Miscellany

 

ABBREVIATIONS

 

Darklands uses numerous abbreviations to save space on various screens. For your convenience, they are listed here.

 

Agl = agility
Alch = alchemy (skill)
Arblst = arbalest
Artf = artifice (skill)
BatAxe = battle axe
Brgdn = brigandine (armor)
BrHG = brass handgun
Chain = chainmail (armor)
Chr = charisma
CmBow = composite bow
CrsBow = crossbow
Curb = cuirbouilli (armor)
DF = divine favor
End = endurance
FkSpr = forked spear
Flail = military flail
FldAxe = field axe
FScim = flaming scimitar
Fswrd = flaming sword
GntClub = giant club
GrtHmr = great hammer
GtCudg = giant cudgel
Halbrd = halberd
Heal = healing (skill)
HndAxe = hand axe
Int = intelligence
IrHG = iron handgun
Javeln = javelin
L = Limbs (armor area)
LgShld = large shield
LngBow = longbow
LngSpr = long spear
Lngswrd = longsword
Lthr = leather (armor)
MdShld = medium shield
MilHmr = military hammer
Per = perception
P Stone = Philosopher's Stone
QStaff = quarterstaff
Relg = religious training (skill)
Ride = riding (skill)
R&W = read and write (skill)
ShtBow = short bow
ShtSpr = short spear
Shtswrd = shortsword
SmShld = small shield
SpkC = speak common (skill)
SpkL = speak Latin (skill)
Stlh = stealth (skill)
StLthr = studded leather (armor)
Str = strength
StrW = streetwise (skill)
ThrKnf = throwing knife
V = Vitals (armor area)
Virt = virtue (skill)
wBow = bow weapon (skill)
WdWs = woodwise (skill)
wEdg = edged weapon (skill)
wFll = flail weapon (skill)
wImp = impact weapon (skill)
wMsD = missile device weapon (skill)
wPol = polearm weapon (skill)
wThr = thrown weapon (skill)
2Hflail = two-handed flail
2Hswrd = two-handed sword

 

 

LEXICON

 

Place Names

Certain cities and rivers have different spellings in German and English. In most cases names with an umlaut simply lose that symbol in English (i.e., Lüneberg becomes Luneberg, etc.), or add an "e" after the vowel (i.e. "ä" becomes "ae").

More significant changes are listed below. This includes prominent cities in modern Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary that have reverted to their Slavic names.

{*** "Note: The umlaut symbol does not show up on screen. Therefore, anywhere an umlaut would appear, the letter is bolded."}

 

BRESLAU: Wroclaw
BROMBERG: Bvdgoszcz
BRAUNSCHWEIG: Brunswick
BRÜNN: Brno
DANZIG: Gdansk
DONAU: Danube River
KONSTANZ: Constance
KÖLN: Cologne
KUTTENBERG: Kutna Hora
LUXEMBURG: Luxembourg
MARIENBERG: Malbork
MÜNCHEN: Munich
NÜRNBERG: Nuremberg
NYMWEGEN: Nijmegen
OLMÜTZ: Olomoue
POSEN: Poznan
PRAG: Prague
> PRESSBURG: Bratislava
STETTIN: Sczcecin
THORN: Torun
WEIN: Vienna

 

Other Terms

The German language frequently uses compound words. For example, "alt" means high, and "dorf" means village, so a hamlet named "Altdorf" is literally "the high village." The short glossary below covers common root words, and compounds where they are frequently used terms.

