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Realms Of Arkania: Star Trail

Realms of Arkania: Star Trail

Realms of Arkania: Star Trail is a computer role playing game based on the German RPG system Das Schwarze Auge by Attic Entertainment Software. The original German version of the game (German title: Das Scharze Auge: Sternenscheif) was released in 1994. Due to the success of it's predecessor it was translated to English and released by Sir-Tech in the same year.

Story

After the failed orc invasion on Thorwal, the orcs attacked another region. The player is recruited by an elf to recover an old artifact that could unite the elves and the dwarfs in battle against the orcs. The player is also asked to recover the legendary axe Star Trail.
Development Team

- Hans-Jürgen Brändle - Producer, Programmer
- Guido Henkel - Producer, Programmer, Music
- Werner Fuchs - Producer
- Guido Hölker - Designer
- Michael Johann - Designer
- Dietrich Limper - Designer
- Lothar Ahle - Programmer
- Vadim Pietrzynski - Artist
- Bernd Karwath - Artist
- Peter Heutling - Artist
- Horst Weidle - Music
The Northlandtrilogy
Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny was the first game in the trilogy, it was followed by Star Trail, and Realms of Arkania: Shadows over Riva. As a feature players could save the game after beating it, this allowed the players to import their characters into the sequel.
External links

- [http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/realms-of-arkania-vol-2-star-trail MobyGames: Realms of Arkania: Star Trail] Realms of Arkania 2: Star Trail Realms of Arkania 2: Star Trail Realms of Arkania 2: Star Trail

The Dark Eye
right The Dark Eye (TDE, German: Das Schwarze Auge (DSA), literally "the black eye", but without its idiomatic sense, as the German version of black eye is "blaues Auge" literally "blue eye"), is a German role-playing game created by Ulrich Kiesow and launched by the Schmidt Spiel & Freizeit GmbH and the Droemer Knaur Verlag in 1983. It has become the most successful role-playing game in the German scene, even ahead of Dungeons and Dragons. The many years of editorial work on the game's background has made it extremely detailed and extensive. The Droemer Knaur Verlag dropped the project in early 1989 and after the bankruptcy of the Schmidt Spiel & Freizeit GmbH in 1997 it was continued by Fantasy Productions, Kiesows company that already did all the editorial work. The fourth edition of The Dark Eye appeared in 2002. It was the first edition to be published in English in October 2003. The continent in which the game is set, called Aventuria (German Aventurien), was first introduced to the English-language market through a series of computer games and some novels, then under the name Realms of Arkania.
First edition
The first edition (1983) was not translated in English. It is a very simple class and level system.
The character
The character is defined by five attributes (qualities): courage, intelligence, charisma, agility and strength. They are determined by 1d6+7 (8–13). The weight the character can carry is equal to force × 100 ounces (1 aventurian ounce weights 25 g). The player can choose five different character types (classes): adventurer, warrior, dwarf, elf and mage. All characters can be adventurers, there are attributes conditions to access the other types (e.g. a warrior must have at least 12 in courage and in strength). During the adventures, the character gains adventure points; with a sufficient number of adventure points, he can go to the next level. When winning a new level, the character can increase one attribute by one point, and either the attack or parry value by one point; he also wins 1d6 vitality points, or for the elves and mages, 1d6 vitality points or astral energy points.
Health
The character type determines the starting value of vitality points (from 20 for a mage to 35 for a dwarf). This is to be compared with the 1d6+4 damage points inflicted by a sword.
Resolution of actions
The actions are resolved by testing the attributes; the action succeeds when :1d20 + modifier ≤ attribute the modifier is positive when the action is difficult, and negative when it is easy. For the fights, the characters act by decreasing order of initiative (the character with the highest initiative acts first). Characters have attack and parry values determined by various other values. Typical attack/parry values for a new character are in the range 14/12 (fighters) to something like 6/8 (dedicated non-fighters like Tsa-priests etc.). When the attack test of the attacker is successful and the defender misses the parry test, then the defender is hit and loses a number of vitality points equal to the damage of the weapon reduced by the protection rating of the armour (a chainmail has a protection rating of 4, a knight armour has 6). When the attacker rolls 1 or 2 with the die, he makes a master hit : the maximum damage are inflicted and the armour does not protect.
Magic
The elves and mages can cast spells and have astral energy points (starting value of 25 for the elves, 30 for the mages). The system is based on the memory of the player; the player must speak the formula without reading it during the game. When the formula is correct, the spell is cast and the character looses astral energy points corresponding to the spell.
Third edition and 'Realms of Arkania'
The third edition (1992) was used, with a few limitations, to power the three Realms of Arkania computer games RoA: Blade of Destiny (1993, Attic/Sir-Tech), RoA: Star Trail (1994, Attic/Sir-Tech) and RoA: Shadows over Riva (1998, Attic/Sir-Tech). Realms of Arkania was also the name three translated novels: RoA: The Charlatan (January 1996, ISBN 0-7615-0233-5), RoA: The Lioness (March 1996, ISBN 0-7615-0477-X) and RoA: The Sacrifice (September 1996, ISBN 0-7615-0476-1). The character is defined by seven positive (courage, wisdom, charisma, dexterity, agility, intuition and strength) and seven negative (superstition, acrophobia, claustrophobia, avarice, necrophobia, curiosity and voilent temper) attributes (qualities). The positive attributes are determined by 1d6+7 (8–13) and the negative by 1d6+1 (2–7). The player could choose from over forty different character types (classes). Again there are attributes conditions to access the types. A character also features over eighty talents and if the character is able to cast spells over two hundred spells.
Fourth edition
The fourth Edition of The Dark Eye supports a great variety of character choices. Where the older editions forced the player to create a character along very strict lines, the fourth edition is extremely flexible and the player can choose from hundreds of different character classes and cultural backgrounds. In fact the rules creation rules are now somewhat similar to those of Shadowrun, also published by Fantasy Productions. One of the reasons for this development is surely the large community of professional authors and enthusiastic players, which have helped to describe the continent of Aventuria over the last 20 years.
External links

