Top Down View Games: 1981 (Wizardry and Zork II are released)
1980|1981|1982|1983|1984|1985|1986|1987|1988|1989
Castle Wolfenstein (Multi, 1981)
Subgenre: Maze Action/Action Adventure, Stealth (it's generally good to avoid detection), Flip Screen
Perspective: TD view
-"The objective is to escape from the castle and if the player finds the battle plans before escaping, they will be promoted and the complexity of the subsequent run will be increased, while the castle's layout changes and the game starts again"
-Some other Adventure/Action Adventure elements (inventory, locks and keys)
-Search enemy corpses for items
-Destructible walls and items in each room (besides the border walls; using grenades? Not required however)
-Disguises (fools regular guards but not officers)
-Some guards can be alerted by gun fire from within an adjacent room to the one you're in. Opening doors and chests with gunfire is quicker but has this risk attached to it plus if a chest contains grenades and ammo it blows up and the player dies
-Can draw your gun to make solitary guards surrender, letting you search them for items (luck-based)
-Digitized speech without a sound card (spoken audio cues for the enemies)
-Fairly big for the time (60 rooms across 5 floors)
-Lockpicking (wait at the object while a timer goes down - similar to the later Impossible Mission)
-Procedurally generated castle. If a player is killed by their own grenade, the game restarts in a newly generated castle
-Can get drunk (After drinking alcohol the player's aim is temporarily worsened, resulting in bullets and grenades missing their target)
-Some flavor items (no gameplay use)
-Moving into walls stuns you for a bit in the AII version
-Doors and chests can be opened more quickly by shooting at them but will attract the guards in the room, and if the chest contains ammunition and grenades they will explode and kill the player character
-Diagonal movement and separate 8-way aiming keys for your weapons
Playthrough (AII)
Copts & Robbers (AII, 1981)
Subgenre: Action Adventure, Collectathon (4 jewels to place in sockets which then lets you escape the maze if you're carrying the "crown")
Perspective: TD View
Other: Adventure clone (pick up and drop objects - one at a time, locked doors (coffins here?), open ended), Flip Screen/Multi-Screen
-Enemies can chase you across multiple screens and move through walls
-The flower can stun the mummies (?) but not the ghost
-The ghost can steal whatever you're carrying
-Difficulty options
-No save?
-No char upgrades
Playthrough
Dragon's Eye (AII/Atari 8-bit/PET)
Subgenre: Open World RPG
Perspective: TD/Side View hybrid (TB battles)
Other: Hub map, Resting and shopping, Time limit
Gameplay (AII)
Venture (Multi, 1981)
Subgenre: Maze Action/Proto-AA
Perspective: TD view
Other: Overworld/Caves or Buildings split
-8-way aiming and movement
-Some basic puzzles (hidden switches that alter the layout of rooms)
-Some breakable walls (use the default weapon)
-Invincible ghost/demon enemy that appears after spending too long in any room (see Bubble Bobble)
-No ability/tool gating
Playthrough
005 (ARC, 1981)
Subgenre: Stealth/Maze Action
Perspective: Top Down view/Side view hybrid (main/escape segments respectively)
Other: Single screen levels, Indoors and outdoors areas split
-Shows enemy FoV inside buildings
-Can walk and run
Gameplay
Alien Hell (Atari 8-bit, 1981)
Subgenre: Proto-Action Adventure/Survival?
Perspective: TD view
Other: Keys? (crystals)
Difficulty options
Gameplay
Ultima/Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (AII, 1981/Multi)
Subgenre: Open World RPG/WRPG, Some Space Combat Sim segments, Character creation (4 races and classes., 6 attributes)
Perspective: TD view/FP View hybrid
Other: Tile-based movement, Shops, Mixes medieval fantasy and sci-fi elements
-Fast travel via transports (horse, cart, raft, frigate, aircar, shuttle)
-Sector maps in the space segment
-Ladder up and ladder down spells+Blink (random teleport) for dungeon traversal
-Locked doors and keys
-Can open dungeon coffins with the Open and Unlock spells, Can create and destroy dungeon barriers with spells
-Steal spell (later versions)
-Context sensitive and semi-random Prayer spell (Overworld: If there is a Creature nearby, it will attempt to remove it, but you'll earn no reward. However, if either your HP or Food is below 15, it will increase one of them to 15 (HP is prioritized). Dungeons: Casts a random Spell, including Wizard-exclusive Spells even if you're not a Wizard; There are no negative Spell effects)
-Hunger mechanic
Video Analysis
Hunt the Wumpus (TI-99/4A, 1981)
Subgenre: Precursor to Rogue/Maze/Horror
Perspective: Top Down view
Other: Tile-based movement
Death animations
Gameplay
Nostromo (PET 2001/PC-6000, 1981)
Subgenre: Survival Horror, Collectathon
Perspective: Top Down View
Other: Tile-based movement
-Sci-fi theme, resource management
"In the game, players are tasked with escaping an invisible alien whilst collecting crucial items and managing dwindling resources, trapped aboard a derelict spaceship. If caught, the player is immediately killed. Likewise, if the players fail to collect all the necessary items, the alien will corner the player and tear them to shreds, making it the earliest example of the genre." - whatculture.com