 

BERG: Mountain, but often a tall hill
BURG: Town, city or other urban place
BURGGRAF: Castle lord, castellean
DIET: Congress
DOM: Cathedral
DORF: Village or hamlet
DORFGRAF: Village count
ELENDESVIERTEL: Slum
ERZ-: Arch-, as in "Erzbischof" (Archbishop) or "Erzherzog" (Archduke)
GELEITSBRIEFE: Letter of safe conduct, used by merchants
GRAF: Count
HAUS: House or building
HAUPTMANN: Captain or leader
HOLZFRAU: Woodwife or Waldmannlein, female creature of the woods, frequently the mate of a schrat
KIRCHE: Church
KLOSTER: Monastery
LEIHHAUS: Pawnshop
LOSUNGER: Treasurer
MEISTER: Master
MUNZENPLATZ: Mint
OBERVOGT: High steward
PLATZ: Plaza, square or place
RAT: Council
RAUBRITTER: "Robber knight," from "raub" (robber) and "ritter) (knight)
REICHSSTADTE: Imperial Free City
RICHTER: Professional judge
RITTER: Armed rider, knight
SCHLOSS: Castle
SCHRAT: Wodewose or "wild man" of the woods
SCHULTEISS: Baliff or judge usually imperial
SCHULZ: Headman or knight-mayor
STADT: City
TURM: Fortified tower or keep
UNIVERSITAT: University
VOGT: Steward, magistrate, governor
VON: Sir, a knightly title (as in "Sir John))
WURM: worm, but frequently a lizard or scaled worm
ZEUGHAUS: Barracks

 

DESIGNER'S NOTES

 

Darklands is an ambitious attempt to expand the "world" of computer fantasy role-playing games. At MicroProse, we have grown tired of "hack and slash" adventures, punctuated by silly puzzles blocking your acquisition of the magic gizmo that dispatches Foobash, the evil wizard. All this happens in a world populated mostly with a random assortment of monsters, sometimes expanded by a similarly random assortment of silly villagers, all of whom sprang from a bad imitation of Lord of the Rings.

Unlike any other game in this genre, Darklands is set in a real time and place. Darklands is fantasy because whatever people of the era imagined was possible, now really is possible. Then we took a few additional liberties for the sake of gaming and playability. However, much care was taken to make this world be the real 15th Century, as perceived by its inhabitants. There are many different adventures in Darklands. Some are interrelated, but many are completely independent of each other. Lots of things are happening in the world. You can be involved in whatever interests you! This "non linear" aspect of Darklands means you can play it almost endlessly, or return to it from time to time, as the inclination strikes.

Since reality has so many possibilities, our biggest problem was deciding what not to include. Microcomputers, circa 1992, are still very limited in their abilities, as are corporate budgets. We trust you'll be understanding when you see similar city layouts, artwork, etc. There simply isn't enough manpower in the computer gaming industry to bring alive every detail. Therefore we concentrated on the high spots. Hopefully it will inspire your imagination to fill in the rest.

THE GAME SYSTEM: Darklands uses an innovative game system for computer fantasy. Until now, fantasy games almost universally copied the concepts of "Dungeons & Dragons"®, including various "classes" of characters, who advance through various "levels" via "experience points," acquiring more "hit points" as they go. In such a system, it's quite possible for 20^th Level warriors to absorb an entire mercenary company's volley of crossbow fire, simply because the character has so many hit points!

There are alternate and better systems available. They've been used for years in paper role-playing games. Darklands is the first to bring these concepts to computer fantasy games. In Darklands attributes change rarely, while skills improve regularly. This means that you, as a player, must balance the permanent importance of attributes against the desirability of higher and higher skills. Best of all, even the most skillful of adventures cannot survive target practice by a company of crossbowmen!

One controversial aspect of this system is the appearance of "virtue" as a skill. Perhaps "virtue" is a poor term to express the concept of greater mystical understanding. When characters acquire "virtue," they acquire greater holiness and a wider ability to seek miraculous aid. If this seems improper, remember that in the medieval era the pragmatic and the spiritual were intermixed in ways alien to many modern philosophies.

Most fantasy games have a magic system. Instead, Darklands has religious and alchemical systems. It is important to remember that both are based on forms of belief now repudiated.