German

- [http://www.fanpro.de Official Fantasy Productions Homepage]
- [http://www.alveran.org Alveran.org] - News for DSA
- [http://www.vinsalt.de Vinsalt's DSA-Ticker] - Fan-Community for DSA
- [http://www.orkenspalter.de Orkenspalter] - Fan-Community for DSA
- [http://www.memoria.myrana.de Memoria Myrana] - First fanzine for DSA-add-on Myranor
English

- [http://www.TheDarkEyeRPG.com The Dark Eye rpg] - Official TDE website from Fast Forward Games
- [http://www.koenigreich-albernia.de/index.php?lang=e&path=irdisch/&content=gruss_e&content_suffix=php Kingdom Albernia] - English translation of the Königreich Albernia site, a lot of background information on the region Dark Eye, The

Attic Entertainment Software

The Attic Entertainment Software GmbH was a German computer game developer and publisher that was founded September 1990 by Hans-Jürgen Brändle, Jochen Hamma and Guido Henkel in Albstadt, Baden-Württemberg. Attic shut down in 2001. Attics breakthrough was the so called Northlandtriolgy (Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny, Realms of Arkania: Star Trail and Realms of Arkania: Shadows over Riva), a series of computer role-playing games based upon the popular German pen & paper role-playing game Das Schwarze Auge (The Dark Eye).

1994

1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family.

Events

January

- January 1 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect
- January 1 - Zapatista Army of National Liberation begins war in Chiapas, Mexico
- January 1 - Bantustans join South Africa
- January 6 - Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the right leg by an assailant under orders from figure skating rival Tonya Harding.
- January 8 - Valeri Polyakov began his 437.7 day orbit, eventually setting the world record for days spent in orbit.
- January 11 - Irish government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Fein
- January 14 - U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the Kremlin accords which stop the preprogrammed aiming of nuclear missiles to targets and also provide for the dismantling of the nuclear arsenal in Ukraine.
- January 17 - 1994 Northridge Earthquake, magnitude 6.7, hits the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles at 4:31 am.
- January 20 - In South Carolina, Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet to attend The Citadel but soon drops out.
- January 26 - A man fires two blank shots at Charles, Prince of Wales in Sydney, Australia.
- January 28 - The first trial of accused murderer Lyle Menendez ends in a mistrial. He and his brother Erik are later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
- January 31 - German luxury car manufacturer BMW announces the purchase of Rover from British Aerospace

February

- February 1 - In Portland, Oregon, Tonya Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly pleads guilty for his role in attacking figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. He accepts a plea bargain admitting to racketeering charges in exchange for testimony against Harding.
- February 3 - William J. Perry was sworn in as the 19th Secretary of Defense of United States
- February 5 - Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers
- February 6 - Serb mortar shell kills 68 civilians and wounds about 200 in a Sarajevo marketplace
- February 9 - Peace plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina announced (so called Vance-Owen peace plan)
- February 12 - Edvard Munch's painting, "The Scream," is stolen in Oslo. It is recovered on May 7
- February 22 - Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged with spying for the Soviet Union by the United States Department of Justice. Ames would later be convicted to life imprisonment and his wife would receive 5 years in prison
- February 24 - In Gloucester, local police begins excavations at 25 Cromwell Street the home of Frederick West suspected of multiple murders. On February 28, he and his wife are arrested
- February 25 - Kahanist Baruch Goldstein opens fire inside the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank. He kills 29 Muslims before worshippers beat him to death
- February 27 - Australian Federal Sports & Environment Minister Ros Kelly resigns over "The Sports Rorts Affair", where it was alleged that she apportioned money for community sporting projects in a pork barreling fashion.
- February 28 - US F-16 pilots shoot down four Serbian fighter aircraft over Bosnia for violation of the Operation Deny Flight and its no-fly zone