Gameplay
Castle Wolfenstein (Multi, 1981)
Subgenre: Maze Action/Action Adventure, Stealth (it's generally good to avoid detection), Flip Screen
Perspective: TD view
-"The objective is to escape from the castle and if the player finds the battle plans before escaping, they will be promoted and the complexity of the subsequent run will be increased, while the castle's layout changes and the game starts again"
-Some other Adventure/Action Adventure elements (inventory, locks and keys)
-Search enemy corpses for items
-Destructible walls and items in each room (besides the border walls; using grenades? Not required however)
-Disguises (fools regular guards but not officers)
-Some guards can be alerted by gun fire from within an adjacent room to the one you're in. Opening doors and chests with gunfire is quicker but has this risk attached to it plus if a chest contains grenades and ammo it blows up and the player dies
-Can draw your gun to make solitary guards surrender, letting you search them for items (luck-based)
-Digitized speech without a sound card (spoken audio cues for the enemies)
-Fairly big for the time (60 rooms across 5 floors)
-Lockpicking (wait at the object while a timer goes down - similar to the later Impossible Mission)
-Procedurally generated castle. If a player is killed by their own grenade, the game restarts in a newly generated castle
-Can get drunk (After drinking alcohol the player's aim is temporarily worsened, resulting in bullets and grenades missing their target)
-Some flavor items (no gameplay use)
-Moving into walls stuns you for a bit in the AII version
-Doors and chests can be opened more quickly by shooting at them but will attract the guards in the room, and if the chest contains ammunition and grenades they will explode and kill the player character
-Diagonal movement and separate 8-way aiming keys for your weapons
Playthrough (AII)
Copts & Robbers (AII, 1981)
Subgenre: Action Adventure, Collectathon (4 jewels to place in sockets which then lets you escape the maze if you're carrying the "crown")
Perspective: TD View
Other: Adventure clone (pick up and drop objects - one at a time, locked doors (coffins here?), open ended), Flip Screen/Multi-Screen
-Enemies can chase you across multiple screens and move through walls
-The flower can stun the mummies (?) but not the ghost
-The ghost can steal whatever you're carrying
-Difficulty options
-No save?
-No char upgrades
Playthrough
Dragon's Eye (AII/Atari 8-bit/PET)
Subgenre: Open World RPG
Perspective: TD/Side View hybrid (TB battles)
Other: Hub map, Resting and shopping, Time limit
Gameplay (AII)
Venture (Multi, 1981)
Subgenre: Maze Action/Proto-AA
Perspective: TD view
Other: Overworld/Caves or Buildings split
-8-way aiming and movement
-Some basic puzzles (hidden switches that alter the layout of rooms)
-Some breakable walls (use the default weapon)
-Invincible ghost/demon enemy that appears after spending too long in any room (see Bubble Bobble)
-No ability/tool gating
Playthrough
005 (ARC, 1981)
Subgenre: Stealth/Maze Action
Perspective: Top Down view/Side view hybrid (main/escape segments respectively)
Other: Single screen levels, Indoors and outdoors areas split
-Shows enemy FoV inside buildings
-Can walk and run
Gameplay
Alien Hell (Atari 8-bit, 1981)
Subgenre: Proto-Action Adventure/Survival?
Perspective: TD view
Other: Keys? (crystals)
Difficulty options
Gameplay
Ultima/Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (AII, 1981/Multi)
Subgenre: Open World RPG/WRPG, Some Space Combat Sim segments, Character creation (4 races and classes., 6 attributes)
Perspective: TD view/FP View hybrid
Other: Tile-based movement, Shops, Mixes medieval fantasy and sci-fi elements
-Fast travel via transports (horse, cart, raft, frigate, aircar, shuttle)
-Sector maps in the space segment
-Ladder up and ladder down spells+Blink (random teleport) for dungeon traversal
-Locked doors and keys
-Can open dungeon coffins with the Open and Unlock spells, Can create and destroy dungeon barriers with spells
-Steal spell (later versions)
-Context sensitive and semi-random Prayer spell (Overworld: If there is a Creature nearby, it will attempt to remove it, but you'll earn no reward. However, if either your HP or Food is below 15, it will increase one of them to 15 (HP is prioritized). Dungeons: Casts a random Spell, including Wizard-exclusive Spells even if you're not a Wizard; There are no negative Spell effects)
-Hunger mechanic
Video Analysis
Hunt the Wumpus (TI-99/4A, 1981)
Subgenre: Precursor to Rogue/Maze/Horror
Perspective: Top Down view
Other: Tile-based movement
Death animations
Gameplay
Nostromo (PET 2001/PC-6000, 1981)
Subgenre: Survival Horror, Collectathon
Perspective: Top Down View
Other: Tile-based movement
-Sci-fi theme, resource management
"In the game, players are tasked with escaping an invisible alien whilst collecting crucial items and managing dwindling resources, trapped aboard a derelict spaceship. If caught, the player is immediately killed. Likewise, if the players fail to collect all the necessary items, the alien will corner the player and tear them to shreds, making it the earliest example of the genre." - whatculture.com
Gameplay