The Church portrayed in Darklands has no relationship to the modern Catholic Church. For the sake of game play we emphasized the miraculous. Modern Catholics should be justly proud of the Counter-Reformation (in the 1500s and 1600s) that cleansed the Church, sweeping ancient, superstitious baggage away, along with all sorts of daily evils and hypocrisy. Out of that has come a vigorous, health, and far more spiritual Church whose quiet role around the globe is more altruistic and beneficial than many imagine. Be assured that this game has no secret "hidden agenda" or religious message, and our apologies to anyone offended by a glimpse into one of the less attractive aspects of European religious history.

The "alchemy" of Darklands represents what some of the finest medieval minds hoped they might accomplish with their art. Alchemy is the ancestor to modern chemistry. However, without equipment to understand gases and no concept of scientific method, alchemists were doomed to an imaginary "science." Modern chemists will see brief glimmerings of real reactive properties, but none of the "formulas" in this game produce the results described. Readers and gamers should not try alchemy; studying real chemistry is far more interesting and much more productive.

Perhaps the most innovative aspect of Darklands is the extensive use of menus. We choose this approach primarily because the traditional "guess the word" or "hear the canned speech" methods bored us. However, this has a beneficial side effect: Darklands is not constrained by a data base of objects and actions. As designers, we could create any situation, with any options and results, simply by creating a new menu and attached logic. The only limits are design time and imagination! Of course, as a player this means you need to study each new situation. Even an experienced player can be surprised periodically with new situations or results. Best of all, this menu system allows the game size and scale to be quite large. You don't have to deal with endlessly boring details, manipulate specific objects, etc. Instead, you pick a course of action and see what happens!

The battle system in Darklands was designed with care. We wanted the realism of real-time fighting, including animated effects, the clash of weapons, the ebb and flow of action. However, we've observed that it's either frustrating or impossible for a player to control four or five characters fighting simultaneously in real time. We think "pause for orders" is a perfect compromise between realism and enjoyable gaming.

THE PRICE OF REALISM: Some playtesters complained about our use of monastic hours, medieval coinage and selected German spellings. We agree it's a bit more difficult, but we think it makes the game environment "feel" realistic without ruining common readability. This is why we include umlauts (which only cause minor changes in pronunciation), but avoid the essen, a special character in the German alphabet that represents "ss" in the middle of a word.

The biggest problem is coinage, mainly because Americans have been "spoiled" by a ridiculously easy decimal system. Older Britons will undoubtedly find the relationship between pfenniges, groschen, and florins more familiar, being not unlike their old pence, schillings and pounds.

Similarly, the arms and armor available in the game are authentic. Historians may point out that things like cuirbouilli and scale were antiquated in 15th Century Germany. However, such armor was still commonplace in Poland, Russia, and many other locales. Besides, who says that relatively poor adventurers could necessarily afford most modern equipment?

The region depicted in the game, Greater Germany, is not intended to be a justification for German expansion into neighboring countries, including Holland, France, Switzerland, Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The game only shows the political conditions and borders of that era, rounded off to a conveniently square map area. The history of this region is so complicated that suggesting a "rightful" owner to almost any territory is silly. Instead, we applaud the growing European attitude that problems are best managed by people living together in harmony, democratically, without racial or cultural bias.

WITCHCRAFT: The portrayal of witches, witchcraft, and the Templars in Darklands is based entirely on 15th Century ideas, from careful reading of primary and secondary sources. There are no covens, no nature ceremonies, no pre-Christian rites or worship of Diana. The witches here come from the "Malleus Maleficarum," the classic book about witchcraft, written in the late 1400s by two Dominican friars. The ultimate purpose of the Darklands witches is entirely in keeping with philosophies of that era, especially the recurring millenarian themes.

Incidentally, this portrayal is quite different from most modern conceptions. These were fostered by early 20th Century interest in pre-Christian rites and the peculiar theories of Margaret Murray. These ideas gained an unreasonably wide audience when she managed to get them into the Encyclopedia Britannica for all too many decades. Most neopagan or "modern" witches are based on Murrite theories. There is no connection between these modern ideas and the witches of Darklands.

