Gateway to Apshai
Encyclopedia
Gateway to Apshai is a computer game for the Commodore 64
, ColecoVision
, and Atari 400/800 home computer
s, developed by The Connelley Group and published by Epyx
as a prequel to Temple of Apshai
. It is, in principle, a more action-oriented version of Temple of Apshai, with smoother and faster graphics routines, more intuitive controls, less role-playing, and fewer room descriptions.
and monster
s. Each level is played within a freely selectable dungeon. Level 8 of the dungeon perpetually repeats until the player runs out of lives, ending the game.
and clad in leather armor. As play progresses, he or she obtains new weapons, armor, potions, eye glasses, and scrolls containing magical spells. Various enemies, ranging from simple rat
s and snake
s to giant
s, inhabit the dungeon. The player must kill them with weapons or magical spells.
The levels become progressively harder to survive as the player descends deeper and deeper into the dungeon. Each dungeon is covered in complete darkness that illuminates as the dungeon rooms and corridors are explored. The Gateway consists of 8 levels, each consisting of 16 dungeons, each consisting of 60 rooms, for a total of 7680 rooms.
You get approximately six and a half minutes to explore each level. Once the time passes, if you are still alive, you are advanced to the next deeper level.
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, ColecoVision
ColecoVision
The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...
, and Atari 400/800 home computer
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
s, developed by The Connelley Group and published by Epyx
Epyx
Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before renaming the company to match in 1983...
as a prequel to Temple of Apshai
Temple of Apshai
The Temple of Apshai is a computer role-playing game from Epyx. The game was first released for the TRS-80 in 1979, then the Apple II and Atari home computers in 1980. In 1983, it was released for the Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, and IBM PC compatibles. Even later it was made available with...
. It is, in principle, a more action-oriented version of Temple of Apshai, with smoother and faster graphics routines, more intuitive controls, less role-playing, and fewer room descriptions.
Description
In Gateway to Apshai the player assumes the role of an unnamed adventurer, who tries to survive a series of increasingly difficult dungeon levels filled with both treasureTreasure
Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...
and monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
s. Each level is played within a freely selectable dungeon. Level 8 of the dungeon perpetually repeats until the player runs out of lives, ending the game.
Story
You are summoned to the chambers of an old priest called Merlis, who informs you that you are the son of the greatest warrior of Apshai, and that it is written in the prophecy that only you can reclaim the fabled Temple of Apshai and rid the land of its monsters and curses. This game covers the Gateway to Apshai, which you have to clear in order to reach the Temple of Apshai.Gameplay
The player is initially armed with a daggerDagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...
and clad in leather armor. As play progresses, he or she obtains new weapons, armor, potions, eye glasses, and scrolls containing magical spells. Various enemies, ranging from simple rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s and snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s to giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
s, inhabit the dungeon. The player must kill them with weapons or magical spells.
The levels become progressively harder to survive as the player descends deeper and deeper into the dungeon. Each dungeon is covered in complete darkness that illuminates as the dungeon rooms and corridors are explored. The Gateway consists of 8 levels, each consisting of 16 dungeons, each consisting of 60 rooms, for a total of 7680 rooms.
You get approximately six and a half minutes to explore each level. Once the time passes, if you are still alive, you are advanced to the next deeper level.