March

- March 1 - A lone terrorist kills Ari Halberstam on an attack on 14 Jewish students on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. [http://www.arihalberstam.com]
- March 1 - South Africa cedes Walvis Bay to Namibia.
- March 1 - Mary Ellen Withrow begins term of office as Treasurer of the United States, serving under President Bill Clinton.
- March 4 - Four terrorists are convicted for their roles in the World Trade Center bombing which killed six and injured more than a thousand.
- March 6 - Referendum in Moldova results in the electorate voting against possible reunification with Romania.
- March 7 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use.
- March 12 - A photo by Marmaduke Wetherell, previously touted as 'proof' of the Loch Ness monster, is confirmed to be a hoax.
- March 12 - The Church of England ordains its first female priests.
- March 16 - In Portland, Oregon Tonya Harding pleads guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for trying to cover-up an attack on figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. She is fined $100,000 and banned from the sport.
- March 23 - At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated. Mario Aburto Martinez is arrested for the crime and confesses on the same day.
- March 27 - A tornado outbreak occurs in Southeastern United States. One tornado hits the United Methodist Church in Piedmont, Alabama killing 22. This outbreak is the biggest tornado event of 1994.
- March 28 - In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg killing 18.
- March 31 - The journal Nature reports the finding in Ethiopia of the first complete Australopithecus afarensis skull (see Human evolution).

April

- April 6 - Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and president of Burundi Cyprien Ntaryamira died when a missile shoots down their jet near Kigali, Rwanda. This is taken as a pretext to begin the Rwandan Genocide
- April 7 - The Rwandan Genocide begins in Kigali, Rwanda.
- April 8 - Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, is found dead in Seattle, Washington. He had committed suicide three days earlier.
- April 16 - Voters in Finland decide to join the European Union in a referendum.
- April 20 - Paul Touvier is found guilty of ordering the execution of 7 Jews when he was serving in the Vichy France Milice
- April 21 - Red Cross estimates that hundreds of thousands of Tutsi have been killed in Rwanda
- April 22 - Former American President Richard Nixon dies.
- April 25 - End of term for Sultan Azlan Muhibbudin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yusuff Izzudin Shah Ghafarullahu-lahu as 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- April 26 - Tuanku Jaafar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan becomes the 10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- April 26 - South Africa holds its first fully multiracial elections.
- April 30 - Formula One driver Roland Ratzenberger of Austria, age 32, dies in a high-speed, single-car crash in the practise session for the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy

May

- May 1 - Formula One driver Ayrton Senna of Brazil, age 34, is killed in a high-speed, single-car accident during the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy
- May 6 - The Channel Tunnel, which took 15,000 workers over seven years to complete, opens between England and France. Passengers can now travel between the two countries in 35 minutes.
- May 9 - Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president
- May 10 - Illinois executes serial killer John Wayne Gacy by lethal injection for the murder of 33 young men and boys
- May 10 - An annular eclipse of the sun is visible across much of North America.
- May 10 - Punk rock band Weezer releases their eponymous debut that goes on to sell more than 3 million copies.
- May 12 - Hockey becomes Canada's official winter sport.
- May 31- Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have dinner at the Granita restaurant in Islington and allegedly make a deal on who will become the leader of the Labour Party, and ultimately, the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

June

- June - Iraq disarmament crisis: UN weapons inspectors Ritter and Smidovitch learn, through Israeli intelligence reports, that Qusay Hussein, Saddam Hussein's son, is the key player in efforts by the Iraqi government to hide the country's alleged illegal weapons
- June 6-8 - Ceasefire negotiations for the Yugoslav War begin in Geneva - they agree to one-month cessation of hostilities (which does not last more than a few days)
- June 12 - Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are murdered outside her home in Los Angeles, California. O. J. Simpson is later acquitted of the killings, but is held liable in a civil suit.
- June 14 - Hacker Kevin Poulsen pleads guilty to seven counts of mail fraud, wire and computer fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
- June 14 - The New York Rangers defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4 games to 3 in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 15 - As of 2004 the third highest grossing animated film of all-time, The Lion King, opens in theatres nationwide.
- June 15 - Israel and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations
- June 17 - NFL star OJ Simpson and his friend Al Cowlings flee from police in his white Ford Bronco. The low speed chase, which unfolds live on television, ends up at Simpson's mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, where he then surrendered to police.

