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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 from TSR, Inc. These games 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. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... The Gold Box is a Phreaking Box whose function is to create a bridge between two telephone lines. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... For other uses, see Dungeons & Dragons (disambiguation). ... This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... TSR was a company formed as Tactical Studies Rules in 1972 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye (and others later) to publish the rule set for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. ...

History

In 1985 TSR after seeing the success of the Ultima series, offered its license to game developers. Various companies including EA, Sierra applied for the license.^[1] SSI President Joel Billings acquired the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) license from TSR in a major deal due primarily to their computerised wargaming experience in 1987. ^[2]. The development of the Gold Box engine and the original games was managed by SSI's Chuck Kroegel and George MacDonald. Later versions were led by Victor Penman and Ken Humphries. This article is about the year. ... It has been suggested that Mongbat (Ultima) be merged into this article or section. ... Look up sierra in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Joel Billings is an American computer game designer. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Chuck Kroegel is an American computer game designer. ...

The first game produced in the series was Pool of Radiance, released in 1988. This was followed by Curse of the Azure Bonds (1989), Secret of the Silver Blades (1990), and Pools of Darkness (1991), the games forming one continuous story rooted in the once-glorious city of Phlan and later encompassing the entire Moonsea Reaches and four outer planes. A series of TSR novels with identical titles paralleled the stories in the games, and also were best sellers^{[citation needed]}. The original four titles were developed in-house at SSI, and were the best selling Gold Box games. Their success spurred an era of rapid growth at the company. “Pool of Radiance” redirects here. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Curse of the Azure Bonds is the second in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box adventure computer games, published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Secret of the Silver Blades is the third in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons gold box adventure computer games. ... This article is about the year. ... Pools of Darkness is the fourth in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box adventure computer games, published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ...

Earlier games in the series were playable on the Apple IIe, the Apple Macintosh, the Commodore 64, the Amiga and the IBM PC. Later games in the series were released only for the Macintosh, Amiga, and PC. The Apple IIe was the third model in the Apple II line of personal computers, produced by Apple Computer. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... C-64 redirects here. ... This article is about the family of home computers. ... IBM PC (IBM 5150) with keyboard and green screen monochrome monitor (IBM 5151), running MS-DOS 5. ...

When SSI began work on the Dark Sun engine in 1990, development of the Savage Frontier series was passed to developer Stormfront Studios. Stormfront set their first Forgotten Realms Gold Box title, Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991), in Neverwinter, far from the locale of the prior games in Myth Drannor. Gateway became the fourth Gold Box game to go to the #1 position on industry sales charts^{[citation needed]}. This article is about the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about Faerûn, a fictional continent, the primary setting of Forgotten Realms Located west of the Silver Marches and east of the Sword Coast, the Savage Frontier is the place where the cities of Neverwinter and Luskan lie. ... Stormfront Studios is a video game developer based in San Rafael, California, and has one of the longest creative histories in the industry. ... Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991) is a Gold Box Dungeons and Dragons computer game developed by Stormfront Studios and published by SSI for the Commodore 64, PC and Amiga personal computers. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Neverwinter is a fictional city-state in the fantasy setting Forgotten Realms founded by Lord Halueth Never. ...

All of the online RPGs of the 1980s were text-based MUDs, describing the action in the style of Rogue or Will Crowther's original Adventure game. Stormfront's Don Daglow had been designing games for AOL for several years, and the new alliance of SSI, TSR, America On-Line, and Stormfront led to the development of Neverwinter Nights, the first graphical MMORPG, which ran on AOL from 1991 to 1997. NWN was a multi-player implementation of the Gold Box engine, and was the most popular game on AOL for over five years. It paved the way for later hits such as Ultima Online (1997) and Everquest (1999)^{[attribution needed]}. The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... This article is about a type of online computer game. ... Rogue is a dungeon crawling computer game dating from 1980. ... William (Willie or Will) Crowther is a computer programmer and caver. ... This article is about an early text based computer game. ... Don Daglow (born ~1953) is an American computer game and video game designer, programmer and producer. ... For other uses, see AOL (disambiguation). ... This article is about the AOL MMORPG. For the 2002 computer role-playing game, see Neverwinter Nights. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Ultima Online (UO) is a popular graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), released on September 25, 1997, by Origin Systems. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... EverQuest (or colloquially, EQ) is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was released on March 16, 1999. ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ...

Dark Sun was supposed to replace the aging Gold Box engine with its first game, Dark Sun: Shattered Lands in 1992. Unfortunately, the new engine was still shaky when Shattered Lands appeared in 1994. With the Gold Box engine's sales finally fading after an incredible six-year run, the losses SSI absorbed during those two years of delays played a critical role in the sale of SSI to Mindscape in 1994. Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... Mindscape may refer to: Mindscape Band, USA, a hard rock-metal band formed in 1997, distributed worldwide www. ...

The memory of all these games is kept alive by Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures, or FRUA for short, released in 1993, which was an editor that allowed players to create their own stories using a version of the Gold Box engine. An active community grew up around this game, including hacks that expanded its powers and its graphics abilities^{[citation needed]}. Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures, also known as Unlimited Adventures, or by the acronyms FRUA or UA, is a computer game originally released on March 17, 1993 by Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures, also known as Unlimited Adventures, or by the acronyms FRUA or UA, is a computer game originally released on March 17, 1993 by Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... A hack in progress in Lobby 7 at MIT. Hack is a term in the slang of the technology culture which has come into existence over the past few decades. ...

However, interest in the series eventually waned, although the mantle of this genre was later assumed by more recent role-playing games such as Baldur's Gate, and more recently, Neverwinter Nights^{[original research?]}. For the gay mens lifestyle magazine, see Genre (magazine). ... Title screen of Baldurs Gate, the first game in the series. ... This article is about the 2002 computer role-playing game. ...

