There is a "blank" area in the centre of the city in Iomain, the pleasure quarter; this was originally intended to be a brothel
called "Lady Q's" and would have opened into a whole red-light district
(this was censored and all that remains is a sign saying "Forbidden"). Cuchulainn can move north, south, east and west with the player "rotating" the view using the keyboard and then having Cuchulainn move left or right on the screen, so only one side of the street is visible at once.
Gargoyle Games
Gargoyle Games was a British software company founded in 1983 by Roy Carter and Greg Follis in order to publish their first game, Ad Astra. They generally specialized in games for the ZX Spectrum even though the company was originally named with the intention of publishing games for Dragon computers...
for 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...
and Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
computers.
The background history is based on Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic folklore about the hero Cuchulainn
Cúchulainn
Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...
, and his battles against the people of Connachta
Connachta
The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach...
in ancient Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. "Dun Darach" or "Dún na nDarach" means "Oak Fort" in the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
. The game is a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the 1984 game Tir Na Nog
Tir Na Nog (game)
Tir Na Nog is a video game published in 1984 by Gargoyle Games for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. It was ported to the Commodore 64 in 1985. It is loosely based on Celtic mythology....
as the story takes place before that game, when Cuchulainn was still alive.
Plot
One day Cuchulainn was travelling home from a battle with the Connachta with his companion Loeg the charioteer. On the way, they stopped off at an innINN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
and Loeg was persuaded to help a beautiful young woman named Skar whose chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
was damaged. Cuchulainn took refreshment at the inn and on leaving realised Loeg was missing. He later discovered that Skar is a sorceress and ally of the Connachta and had taken Loeg to the timless Secret City of Dun Darach in retribution fro the death of Prince Amhair. Cuchulainn went on a long search for the mysterious city and eventually discovered it and entered Dun Darach to find Loeg.
Gameplay
Dun Darach is an arcade adventure with interface and presentation nearly identical to Tir Na Nog or MarsportMarsport
Marsport is a science fiction computer game that was released for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computers in 1985. It was published by Gargoyle Games in the United Kingdom and Dro Soft in Spain. Marsport was intended to be the first part of a trilogy called "The Siege of Earth" but parts two...
based on collecting objects, solving puzzles based on word puns or lateral thinking and interacting with other characters wandering through the city. The animation is in the same standard as Tir Na Nog, although there is no parallax scrolling
Parallax scrolling
Parallax scrolling is a special scrolling technique in computer graphics, popularized in the 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol. In this pseudo-3D technique, background images move by the camera slower than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D video game and adding to the immersion...
. Since the game can take many hours to complete, there is support for saving its state to cassette tape.
Dun Darach improves over its predecessor in that other characters can give short hints to the player, rob him, and confiscate his belongings if he carries stolen goods. The player can also now buy, steal and sell goods from the many shops in the city, bet at a casino (Iomain Ludum) and even deposit money at a bank with daily compound interest
Compound interest
Compound interest arises when interest is added to the principal, so that from that moment on, the interest that has been added also itself earns interest. This addition of interest to the principal is called compounding...
. The city of Dun Darach is large and consists of different quarters with shops and the current time of the day is indicated by torches in the wall and by the greetings of characters. There is a "blank" area in the centre of the city in Iomain, the pleasure quarter; this was originally intended to be a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
called "Lady Q's" and would have opened into a whole red-light district
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
(this was censored and all that remains is a sign saying "Forbidden"). Cuchulainn can move north, south, east and west with the player "rotating" the view using the keyboard and then having Cuchulainn move left or right on the screen, so only one side of the street is visible at once.
External links
- Dun Darach at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Dun Darach at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...