July

- July - The planet Jupiter is hit by twenty one large fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 over the course of six days.
- July 2 - Assassination of Colombian soccer player Andrés Escobar in Bogotá
- July 7 - Aden is occupied by troops from North Yemen.
- July 17 - Brazil defeats Italy 3-2 on penalties to win the Football World Cup 1994, after the game ended 0-0 after extra time.
- July 18 - In Buenos Aires, an explosion destroys a building housing several Jewish organizations killing ninety six and injuring many more. On 9 November 2005 Alberto Nisman Arentino prosecutor identified Hezbollah militant Ibrahim Berro responsible.
- July 25 - Israel and Jordan sign the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace which formally ends the state of war that has existed between the nations since 1948.
- July 25 - Phone Numbers through Australia start changing to eight digits (Mona Vale, Sydney 1st to change)

August

- August - 'Wollemia nobilis', a "fossil tree" discovered by bushwalker David Noble only 150 km from the largest city in Australia.
- August 1 - Fire destroys Norwich Central Library in the UK, including most of its historical records
- August 12 - Woodstock '94 begins. It is the 25 year anniversary of woodstock in 1969.
- August 14 - End of Woodstock '94.
- August 31 - the Irish Republican Army announces a "complete cessation of military operations" from midnight.

September

- September 3 - Cold War: Russia and the People's Republic of China agree to de-target their nuclear weapons against each other.
- September 4 - Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan opens. All international services are transferred from Itami to Kansai.
- September 5 - New South Wales State MP for Cabramatta John Newman is shot outside his home (Australia's first political assassination since 1977)
- September 8 - A Boeing 737 carrying USAir Flight 427 with 132 people on board, crashes on approach to Pittsburgh International Airport. There are no survivors
- September 13 - President Bill Clinton signs the Assault Weapons Ban, which bans the use of these weapons for a period of 10 years.
- September 28 - The car ferry MS Estonia sinks in Baltic Sea, killing 852.
- September 28 - Jose Francisco Ruiz Massier, Mexican politician, assassinated on the orders of the president's brother
- September-October - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq threatens to stop cooperating with UNSCOM inspectors and begins to once again deploy troops near its border with Kuwait. In response, the U.S. begins to deploy troops to Kuwait.

October

- October 5 - UNESCO inaugurates World Teachers’ Day to celebrate and commemorate the signing of the Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers on October 5, 1966.
- October 8 - Iraq disarmament crisis: President of the UN Security Council says that Iraq must withdraw its troops from the Kuwait border and immediately cooperate with weapons inspectors
- October 12 - NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of Venus (the spacecraft presumably burned up in the atmosphere either October 13 or October 14)
- October 15 - After three years of exile in the US, Haiti's president Aristide returns to his country.
- October 15 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Following threats by the U.N. Security Council and the U.S., Iraq withdraws troops from its border with Kuwait.
- October 26 - Jordan and Israel sign a peace treaty.
- October 29 - Francisco Martin Duran fires over two dozen shots at the White House (Duran was later convicted of trying to kill US President Bill Clinton).
- October 31 - An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing 64 passengers.
- October 31 - HRH The Duke of Edinburgh attends a ceremony in Israel where his late mother, HSH Princess Alice of Battenberg is honoured as "Righteous among the Nations" for sheltering Jewish families from the Nazis in Athens, during World War II.

November

- November 4 - Sydney's third runway opens ensuring protests about noise levels.
- November 5 - A letter by former US President Ronald Reagan is released that announces he has Alzheimer's disease
- November 8 - Georgia Representative Newt Gingrich leads the United States Republican Party in taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in midterm congressional elections, the first time in 40 years the Republicans secured control of both houses of U.S. Congress.
- November 13 - Voters in Sweden decide to join the European Union in a referendum.
- November 13 - The first passengers travel through the Channel Tunnel.
- November 16 - Federal judge issues a temporary restraining order that prohibits the State of California from implementing Proposition 187, that would have denied most public services to illegal aliens.
- November 20 - The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign the Lusaka Protocol in Zambia, ending 19 years of civil war (in 1995 localized fighting resumed).
- November 25 - Sony founder Akio Morita announces he will be stepping down as the company's CEO
- November 28 - Voters in Norway reject European Union membership (see Norwegian EU referendum, 1994)
- November 28 - In Portage, Wisconsin, USA, convicted serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is clubbed to death by another inmate in the Columbia Correctional Institute gymnasium.
- November 29 - Two-year murder trial of 14 south Vietnamese accused of murder of 24 north Vietnamese ends in Hong Kong - all defendants are acquitted.
- November 30 - Famous hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur survives five bullets in an apparent robbery attempt outside a New York music studio.

