Eye of the Beholder
Developer(s)	Westwood Associates
Publisher(s)	Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Release date(s)	1990 (PC)
Genre(s)	Computer role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	DOS, Amiga, Sega CD, SNES
Media	Floppy disk, CD-ROM
System requirements	For original version: IBM PC compatible computer with 640KB system memory (565,000 bytes free); either a hard drive with 2.1MB free space or two floppy drives (5¼-inch or 3½-inch, depending on game version purchased) ; VGA, MCGA, EGA, Tandy 16 Color , or CGA graphics capabilities; for optional sound support an AdLib or SoundBlaster board, or built-in speaker; mouse optional.
Input	Keyboard, Mouse

Eye of the Beholder is a computer role-playing game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1990 for the DOS operating system, later ported to the Amiga, the Sega CD and the SNES. The Sega CD version features an exclusive soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro, which compelled a lot of Genesis fans to get the game, if not for the music alone. Image File history File links Eye_of_the_Beholder_I_PC_box. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Westwood Studios (1985-2003) was a computer and video game developer, founded in 1985 as Westwood Associates by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle and based in Las Vegas, Nevada. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... 1990 1990 in games 1989 in video gaming 1991 in video gaming Notable events of 1990 in video gaming. ... Video games are generally categorized into genres. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... The original Amiga 1000 (1985) with various peripherals The Amiga is a family of home/personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation as an advanced home entertainment and productivity machine. ... The Sega Mega-CD (Japanese: メガCD) is an add-on device for the Sega Mega Drive released in Europe, Australia, and Japan. ... The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES (pronounced either as a word or acronym), is a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a computer display standard first marketed in 1987 by IBM. VGA belongs to a family of earlier IBM video standards and largely remains backward compatible with them. ... Multicolor Graphics Adapter (MCGA) was the IBM name for what would later become part of the generic Video Graphics Array (VGA) standard. ... The Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) is the IBM PC computer display standard specification located between CGA and VGA in terms of graphics performance (that is, colour and space resolution). ... Tandy Corporation is the former name of the parent company of RadioShack Corporation, a Fort Worth, Texas-based company best known for its RadioShack electronics stores. ... The Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), introduced in 1981, was IBMs first color graphics card, and the first color computer display standard for the IBM PC. The standard IBM CGA graphics card was equipped with 16 kilobytes of video memory. ... AdLib, Inc. ... The Sound Blaster family of sound cards was for many years the de facto standard for audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, before audio has been commoditized. ... Operating a mechanical 1: Pulling the mouse turns the ball. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... Operating a mechanical 1: Pulling the mouse turns the ball. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Westwood Studios (1985-2003) was a computer and video game developer, founded in 1985 as Westwood Associates by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle and based in Las Vegas, Nevada. ... Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... 1990 1990 in games 1989 in video gaming 1991 in video gaming Notable events of 1990 in video gaming. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... The original Amiga 1000 (1985) with various peripherals The Amiga is a family of home/personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation as an advanced home entertainment and productivity machine. ... The Sega Mega-CD (Japanese: メガCD) is an add-on device for the Sega Mega Drive released in Europe, Australia, and Japan. ... The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES (pronounced either as a word or acronym), is a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. ... The Sega Mega-CD (Japanese: メガCD) is an add-on device for the Sega Mega Drive released in Europe, Australia, and Japan. ... Yuzo Koshiro Yuzo Koshiro (古代祐三 Koshiro Yūzō, born December 12, 1967, in Tokyo, Japan) is one of the well-known faces of Japanese video game music. ... The Mega Drive/Genesis was a 16-bit video game console released by Sega in Japan (1988), Europe (1990) and most of the rest of the world as the Mega Drive. ...

It had two sequels, Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon, released in 1991, and Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor, released in 1993. The third game, however, was not written by Westwood, who had split with SSI over artistic differences and created the Lands of Lore series. Notable events of 1991 in computer and video games. ... Notable events of 1993 in computer and video games. ... Lands of Lore or LoL is a classical computer role-playing game series by Virgin Interactive, following the tradition of Dungeon Master but introducing a linear scenario-based storyline, rather than characters and feats. ...

The game was quite similar to Dungeon Master, released in 1987 by FTL Games, and was one of the early games in its genre. It won a number of awards for its gameplay, difficult puzzles and story line. Dungeon Master was the first 3D realtime action computer role-playing game. ... 1987 1987 in games 1986 in video gaming 1988 in video gaming Notable events of 1987 in video gaming. ... FTL Games (Faster Than Light) was the video game development division of Software Heaven Inc. ...

There was also a Dungeons & Dragons game for the Game Boy Advance called Eye of the Beholder. However in gameplay terms it was quite different, bearing much more resemblance to the Gold Box games, such as the original Pool of Radiance. This article is about the role-playing game. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Gold Box is the name for a series of computer role-playing games produced by SSI. The company won a license to produce games based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game system from TSR, Inc. ... Pool of Radiance, released in 1988, was the first of a long series of computer role playing games that shared a common engine that came to be known as the Gold Box Engine after the gold boxes in which most games of the series were sold. ...

Story

The lords of the city of Waterdeep hire a team of adventurers to investigate an evil coming from beneath the city. The adventurers start in the city's sewer, whose entrance gets blocked by a collapse caused by Xanathar, the eponymous beholder. The team descends further beneath the city, going through Dwarf and Drow communities, to Xanathar's lair, where the final confrontation takes place. Many players felt disappointed with the game ending, which is considered by many to be one of the worst game endings ever[1]. Once the eponymous beholder was killed, the player would be treated to a small blue window describing that the beholder was killed and that the adventurers ventured into the surface where they were treated as heroes. Nothing else is mentioned in the ending and there were no accompanying graphics. This was changed in the later released Amiga version, which featured an animated ending. Waterdeep is a city-state in the fictional world of Forgotten Realms, located along the Sword Coast, on the continent of Faerûn. ... Image:Beholder. ... In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, dwarves are a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for play as player characters. ... The drow (pronounced either //, rhymes with now, or //, rhymes with throw) or dark elves are a generally evil, dark-skinned subrace of elves in Dungeons & Dragons fantasy. ...

Related Games

Several remakes of the original game have been created as modules for Neverwinter Nights. This article is about the 2002 computer role-playing game. ...

There were also two official sequels to Eye of the Beholder : Eye of the Beholder II - The Legend of Darkmoon and Eye of the Beholder III - Assault on Myth Drannor.

Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon

Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon used a modified version of the first games engine, added outdoor areas and greatly increased the amount of interaction the player had with their environment, along with a substantial amount more 'roleplaying' aspects to the game. The Legend of Darkmoon is generally considered the crowning success of the trilogy, compared to the (considered by many) disappointing sequel, Assault on Myth Drannor.

Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor

Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor was developed by a different company to Eye of the Beholder and The Legend of Darkmoon. Despite employing a brand new game engine, updated graphics, interesting and oft-unique NPC selection and good gameplay tweaks, many felt that the storyline of Eye of the Beholder III: Assault of Myth Drannor was weak and that the game had lost the 'feel' of the previous editions.

External links

• Eye of the Beholder at MobyGames
• Interview with the Eye of the Beholder Project for Neverwinter Nights