Features

The "Gold Box Engine" had two main features. Outside of character creation, game play took place in a screen that displayed text interactions, the names and current status of your party of characters, and a window which displayed images of geography, and large or small pictures of characters or events. When combat occurred, which was often in these games, you switched to a full screen combat mode, in which player character icons could move about to cast spells or attack icons representing the enemies. All the games typically involved long dungeon crawls, and were heavier on combat than on role-playing. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The Gold Box games formed a number of series in which you could move characters who had finished one game to the next one in the series. In addition, characters from Pool of Radiance could be imported into Hillsfar, a game based on an entirely different engine, and then exported into Curse of the Azure Bonds. The system was improved over time, adding better colors, graphics, more player-class levels, and new story lines.

List of Gold Box Titles

Titles that reached #1 on the sales charts in bold.

• The Pool of Radiance Forgotten Realms series (developed internally at SSI):
  • Pool of Radiance (1988)
  • Curse of the Azure Bonds (1989)
  • Secret of the Silver Blades (1990)
  • Pools of Darkness (1991)
  • Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures (1993)

• The Savage Frontier Forgotten Realms series (developed by Stormfront Studios):
  • Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991)
  • Treasures of the Savage Frontier (1992)
  • Neverwinter Nights, the first graphical MMORPG, for AOL (1991)

• The Dragonlance series (developed internally at SSI):
  • Champions of Krynn (1990)
  • Death Knights of Krynn (1991)
  • The Dark Queen of Krynn (1992)

• The Buck Rogers series:
  • Countdown to Doomsday (1990)
  • Matrix Cubed (1992)

Additionally, Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace (1992) used the Gold Box combat engine. “Pool of Radiance” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting be merged into this article or section. ... “Pool of Radiance” redirects here. ... Notable events of 1988 in computer and video games. ... Curse of the Azure Bonds is the second in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box adventure computer games, published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... 1989 1989 in games 1988 in video gaming 1990 in video gaming Notable events of 1989 in video gaming. ... Secret of the Silver Blades is the third in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons gold box adventure computer games. ... 1990 1990 in games 1989 in video gaming 1991 in video gaming Notable events of 1990 in video gaming. ... Pools of Darkness is the fourth in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box adventure computer games, published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... Notable events of 1991 in computer and video games. ... Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures, also known as Unlimited Adventures, or by the acronyms FRUA or UA, is a computer game originally released on March 17, 1993 by Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... Notable events of 1993 in computer and video games. ... This article is about Faerûn, a fictional continent, the primary setting of Forgotten Realms Located west of the Silver Marches and east of the Sword Coast, the Savage Frontier is the place where the cities of Neverwinter and Luskan lie. ... It has been suggested that Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting be merged into this article or section. ... Stormfront Studios is a video game developer based in San Rafael, California, and has one of the longest creative histories in the industry. ... Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991) is a Gold Box Dungeons and Dragons computer game developed by Stormfront Studios and published by SSI for the Commodore 64, PC and Amiga personal computers. ... Notable events of 1991 in computer and video games. ... Treasures of the Savage Frontier (1992) is a Gold Box Dungeons and Dragons computer game developed by Stormfront Studios and published by SSI for the PC and Amiga personal computers. ... 1992 1992 in games 1991 in video gaming 1993 in video gaming Notable events of 1992 in video gaming. ... This article is about the AOL MMORPG. For the 2002 computer role-playing game, see Neverwinter Nights. ... An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ... For other uses, see AOL (disambiguation). ... Notable events of 1991 in computer and video games. ... The current edition Dragonlance logo, as seen on all books published in the more recent times. ... Champions of Krynn is the first in a three-part series of Dragonlance Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box computer role-playing games. ... 1990 1990 in games 1989 in video gaming 1991 in video gaming Notable events of 1990 in video gaming. ... Death Knights of Krynn is the second in a three-part series of Dragonlance Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box computer role-playing games, published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... Notable events of 1991 in computer and video games. ... The Dark Queen of Krynn is the third in a three-part series of Dragonlance Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box computer role-playing games. ... 1992 1992 in games 1991 in video gaming 1993 in video gaming Notable events of 1992 in video gaming. ... Buck Rogers is a fictional pulp character who first appeared in 1928 as Anthony Rogers, the hero of two novellas by Philip Francis Nowlan published in the magazine Amazing Stories. ... Countdown to Doomsday is a computer role-playing game released by Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... 1990 1990 in games 1989 in video gaming 1991 in video gaming Notable events of 1990 in video gaming. ... Matrix Cubed is a video game made by Strategic Simulations, Inc. ... 1992 1992 in games 1991 in video gaming 1993 in video gaming Notable events of 1992 in video gaming. ... 1992 1992 in games 1991 in video gaming 1993 in video gaming Notable events of 1992 in video gaming. ...

Game Reception

The first Gold Box game Pool of Radiance was given a score of 90% by Commodore User. The reviewer Tony Dillon was impressed with the features.^[3] The next game in the series Curse of the Azure Bonds was also well received given a score of 90% on magazine, "The Games Machine" ^[4] and 89% on CU Amiga-64.^[5] “Pool of Radiance” redirects here. ...

See also

• List of Forgotten Realms computer games
• List of Dungeons & Dragons computer and video games
• List of Dungeons & Dragons computer and video games by setting

The List of Forgotten Realms computer games is a listing of computer games based on the Forgotten Realms role-playing game campaign setting. ... Eye of the Beholder box cover. ... This is a listing of computer and video games based on various campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. ...

Reference