Modern historians still debate whether witchcraft really existed as a cult in its own right, independent of the confessions extracted under torture by the Inquisition and various witch hunters. Some argue that the Inquisition, with its methods and beliefs, created the idea of witchcraft, which was then seized upon and believed by various desperate and/or unbalanced people. Others see satanic practices as activities of real extremists, the "lunatic fringe" of various heretical cults spawned by the transparent decadence of the medieval Church. Recently, some historians have suggested that since witchcraft was predominantly female, it was a relatively harmless "device" women used to redress the balance of power in a male-dominated society. A few go on to suggest this sometimes expanded into a cult of self-delusion, caused by using various natural, mind-altering drugs available at that time.

Regarding the Templars, most historian fee they were "framed" by King Philip's need for cash and betrayed by a captive Papacy at Avignon. Indeed, subsequent medieval investigations confirmed this, but by then the legend of satanic rites was well established.

THE CREATIVE TEAM: Darklands would have been impossible without the faith and vision of the management of MicroProse software. We originally underestimated the time, complexity and cost of the project by a large factor. When development costs rose past the stratosphere, there was a great temptation to either give up or just "publish whatever we've got," regardless of quality.

The initial design work and research was done by Arnold Hendrick, veteran of many MicroProse military simulators. Eventually, the design tasks proved so huge that he dragooned first Sandy Petersen, then Doug Kaufman to help. All three are veteran designers and players of role-playing games from the 70s and 80s.

The initial programming, and ultimately the entire animated battle system was created by Jim Synoski, long-term veteran at MicroProse (among other things, he wrote the original F-19 Stealth Fighter game). He too eventually needed assistance, first from Doug Whatley (who ably took over the complexities of the menu logic system, map and world data), and finally from Bryan Stout (who provided various "black boxes" to glue together the game).

The artwork demanded by Darklands was a vast task. Art Director Michael Haire developed the initial concepts, including the "great illustrators" approach to background scenes that is new and extremely fitting for the subject. Implementing this fell, in an unseemly rush, onto Artino (who roughed out each scene in pen) and Chris Soares (who did much of the color rendering), assisted by Erroll Roberts and others. Meanwhile, the other huge task was the battlefield character animation, originally masterminded by Jackie Ross, then fleshed-out and refined by Rawn Martin and Patrick Downey. The introductory and concluding animations were entirely the genius of Artino, who ultimately used an in-house animation tool developed by Brian Reynolds. Overall, Darklands needed great art, and it certainly got it. The most constant complaint of all the artists was they didn't get enough time to (a) add more and (b) do an even better job!

Dr. Jeffery Briggs, MicroProse's "composer in residence," is the brain behind the music. However, assembling this in computer form, and doing all the sound effects, fell as usual upon the overworked MicroProse sound department, led by Ken Lagace.

We would also like to thank Dr. Kelly DeVries for his kind academic help in various matters relating to the 15th Century, especially weaponry. We also appreciate the advice of various gaming experts who saw the projects in various stages. We apologize for sometimes ignoring their advice!

SEQUELS: Darklands was designed to permit sequels. It is possible to have some additional adventures in Germany. More importantly, it is possible to create entirely new games elsewhere in Europe. The system not only allows moving "saved game" files back and forth, but also allows you to load multiple games onto your hard disk and move back and forth between the nations, in a sort of giant adventure. Let us know what you enjoyed in Darklands, what you would like to see in a sequel, and what setting you prefer. There are plenty of possibilities: the Emperor in Germany has many political problems and intrigues, England and France are busy finishing the last half of the Hundred Years War, after which England falls into civil war (the War of the Roses). Meanwhile, Italy is at the peak of its warring city-states era, Vlad the Impaler appears in the Balkans (the historical figure who ultimately became Dracula), Tamerlane is conquering Central Asian, and much more. What's your preference?