December

- December 2 - Australian government agrees to pay reparations to indigenous Australians who were displaced during the nuclear tests at Maralinga in the 1950s and 1960s.
- December 11 - Boris Yeltsin orders troops into Chechnya.
- December 11 - A small bomb explodes on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, killing a Japanese businessman. The bombing was a field test done by Ramzi Yousef to test explosives that would have been used in Project Bojinka, a terrorist attack plan that would be exposed after an apartment fire.
- December 19 - A planned exchange rate correction of the Mexican Peso to the US Dollar, becomes a massive financial meltdown in Mexico, unleashing the 'Tequila' effect on global financial markets. This will prompt a US$ 50,000 million 'bailout' by the Clinton administration.
- December 19 - The Whitewater Scandal investigation begins.
- December 19 - Civil unions between homosexuals are made legal in Sweden.
- December 26 - French anti-terrorist police storms a hijacked jet at Marseille and kill four Islamist terrorists.
- December 29 - Robert Schumann becomes the youngest person to visit the south pole.

Births

- January 30 - Dylan Cash, American actor
- February 23 - Dakota Fanning, American actress
- May 4 - Alexander Gould, American voice actor
- August 9 - Forrest Landis, American actor

Deaths

January

- January 1 - Arthur Espie Porritt, New Zealand politician and athlete (b. 1900)
- January 5 - Thomas P. 'Tip' O'Neill, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (b. 1912)
- January 9 - Johnny Temple, baseball player (b. 1927)
- January 15 - Harry Nilsson, American musician (b. 1941)
- January 17 - Helen Stephens, American runner (b. 1918)
- January 22 - Telly Savalas, American actor (b. 1924)
- January 23 - Brian Redhead, British journalist and broadcaster (b. 1929)
- January 25 - Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician (b. 1909)
- January 27 - Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1914)
- January 30 - Pierre Boulle, French author (b. 1912)

February-April

- February 6 - Jack Kirby, American comic book writer and illustrator (b. 1917)
- February 7 - Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer (b. 1913)
- February 9 - Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1934)
- February 11 - Sorrell Booke, American actor (b. 1930)
- February 11 - William Conrad, American actor (b. 1920)
- February 11 - Neil Bonnett, American race car driver (b. 1946)
- February 14 - Andrei Chikatilo, Russian serial killer (executed) (b. 1936)
- February 17 - Randy Shilts, American author and activist (b. 1951)
- February 22 - Papa John Creech, American fiddler
- February 24 - Jean Sablon, French singer (b. 1906)
- February 24 - Dinah Shore, American actress, singer (b. 1916)
- February 25 - Baruch Goldstein, American-born mass killer (b. 1956)
- February 25 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (b. 1914)
- February 26 - Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)
- March 4 - John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (b. 1950)
- March 22 - Walter Lantz, American cartoonist (b. 1899)
- March 23 - Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (b. 1950)
- March 28 - Eugene Ionesco, Romanian-born playwright (b. 1909)
- April 1 - Léon Degrelle, Belgian Nazi (b. 1906)
- April 2 - Betty Furness, American actress, author, and consumer advocate (b. 1916)
- April 5 - Kurt Cobain, American musician (Nirvana) (suicide) (b. 1967)
- April 7 - Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic professional football player and politician (b. 1923)
- April 7 - Golo Mann, German historian (b. 1909)
- April 10 - Sam B. Hall, American politician (b. 1924)
- April 16 - Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1914)
- April 17 - Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1913)
- April 22 - Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States (b. 1913)
- April 30 - Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)

