Difference between revisions of "Moria"

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'''Moria''', first released in [[1983]], is one of the earliest clones of [[Rogue]].
'''Moria''', first released in 1983, is one of the earliest clones of [[Rogue]]. In 1988 it was rewritten in the C language and released as Umoria. Although this was originally a ''port'', it can very much be considered a continuation of the Moria game.


== Description ==
== Description ==
Moria was based on J.R.R. Tolkien's ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', and the player had to go down the mines of Moria and ultimately kill the Balrog to win the game. Moria is one of the older roguelikes, written in 1983 by [[Robert Alan Koeneke]]. It was the first open source roguelike, allowing it to run on different platforms in a time when that was hard to achieve. Although the game is not as popular as it once was, it is still considered a major Roguelike.  
Written by [[Robert Alan Koeneke]], Moria was based on J.R.R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where the player has to go down in to the mines of Moria and defeat the Balrog to win the game.


This game was the first roguelike to have a "Town" level, where you may buy your weapons and armor, amongst many other things. The game world is "The Dungeons (or Mines) of Moria", and although the name comes from the world of Tolkien, there is little that the game shares with the books. In the deepest level, you must find and destroy the [[Balrog]]. This is a hard quest for which you must prepare with the proper equipment and character enhancement items.
It was the first open source roguelike, which made it possible for it to be ported to many different computer platforms, in a time when that was hard to achieve. Although the game is not as popular as it once was, it is still considered a major Roguelike.
 
This game was the first roguelike to have a "Town" level, where you may buy your weapons, armor, spell books, potions, and various other item to help you on your quest. The game world is "The Dungeons (or Mines) of Moria", and although the name comes from the world of Tolkien, there is little that the game shares with the books. In the deepest level, you must find and defeat the Balrog. This is a hard quest for which you must prepare with the proper equipment and character enhancement items. It is not unusual for a game win to take over 50 hours.


== Versions and platforms ==
== Versions and platforms ==
Moria was written by [[Robert Alan Koeneke]] in 1983, in VMS [[Pascal]]. According to the author, he started development when, after being hooked on Rogue, he moved to another department where the game wasn't available. He released the source code in [[1985]]. The last official Moria (4.7) was released in 1987, except that some archive sites carry a 4.8 from 1989.
Robert Alan Koeneke became hooked on "Rogue" while at the University of Oklahoma. Around 1981 he got a job in a new department where the game wasn't available, so he decided to write his own Rogue game written in [[Basic]] and called it Moria Beta 1.0. In 1983 he enrolled in a Pascal operating systems class and that summer finished Moria 1.0, written in VMS Pascal. In [[1985]] he started sending out the source code to other Universities, and it was during this time that the game became popular.


Koeneke was working in Moria 5.0, which was an almost complete remake with interesting features like streams, lakes and new weapons. It was, however, never released. A different version called UB Moria 5.0 appeared at the University at Buffalo; this is the last VMS version ever, and is often called VMS Moria 5.0.
The last official "Koeneke" Moria, v4.7, was released in 1987.
 
Koeneke was working on Moria 5.0, which was an almost complete rewrite with interesting features like streams, lakes and new weapons. It was, however, never released. A different version called Moria UB 5.0 appeared at the University at Buffalo; this is the last VMS version ever, and is often called VMS Moria 5.0.


The availability of source code allowed Moria to survive. After the creation of a Unix version, [[Umoria]], in 1988 (which moved the language to [[C]]), the game became available on many platforms (DOS, Amiga, and others) and also spawned many variants, of which [[Angband]] and the later [[Band]]s are the most popular.
The availability of source code allowed Moria to survive. After the creation of a Unix version, [[Umoria]], in 1988 (which moved the language to [[C]]), the game became available on many platforms (DOS, Amiga, and others) and also spawned many variants, of which [[Angband]] and the later [[Band]]s are the most popular.


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==
Due to releasing its source code, Moria was used by several variants, the most successful being [[Angband]].
With the release of its source code, Moria was used by several variants, the most successful being [[Angband]]. It is also know to have been an inspiration for the first commercially successful Roguelike, [[Diablo]].
 
Moria was one of the inspirations behind [[Diablo]], the first hugely commercial Roguelike success.


== Related topics ==
== Related topics ==

Revision as of 23:02, 9 November 2016

Moria
Major Roguelike
Developer Robert Alan Koeneke, James E. Wilson, others
Theme fantasy
Influences Rogue
Released 1983
Updated 2008, v5.6
Licensing GPL v2
P. Language C, Pascal
Platforms Linux, MS-DOS, Mac Classic, Atari ST, Amiga, *NIX
Interface ASCII, Keyboard
Game Length 50+ Hours not unusual
Official site of Moria


Moria, first released in 1983, is one of the earliest clones of Rogue. In 1988 it was rewritten in the C language and released as Umoria. Although this was originally a port, it can very much be considered a continuation of the Moria game.

Description

Written by Robert Alan Koeneke, Moria was based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, where the player has to go down in to the mines of Moria and defeat the Balrog to win the game.

It was the first open source roguelike, which made it possible for it to be ported to many different computer platforms, in a time when that was hard to achieve. Although the game is not as popular as it once was, it is still considered a major Roguelike.

This game was the first roguelike to have a "Town" level, where you may buy your weapons, armor, spell books, potions, and various other item to help you on your quest. The game world is "The Dungeons (or Mines) of Moria", and although the name comes from the world of Tolkien, there is little that the game shares with the books. In the deepest level, you must find and defeat the Balrog. This is a hard quest for which you must prepare with the proper equipment and character enhancement items. It is not unusual for a game win to take over 50 hours.

Versions and platforms

Robert Alan Koeneke became hooked on "Rogue" while at the University of Oklahoma. Around 1981 he got a job in a new department where the game wasn't available, so he decided to write his own Rogue game written in Basic and called it Moria Beta 1.0. In 1983 he enrolled in a Pascal operating systems class and that summer finished Moria 1.0, written in VMS Pascal. In 1985 he started sending out the source code to other Universities, and it was during this time that the game became popular.

The last official "Koeneke" Moria, v4.7, was released in 1987.

Koeneke was working on Moria 5.0, which was an almost complete rewrite with interesting features like streams, lakes and new weapons. It was, however, never released. A different version called Moria UB 5.0 appeared at the University at Buffalo; this is the last VMS version ever, and is often called VMS Moria 5.0.

The availability of source code allowed Moria to survive. After the creation of a Unix version, Umoria, in 1988 (which moved the language to C), the game became available on many platforms (DOS, Amiga, and others) and also spawned many variants, of which Angband and the later Bands are the most popular.

Legacy

With the release of its source code, Moria was used by several variants, the most successful being Angband. It is also know to have been an inspiration for the first commercially successful Roguelike, Diablo.

Related topics

Variants

Related links