 

--Arnold Hendrick, 1992

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

General History

These volumes provide a general background to either the Middle Ages as a whole, or a specific aspect of it. An astute reader will discover that these historians have widely differing theories, some of which clash with the analysis of Gothic Germany given here. For specific information about medieval affairs, Green, Bishop and Fossier are the most useful. For the best overview of Europe in this era, choose Hay. Barraclough is unmatched for providing a detailed but well-guided path through the minefield of German medieval development. For interesting if sometimes radical opinions, see Huizinga and Aston.

Medieval Civilization in Western Europe, V.H.H. Green, St. Martin's Press, 1971
The Middle Ages, Morris Bishop, Houghton Mifflin, 1968.
The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe, George Holmes ed., Oxford University Press, 1988.
The Middle Ages 1250-1520, Robert Fossier ed., S.H. Tenison trans., Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Europe in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, Denys Hay, Longman, second edition 1989.
The Origins of Modern Germany, Geoffrey Barraclough, Capricorn Books, 1963 reprint of 1947 edition.
A History of Denmark, Palle Lauring, Dorset Press, 1960.
The Waning of the Middle Ages, J. Huizinga, St. Martins' Press, 1924.
The Fifteenth Century, Margaret Aston, W. W. Norton, 1968.

 

Local and Political History

These books provide specific historical insights into the important people and events of the region. The most useful and highly recommended is Du Boulay, the definitive English treatment of this subject. For a sense of detail and specific issues, Strauss, Cohn and Schildhaus are the best, Fuhrmann and Arnold are mainly for those interested in the early Middle Ages (1000-1250), included purely as a courtesy. Vaughan's great four-volume work on the Burgundian princes (the last two are noted here) is also quite fascinating.

Germany in the Later Middle Ages, F.R.H. Du Boulay, Athlone Press, 1983.
Nuremberg in the Sixteenth Century, Gerald Strauss, Indiana University Press, revised edition 1976.
The Government in the Rhine Palatinate in the Fifteenth Century, Henry J. Cohn, Oxford University press, 1965.
The Hansa, Johannes Schildhaus, K. Vanovitch trans., Edition Leipzig, 1985.
The Princes and Parliaments in Germany, F. L. Carsten, Clarendon Press, 1959.
Philip The Good, Richard Vaughan, Barnes & Noble, 1970
Charles the Bold, Richard Vaughan, Barnes & Noble, 1973.
Princes and Territories in Medieval Germany, Benjamin Arnold, Cambridge University Press, 1991.
Germany in the High Middle Ages (c. 1050-1200), Horst Fuhrmann, Cambridge University Press, 1986.

 

Social, Cutural & Economic History

Many of these books intermix the social institutions of the early middle ages with those of later times. After the Black Death, actual social patterns changed greatly, even though popular perceptions and attitudes took longer to catch up. For this reason, Rossiaud, Geremek and Dyer are actually much more useful then the commonly available books of Rowling and The Gies family. For information on trade, industry, mining, currency, etc., the Cambridge Economic History of 1987 completely outclasses all other works in the field.

Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages 1200-1520, Christopher Dyer, Cambridge University Press, 1989.
The Margins of Society in Late Medieval Paris, Bronislaw Geremek, J. Birrell trans., Cambridge University Press, 1971 (trans. 1987).
Medieval Prostitution, Jacques Rossiaud, L. G. Cochrane trans., Basil Blackwell, 1988.
The Cambridge Economic History of Europe: II: Trade and Industry in the Middle Ages, Postan & Miller ed., Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Private Life in the Fifteenth Century, Roger Virgoe ed., Toucan Books, 1989.
A History of Private Life, II: Revelations of the Medieval World, Georges Duby ed., A. Goldhammer trans., Harvard University Press, 1988.
A History of Private Life, III: Passions of the Renaissance, Roger Chartier ed., A. Goldhammer trans., Harvard University Press, 1989.
Everyday Life in Medieval Times, Marjorie Rowling, Dorset Press, 1968.
Life in a Medieval City, Joseph and Frances Gies, Apollo, 1973.
Everyday Life of Medieval Travellers, Marjorie Rowling, Dorset Press, 1971.
Women in the Middle Ages, Frances and Joseph Gies, Harper & Row, 1978.