May-October

- May 1 - Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1960)
- May 7- Clement Greenberg, American art critic (b. 1909)
- May 8 - George Peppard, American actor (b. 1928)
- May 10 - John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (executed) (b. 1942)
- May 12 - John Smith, Scottish politician (b. 1938)
- May 15 - Gilbert Roland, Mexican-born actor (b. 1905)
- May 19 - Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, First Lady of the United States (b. 1929)
- May 21 - Johan Hendrik Weidner, Belgian World War II resistance fighter (b. 1912)
- May 29 - Erich Honecker, leader of East Germany (b. 1912)
- June 9 - Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- June 12 - Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe
- June 15 - Kristen Pfaff, rock bassist (Hole) (b. 1967)
- June 29 - Kurt Eichhorn, German conductor (b. 1908)
- July 8 - Kim Il Sung, President of North Korea (b. 1912)
- July 11 - Gary Kildall, American computer inventor (b. 1942)
- July 14 - César Tovar, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (b. 1940)
- July 29 - Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- August 13 - Elias Canetti, Bulgarian-born writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
- August 18 - Richard Laurence Millington Synge, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
- August 19 - Linus Pauling, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Peace (b. 1901)
- September 6 - Nicky Hopkins, British musician (b. 1944)
- September 11 - Jessica Tandy, English actress (b. 1909)
- September 12 - Boris Yegorov, cosmonaut (b. 1937)
- September 30 - Andre Michael Lwoff, French microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1902)
- October 7 - Niels Kaj Jerne, English immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1911)
- October 14 - Emil Gilels, Russian pianist (b. 1916)
- October 19 - Martha Raye, American actress (b. 1916)
- October 20 - Burt Lancaster, American actor (b. 1913)
- October 21 - Benoît Régent, French actor (b. 1953)

November-December

- November 12 - Wilma Rudolph, American athlete (b. 1940)
- November 13 - Motoo Kimura, Japanese population geneticist (b. 1924)
- November 14 - Tom Villard, American actor (b. 1953)
- November 16 - Doris Speed, English actress (b. 1899)
- November 16 - Dino Valente, American musician (b. 1943)
- November 28 - Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killer (murdered) (b. 1960)
- December 12 - Stuart Roosa, astronaut (b. 1933)
- December 23 - Sebastian Shaw (actor), English actor (b. 1905)
- December 24 - John Boswell, American historian (b. 1947)

Nobel Prizes

- Physics - Bertram N. Brockhouse, Clifford Glenwood Shull
- Chemistry - George Andrew Olah
- Medicine - Alfred G. Gilman, Martin Rodbell
- Literature - Kenzaburo Oe
- Peace - Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin
- Economics - Reinhard Selten, John Forbes Nash, John Harsanyi

Fields Medalists

- Efim Isakovich Zelmanov, Pierre-Louis Lions, Jean Bourgain, Jean-Christophe Yoccoz

Templeton Prize

- Michael Novak

Right Livelihood Award

- Astrid Lindgren, SERVOL (Service Volunteered for All), Dr. H. Sudarshan / VGKK (Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra) and Ken Saro-Wiwa / MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People)
- zh-min-nan:1994 nî als:1994 ko:1994년 ms:1994 ja:1994年 simple:1994 th:พ.ศ. 2537

Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny

Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny is a computer role playing game based on the German RPG system Das Schwarze Auge by Attic Entertainment Software. The original German version of the game (German title: Das Scharze Auge: Die Schicksalsklinge) was released in 1992. Due to it's success it was translated to English and released by Sir-Tech in 1993.

Story

On the Westcoast of Aventuria, the region around Thorwal is under siege by an orc army. The player is hired to find Grimring (the Blade of Destiny) to stop the orcs.

Development Team

- Hans-Jürgen Brändle - Designer, Programmer
- Guido Henkel - Designer, Programmer
- Michael Johann - Designer
- Ulrich Walther - Programmer
- Bernd Karwath - Artist
- Markus Henrich - Artist
- Peter Heutling - Artist
- Rudolf Stember - Music
- Christian A. Weber - Programmer Amiga 500/600 (OCS/ECS) port
- WSP Software - Atari ST port

Sequels

Blade of Destiny was the first game in the so called Northlandtrilogy, it was followed by Realms of Arkania: Star Trail, and Realms of Arkania: Shadows over Riva. As a feature players could save the game after beating it, this allowed the players to import their characters into any of the sequels.

External links

- [http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/realms-of-arkania-blade-of-destiny MobyGames: Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny] Realms of Arkania 1: Blade of Destiny Realms of Arkania 1: Blade of Destiny Realms of Arkania 1: Blade of Destiny Realms of Arkania 1: Blade of Destiny Realms of Arkania 1: Blade of Destiny

Game producer

A game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video or computer game. The term producer was first used in games by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts. Although the term is an industry standard today, it was dismissed as "imitation Hollywood" by many game executives at the time.

Types of producers

Most video and computer games are developed by third-party developers. In these cases, there may be external and internal producers. External producers may act as "executive producers" and are employed by the game's publisher. Internal producer work for the developer itself and have more of a hands-on role. Some game developers may have no internal producers, however, and may rely solely on the publisher's producer. For an external producer, their job responsibilities may focus mainly on overseeing several projects being worked on by a number of developers. While keeping updated on the progress of the games being developed externally, they inform the upper management of the publisher of the status of the pending projects and any problems they may be experiencing. If a publisher's producer is overseeing a game being developed internally, their role is more akin to that of an internal producer and will generally only work on one game or a few small games.

