Carl Thompson, a.k.a. The Jackal, has created a Knightmare game using the Games Factory game creation engine. In this game, you control the dungeoneer through three levels of the dungeon, avoiding monsters, answering riddles and solving puzzles. The game is free to download and play.
A Brief History of the Game
Being a massive fan of Knightmare, I have always been disappointed that no-one ever stepped up and adapted the game show to a proper computer game. Sure, I know there are a few bits and piece's out there, but nothing that really stands out and the thing about Knightmare is that it really does have all of the ingredients for a really exciting, challenging game that people can get into.
This is basically why I sat down and started to plan how it would be possible to compile and program my own version of Knightmare as a computer game, especially being based on series 2 which in my mind was just fantastic for that time, and even now are such brilliant and exciting episodes.
At this stage of course, I had no idea of the actual work involved thinking I could grab a few rooms and "glue" them together with some sounds and graphics. However, it soon started to dawn on me the sheer volume of work required and, all in all, it took over six months of pretty much solid work to compile all of the graphics and sounds which are required for each of the rooms on each of the levels.
Once that was complete, I needed a plan. A quest to follow, and a map of the dungeon which players would follow. It needed to be exciting in my mind, not just rooms to wonder through - but challenges to take and dangers to avoid in each. That in itself is an enormous amount of work and planning to tie in something you collect or do in one room, which then effects your outcome in another - sometimes far in advance.
However, you are limited to the various twists and turns you can take, which became apparent the further into the game I got as you have to keep the story in the game with the story line already played out on the television so that you have all of the sounds, graphics and objects at your disposal. If you stray too far so to speak, you end up without any of the resources required, and the end product suffers.
This is another reason why I expanded and based this game on the first 3 series of Knightmare, and not just the second as originally planned as it gave me more opportunity to use better materials for the whole game. As a result, anyone who has watched these series recently could easily complete the game fairly quickly as riddles, objects from the clue rooms, traps, spells required, and other occurrences have of course already happened via the series.
I have tried to create as an exciting atmosphere as possible, even for those who have watched these series over and over, and as you progress further into the dungeon you are hounded more and more by Mogdred who was such a brilliant character in Knightmare, I decided right from the start that he would be the one to really put the pressure on the dungeoneer through the later stages of the game! Just his laugh is very menacing and can set you off immediately into panic mode!
Game Instructions
The game itself once downloaded and installed on your PC comes with a full set of instructions. However, much like in the series, you guide the dungeoneer through the various rooms in each of the levels using the arrow keys. Along the way it is essential to keep an eye out for food in order to maintain your life force which is constantly being drained slowly. Don’t hang about anywhere for too long as this might mean you then don’t have sufficient time to reach the next food item, and will appear that you have died off for no reason.
TIP: If you have extra life force at your disposal and encounter additional food, complete any tasks in that room first before taking the food. This might give you vital seconds later somewhere, as once food has been consumed; the life force counter is immediately reset, but then begins to slowly drain away again.
On your journey you will encounter characters from the TV show. Some help, some hinder, some require riddles answering correctly for essential information or spells which will help you through the quest
The deeper into the levels you travel, the more difficult it becomes. However, stay true to your quest and on the right path, and remember, the only way is onward - there is no turning back! Enjoy the game and good luck!
 Knightmare.exe | [The Jackal's Knightmare Game] | 249006 Kb |