 

Military Affairs

We are greatly indebted to Professor Kelly DeVries for use of his manuscript for an upcoming book on late medieval warfare. Among the published sources, Contamine offers the most useful general history. Wise the best military- and wargaming-oriented work. Burne has the best military history of the Hundred Years War, the later half occurring in this era. Beeler and Oman offer useful insights to preceding and later eras, and are recommended to anyone who thinks medieval or early modern warfare was "simple." For technical information on arms and armor, the WRG (Wargames Research Group) publications and the Osprey illustrated booklets remain the best available, despite attacks on specific information within them.

War in the Middle Ages, Philippe Contamine, Michael Jones trans., Basil Blackwell, 1984.
Medieval Warfare, Terence Wise, Hastings House, 1976.
Armies of the Middle Ages (volumes 1 and 2) 1300-1500, Ian Heath, Wargames Research Group, 1982-84.
Armies of Feudal Europe 1066-1300, Ian Heath, Wargames Research Group, 1977.
German Medieval Armies 1300-1500, Gravett & McBride, Ospreyu, 1985.
The Swiss at War, 1300-1500, Miller & Embleton, Osprey, 1979.
Armies of Medieval Burgundy, 1364-1477, Michael & Embleton, Osprey, 1983.
The Agincourt War, Lt. Col. Alfred H. Burne, Greenwood Press, 1976 reprint of 1956 edition.
Warfare in Feudal Europe; 730-1200, John Beeler, Cornell University Press, 1971.
The Art of War in the Sixteenth Century, Sir Charles Oman, E.P., Dutton, 1979 reprint of 1937 edition.
Medieval Warlords, Tim Newark, Blandford Press, 1987.
"Towns and Defence in Later Medieval Germany," David Eltis, Oxford.
"Early Bow Design and Construction," McEwen, Miller & Bergman, Scientific American, June 1991.

 

Geography

The single best source of medieval German map information is the Grosser Historischer Weltatlas, almost unobtainable in the United States. For basic topography, nothing beats the Times atlas. For specific details about specific cities, the Baedeker travel guides are quite useful, especially the rare pre-WWI series kindly lent to us by Bruce Milligan.

Grosser Historischer Weltatlas -- Zweiter Teil Mittelalter ("Greater Historical World Atlas - Vol. II, Middle Ages"), Josef Engel ed., Bayerischer Schulbuch-Verlag, 1979.
The Times Atlas of the World, Seventh Edition, Times Books, 1988. Maps by John Bartholomew & Sons, Limited, Edinburgh.
Northern Germany, Baedeker's, Charles Scribner, 1913.
Southern Germany, Baedeker's, Charles Scribner, 1914.
Belgium and Holland, Baedeker's, Charles Scribner, 1910.
Austria, Baedeker's, Prentice-Hall Inc. (for U.S. edition), third edition, c. 1980s.
Germany [West], Baedeker's, Prentice-Hall Inc. (for the U.S. edition), c. 1980s.
Switzerland, A Phaidon Cultural Guide, Prentice-Hall Inc., 1985.
Atlas of Secret Europe, Charles Walker, Dorset Press, 1990.

 

Folk Tales

No single one of these books is especially useful in itself. We had to assemble bits and pieces from all of them.

The Ring of the Niblung, Richard Wagner, M. Armour trans., Garden City, 1939.
German Myths and Legends, Donald A. MacKenzie, Avenel Books, 1985.
The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, Lily Owens ed., Avenel Books, 1981.
Grimms' Fairy Tales, Lucas, Crane & Edwardes ed./ trans., Grosset & Dunlap; c. 1940s.
Werewolves in Western Culture, Charlotte Otten ed., Syracuse University Press, 1986.
On Monsters and Marvels, Ambroise Pare, J.L. Pallister trans., University of Chicago Press, 1982 (originally published in 1570s).
The Bestiary -- A Book of Beasts, T.H. White, Capricorn Books, 1960.
A Dictionary of Fabulous Beasts, Richard Barber & Anne Riches, Macmillan, 1971.