Responsibilities

An internal producer is heavily involved in the development of, usually, a single game. Responsibilities for this position vary from company to company, but in general, the person in this position has the following duties:
- Negotiating contracts, including licensing deals
- Acting as a liaison between the development staff and the upper stakeholders (publisher or executive staff)
- Developing and maintaining schedules and budgets
- Overseeing creative (art & design) and technical development (game programming) of the game
- Ensuring timely delivery of deliverables (such as milestones)
- Scheduling timely quality assurance (testing)
- Arranging for beta testing and focus groups, if applicable
- Arranging for localization In short, the internal producer is ultimately responsible for timely delivery of the game. For small games, the producer may interact directly with the programming and creative staff. For larger games, the producer will seek the assistance of the lead programmer, art lead, game designer and testing lead. While it is customary for the producer to meet with the entire development staff from time to time, for larger games, they will only meet with the leads on a regular basis to keep updated on the development status. For most games, the producer has a large role in the development of the game design. While not a game designer, the producer has to weave the wishes of the publisher or upper management into the design. They usually seek the assistance of the game designer in this effort. So the final game design is a result of a cooperative effort of the designer and the producer. In general, the producer is not the "boss" of the people on the game development team, but the "boss" of the game. So while a programmer may answer to a programming director, where matters of the game are involved, they answer to the producer. Producers may issue reprimands or issue accolades, but usually the fate of the developer's employment is not in the hands of the producer. So while they may recommend termination or promotions of certain employees, the producer normally cannot fire or promote team members single-handedly.

Game producer

Types of producers

Responsibilities

Game producer

Types of producers

Responsibilities

Game designer

A game designer is a person who designs games. The term normally refers to a person who designs computer or video games, but it also refers to one who designs traditional games, such as board games.

Video and computer game designer

board game shows the dynamic nature of game design. As the cover of the 100+ page design document shows, it was originally planned to be called Scooby Doo: The Mystery of the Gobs o' Fun Ghoul.]] A video or computer game designer develops the layout, concept and gameplay: the game design of a video or computer game. This may include playfield design, specification writing, and entry of numeric properties that balance and tune the gameplay. A game designer works for a developer (which may additionally be the game's video game publisher). This person usually has a lot of writing experience and may even have a degree in writing or a related field (such as English). This person's primary job function is writing, so the more experience they have with the activity, the better. Some art and programming skills are also helpful for this job, but are not strictly necessary. Game designers often have studied relevant liberal arts such as psychology, sociology, drama, or philosophy. Due to the increasing complexity of the game design process, many young game designers may also come from a computer science or other computer engineering background. In the video game industry, the job of game designer is one of the hardest to obtain. It is not easy, though many people (especially teenagers) think they "have what it takes" to perform this job. Almost everyone in the game industry has what they believe is a "killer game" concept and is waiting for the opportunity to develop the game. As a game designer, they may get the opportunity to develop that game concept, so competition is usually very high. Since a video game publisher may invest millions of dollars towards a game's development, it is easy to understand why they choose game designers carefully—one or two poor game concepts could end up costing them millions of dollars of revenue and could even risk bankrupting the company. For this reason, game publishers usually choose game designers who have a proven track record with several hit games under their belts. Less seasoned designers may be assigned to low profile games that have budgets in the low tens of thousands.

History

Early in the history of video games, game designers were often the lead programmer or the only programmer for a game (a notable exception to this policy was Coleco, which from its very start into the market separated the function of design and programming). This is the case of such noted designers as Sid Meier, Chris Sawyer and Will Wright. This person also sometimes comprised the entire art team! As games became more complex and computers and consoles became more powerful (allowing more features), the job of game designer became a separate job function, with the lead programmer splitting his time between the two functions, moving from one role to the other. Also, in many cases, game engines are written that reduce the role of a project's lead programmer. Later, game complexity escalated to the point where it required someone who concentrated solely on game design. Many early veterans chose the game design path eschewing programming and relegating those tasks to others. Today, it is rare to find a video or computer game where the principal programmer is also the principal designer, except in the case of relatively simple games, such as Tetris or Bejeweled. With very complex games, such as MMORPGs, or a big budget action or sports title, designers may number in the dozens. In these cases, there are generally one or two principal designers and many junior designers who specify subsets or subsystems of the game. In larger companies like Electronic Arts, each aspect of the game (control, level design or vehicles) may have a separate producer, lead designer and several general designers.

