Dragon Quest: Difference between revisions

Formal development on the title began the same month of November through Nakamura's development studio [[Chunsoft]], with a staff of five men over a span of five months<ref>https://web-archive-org.translate.goog/web/20100614061622/http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/museum/meister/entertainment/vol2/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=no</ref>. The goal of the project was to combine the best aspects of computer RPGs while also streamlining the obtuse gameplay systems that prevented the genre from reaching a wider audience; even ''Ultima'' and ''Wizardry'' were only able to sell approximately 20K and 24K units in 1982<ref>https://archive.org/details/cgw_6/page/n3/mode/2up</ref>. To this end it was decided that the game would utilize the bird's eye view world map of ''Ultima'' for it's own field screen as well as in dungeons, giving players more spacial awareness than the first-person dungeons that were the genre standard at the time. Owing to the praise of the system in ''Okhotsk'' and the Famicom ''Portopia'', the command menu was also applied to the game and written in the simplest terms to make it clear to players what actions he or she could perform at any time<ref>In the 8-bit original these actions are TALK, SPELL, STATUS, ITEM, STAIRS, DOOR, SEARCH, & TAKE</ref>. In addition, the dialogue of the game was written in such a way for the player to deduce how to progress through the adventure simply by talking to the cast of characters. Said dialogue was often humorous in a way not commonly seen in games at the time, such as the [[Puff-Puff]] scene of [[Kol]], thus injecting a strong sense of personality into the scenario and contrasting the other RPGs that focused exclusively on combat and exploration. Granting the player the option to not rescue [[Princess Gawelin]] and to accept the [[Dragonlord]]'s ominous offer of half the world also added a high degree of player agency, aiding in the immersion into the game's world.

Special consideration was given to younger players, whom Horii knew would have no familiarity with RPGs at all. To this end the opening portion of the game was crafted so that the player would stand in the throne room of [[Tantagel]] castle: in order to progress from this screen, the player will have to speak to []King Lorik]], open a [[treasure chest]] to retrieve a [[Magic Key|key]] and use it to open the chamber door, and then use the stairs command to descend to the ground floor of the castle―every action necessary to traverse the game's overworld is conveyed to the player in a single, unobtrusive moment<ref>「戦って強くなっていくんだよ」「文字でやりとりしながら物語を体験するゲームだよ」と言うと、じつは子どものほうが興味をもつし、たとえ難しかったとしても、それを「おもしろい」と言ってくれましたね。『ドラクエ』を出すまではアクションゲームが主流だったので、どうなるのかなあという気持ちはありました。そのために、とっつきやすくなるような工夫はいっぱいしましたけどね。まずゲームの最初は、王様の部屋にとじこめられていて、とりあえずコマンドをいろいろ入れないと出られない。でも部屋を出たときには、宝箱をあけて、人と話して、ドアを開けて、階段を降りるといった、ゲームに必要なコマンドをだいたい覚えられるようにしたんです。</ref>. To teach younger players the importance of leveling up and becoming stronger, the threshold for reaching level 2 was dropped from 20 {{Exp}}erience points to just 7<ref>戦闘になれば、相手が襲ってくるので「たたかう」を押していればいい。そうすれば経験値があがって、レベルアップして、どんどん強くなっていく。早い段階ですぐレベルアップするようにして、強くなることが気持ちいいっていう感覚を味わってもらいたかった。</ref>. In addition the penalties for losing a battle were greatly reduced compared to computer RPGs, with players only losing half their [[gold]] and being sent back to [[King Lorik]] instead of suffering a game over that voided all of their [[gold]] and {{Exp}}erience points and thus wasting the time spent playing the game<ref>HIPPON SUPER編集部・編『ドラゴンクエストIV MASTER'S CLUB』（JICC、1990年）pp.4-9 堀井雄二インタビュー</ref>. The presence of the status screen was implemented at Yukinobu Chida's request, who insisted that all information pertaining to the {{Hero 1}}'s capability be conveyed to the player when it was obscured in computer RPGs. His basis for this argument was an incident after the {{Famicom}} release of ''Portopia'', where elementary-aged children called [[Enix]] to ask for tips. Chida could overhear the children happily chatting with the [[Enix]] representatives during these calls, leading him to conclude that video games were not just entertainment, but a communication tool for people. As such he insisted that the {{Hero 1}}'s capabilities be displayed via the status command, certain that children would discuss which areas of the game could be explored at a given level and thus increase the word of mouth amongst the target demographic<ref>PCでのRPGのプレイに慣れていた堀井や中村は、開発中の『ドラゴンクエスト』のレベル表示について「レベルの強さはいつでもコマンドで見られる」「自分が今レベルいくつかはだいたい分かる」と主張し、ウインドウ内の表示を出来るだけ少なくして、画面を見やすくすることを提案した。しかし、それに対して千田は「レベル表示は絶対必要だよ」と反論。千田の弁によると、『ポートピア連続殺人事件』が発売されたばかりの頃、エニックスに小学生のプレイヤーから質問の電話がかかってきて、電話の向こうでわいわいとにぎやかに楽しんでいる声が聞こえてきたという。それを体験した千田は、「ファミコンはパソコンのようにひとりで遊ぶゲームではない」「ゲームセンターのようにみんなでワイワイやりながら遊ぶ、パソコンとは異なるコミュニケーションメディアだ」と力説。それを聞いた堀井と中村は、「なるほどコミュニケーションメディアですね」と返答し、その提案を受け入れることになった。Source: ドラゴンクエストへの道 page 129~133 ISBN 978-4-9005-2726-3</ref>.