 

Religion, Saints & Alchemy

In addition to the works below, the various multi-volume editions of "Butler's Lives", revised as research continues, are an excellent source of information. We feel Delaney is the best single-volume work, although short on interesting anecdotes. Bokenkotter and Bossy present very sympathic church histories, yet even they find it hard to say many positive things about the Church in this era. Those who dispute our opinion of the medieval Catholic church are urged to read them. Incidentally, both were acquired at a Catholic-sponsored bookstore.

For alchemy, in addition to various short pieces in histories of chemistry or science, we found Holmyard's book invaluable. The Book of Abramelin is very interesting, but its authenticity has been questioned. Fabricius' self-published effort is amusing, but few give it serious consideration.

Butler's Lives of Patron Saints, Michael Walsh ed., Harper & Row, 1987.
Pocket Dictionary of Saints, John J. Delaney, Image Book -- Doubleday, 1980.
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, David Hugh Farmer, Oxford University Press, 1987.
Saints and their Cults, Stephen Wilson ed., Cambridge University Press, 1983.
The Medieval Imagination, Jacques le Goff, A. Goldhammer trans., University of Chicago Press, 1988.
A Concise History of the Catholic Church, Thomas Bokenkotter, Image Book -- Doubleday, 1977.
Christianity in the West, 1400-1700, John Bossy, Oxford University Press, 1987.
Alchemy, E.J. Holmyard, Dover, 1990 reprint of 1957 book.
The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, S.L. MacGregor Mathers trans., Dover, 1975 reprint of 1900 book of manuscript reputedly written in 1458.
Alchemy, Johannes Fabricius, Johannes Fabricius, 1989 third revised edition.

 

Magic and Witchcraft

Because of the "witch craze" that peaked in Germany in the late 16th and early 17th Century, historians are still arguing what it involved, and what causes lay behind it. The "Malleus Maleficarum" is the key source, while Russell's detailed analysis is the best modern examination of all groups and events, done with remarkable fairness to all possible viewpoints. Norman Cohn presents a popular, modern, liberal view; Montague Summers is a classic arch-conservative. Meanwhile Kieckhefer makes an interesting attempt to define "magic" in medieval terms, as separate from the witchcraft issue.

Malleus Maleficarum, Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, Montague Summers trans., Dover, 1971 reprint of 1928 translation of c.1480s publication.
Witchcraft in the Middle Ages, Jeffrey Burton Russell, Cornell University Press, 1972.
Europe's Inner Demons, Norman Cohn, Meridian Book - New American Library, 1975.
A History of Witchcraft and Demonology, Montague Summers, Dorset Press, 1987 reprint of 1925 edition.
Magic in the Middle Ages, Richard Kieckhefer, Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe, Edward Peters ed., University of Pennsylvania Press, 1980.
The Magician, the Witch and the Law, Edward Peters, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1978.
Witchcraft, Magic & Alchemy, Grillot de Givry, J.C. Locke trans., Dover, 1971 reprint of 1931 edition.

 

Art and Architecture

The images in Darklands came from many sources, the most important being the imaginations and inner visions of the MicroProse art staff. Many of the following were used for inspiration, rather than for specific items. Furthermore, the list below is just a sampling of the resources used. Incidentally, although Fraenger's book on Bosch has superb reproductions, his interpretive theories are rarely supported in the academic community. Similarly, while Koch's analysis of medieval warfare is weak, but the plethora of period illustrations is a virtual gold mine.