Notable video and computer game designers

- Danielle Bunten Berry, of the seminal M.U.L.E. and The Seven Cities of Gold.
- Marc Blank, Co-designer of Zork, co-founder of text adventure publisher Infocom.
- Bill Budge, Pinball Construction Set, designer who anchored launch of Electronic Arts.
- Chris Crawford, creator of Balance of Power and the founder of the Game Developer's Conference.
- Don Daglow, designer of Dungeon, Utopia, Earl Weaver Baseball, Neverwinter Nights.
- Kelton Flinn, designer of pioneering online game Air Warrior, co-founder of Kesmai.
- Jon Freeman, designer of the Archon series of games.
- Jordan Mechner, designer of Prince of Persia, Karateka, and The Last Express.
- Richard Garriott (Lord British), developer of the Ultima series of computer games.
- Ron Gilbert, creator of Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island.
- Sid Meier of Civilization and Railroad Tycoon fame.
- Shigeru Miyamoto of Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario series.
- Peter Molyneux of the Populous series, Black and White and Theme Park among others.
- Scott Orr, Designer of original version of Madden NFL, many other sports titles.
- Brian Reynolds, Civilization II, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri and Rise of Nations.
- John Romero of Wolfenstein 3D, the Doom and Quake series and game engines.
- Hironobu Sakaguchi of the popular Final Fantasy series.
- Bruce Shelley, co-creator of Age of Empires series and Civilization
- Warren Spector, System Shock, Deus Ex, Thief, and Thief: Deadly Shadows series.
- Jordan Weisman, Founder of FASA Interactive, co-creator of BattleTech and MechWarrior
- Roberta Williams, designer of King's Quest and several other computer game series.
- Will Wright, designer of SimCity and The Sims.

Other notable game designers

- Richard Garfield - collectible card game (Magic: The Gathering) and board game designer.
- Gary Gygax and David Arneson - creators of Dungeons & Dragons
- James Dunnigan - Previous publisher of SPI Games and designer of over 100 wargames, including the PanzerBlitz/Panzer Leader system
- Charles S. Roberts - Designer of first commercial board wargame (Tactics II) and founder of Avalon Hill
- Frank Chadwick - Previous publisher of GDW and designer of over 50 war and role-playing games, including Twilight 2000 and the Assault series
- Mark H. Walker - Computer book author and designer of Lock 'n' Load system; regular designer for Armchair General Magazine
- Jordan Weisman: Founder of FASA, co-creator of BattleTech and MechWarrior
- Nick Burcombe - Designer of the ground breaking futuristic racer Wipeout (game) and Wipeout 2097 for the Playstation. Notable for using commercially licenced Compact Disc quality music from contemporary Dance music artists along with cutting-edge graphic design by The Designers Republic

External links

- Game design veteran [http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html Tom Sloper's game biz advice]

Newsgroups

- [http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=comp.games.development.design comp.games.development.design via Google Groups]
- [http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=rec.games.design rec.games.design via Google Groups] Category:Computer game design Category:Art and design workers

Game designer

A game designer is a person who designs games. The term normally refers to a person who designs computer or video games, but it also refers to one who designs traditional games, such as board games.

Video and computer game designer

History

Notable video and computer game designers

Other notable game designers

External links

- Game design veteran [http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html Tom Sloper's game biz advice]

Newsgroups

Game programmer

and his games have sold in the millions.]] A game programmer is a software engineer who primarily develops computer or video games or related software (such as game development tools). Game programming has many specialized disciplines; practitioners of any may regard themselves as "game programmers". A game programmer should not be confused with a game designer; many designers are also programmers, but not all are, and it is rare for one person to serve both roles in modern professional games.

History

game designer platform during the home computer era. Despite being outperformed by later systems, it remained popular until the early 1990s.]] In the early days of video games (circa

Realms of Arkania: Star Trail

Story

Development Team

The Northlandtrilogy

External links

The Dark Eye

First edition

The character

Health

Resolution of actions

Magic

Third edition and 'Realms of Arkania'

Fourth edition

External links

German

English

Attic Entertainment Software

1994

Events

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Nobel Prizes

Fields Medalists

Templeton Prize

Right Livelihood Award

Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny

Story

Development Team

Sequels

External links

Game producer

Types of producers

Responsibilities

See also

Game producer

Types of producers

Responsibilities

See also

Game producer

Types of producers

Responsibilities

See also

Game designer

Video and computer game designer

History

Notable video and computer game designers

Other notable game designers

See also

External links

Newsgroups

Game designer

Video and computer game designer

History

Notable video and computer game designers

Other notable game designers

See also

External links

Newsgroups

Game programmer

History