Medieval Cities, Howard Saalman, George Braziller, 1968.
Medieval Architecture, Howard Saalman, George Braziller, 1962.
Hieronymus Bosch, Wilhelm Fraenger, H. Sebba trans., G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1983.
The Complete Woodcuts, Albrecht Durer, revised by Dr. M. Heffels, Artline, 1990.
Medieval Warfare, H.W. Koch, Prentice-Hall, 1978.
The Book of the Medieval Knight, Stephen Turnbull, Crown, 1985.
Arms and Armor of the Medieval Knight, Edge & Paddock, Crescent, 1988.
Germany -- A Photography Journey, Rupert Matthews, Crescent, 1990.
Devils, Monsters and Nightmares, Howard Daniel, Abelard-Schuman, 1964.
Konrad Gesner: Beasts & Animals, Carol B. Grafton ed., Dover, 1983 reprint of woodcuts from 16th and 17th Centuries.

 

 

CREDITS
(Original IBM Version)

 

Concept, Game System Project Management

Arnold Hendrick

 

Game Design

Arnold Hendrick and
Sandy Petersen,with
Doug Kaufman,
Jim Synoski and
Doug Whatley

 

Programming

Jim Synoski and
Doug Whatley, with
Bryan Stout

 

Art

Artino,
Chris Soares,
Jackie Ross,
Rawn Martin,
Patrick Downey,
Erroll Roberts, and
David Menehan with

Art Direction by Michael Haire

 

Manual

Written by Arnold Hendrick;

Director of Publication Design, Iris Idokogi;
Layout by Juanita Bussard;
Illustrations by Artino

 

Editing

Managing editor, B.C. Milligan;
Manual editing by B.C. Milligan and

Doug Kaufman;

Game text editing by Jonatha Caspian

 

Music Composition

Dr. Jeffery Briggs

 

Sound Programming

Ken Lagace,
Jim McConkey and
Scott Patterson

 

Packaging

Creative Design by Moshe Milich;
Box Illustration by L.M. Jones

 

Testing

Michael Craighead,
Al Roireau,
Chris Hewish,
Frank Brown,
Timothy Train,
Mike Corcoran,
David Osborn,
Vaughn Thomas,
Michael Rea,
Jeff Johannigman,
Nick Yuran,
Ted Markley and
Bill Stealey.

 

 

 

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Copyright 1992 by MicroProse Software, Inc., all rights reserved.
MICROPROSE SOFTWARE LICENSE 1) MicroProse grants you the right to use one copy of the enclosed MicroProse software on a single computer. This does not permit you to: (a)use the software on a network, (b)rent or lease the software, (c)reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise modify the software, (d)copy the software except to make a single copy for archival purposes or to transfer the software to a hard disk. 2) The enclosed software program and all written materials are owned by MicroProse or its suppliers and are protected by U.S. copyright laws and international treaty provisions. You may not copy any of the written materials. You may sell or transfer the software and accompanying written materials on a permanent basis provided you retain no copies and the recipient agrees to the terms of the license. 3) The terms of this license apply to any copies of the enclosed software program which may be provided to you on other media. 4) MicroProse reserves all rights to prosecute breach of this license as violation of copyright in accordance with applicable law. LIMITED WARRANTY 5) Neither MicroProse, its suppliers, nor any dealer or distributor makes any warranty, express of implied, with respect to the software, the written materials, or any related item, their quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for any purpose. It is the sole responsibility of the purchaser to determine the suitability of the products for any purpose. Some states do not allow limitations on implied warranties or how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above limitation may not apply to you. 6) In no case will MicroProse or its suppliers be held liable for direct, indirect or incidental damages resulting from any defect or omission in the software, written materials or other related items and processes, including, but not limited to any interruption of service, loss of business, anticipated profit, or other consequential damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. 7) This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. 8) The above warranty does not apply if you make any unauthorized attempt to modify or duplicate the product, or if the product has been damaged by accident or abuse.

 

 

Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995 by MicroProse Software, Inc. All rights reserved.