This time around I've put together a podcast (push the play button below) that describes computer role-playing games on the Commodore 64.  It explains some basic concepts of CRPGs and their early days on the C64.  Specifically games like Ultima (III), Phantasie, Telengard, Adventure Construction Set and Temple of Apshai.  I think these turn-based, stats-laden games can be fun today, especially when kept in an emulator window on your desktop while you do other things.  Using "save snapshot" in the VICE emulator is very helpful!  There are a few things anyone not familiar with them will need to know before jumping in, so this podcast was designed to make your entry into the worlds of 2D C64 CRPGs as painless as possible.

Extra documentation such as the spell lists for games like Phantasie and Ultima can be found here: Project 64 Games Documentation.  Even if you have fantastic memory and played these games a lot yourself back in the day (remember "M" for "Mittar"?)I think you'll find having a window up with a text file of these games is useful.  For instance, you can "save as" the file HERE to help with your Ultima III spells.

Why did I choose these RPG's?  Well, games that came later like Ultima V had complex concepts such as mixing spell reagents -- some pretty hardcore stuff for younger gamers who grew up on twitch gaming consoles.  Ultima III, Phantasie I & II, and games like the Bard's Tale Series are actually more accessible, I think.  A good one to start with might be Adventure Construction Set's premade adventures, as it is pretty simple.

I have songs in the podcast from the Ultima series as well as the Temple of Apshai Trilogy.  It's interesting to note that the Trilogy was a remake on the C64 with improved graphics with the two expansions included, as well as a neat couple of SID tracks.  The original Temple of Apshai and expansions only had creepy ambient sounds.

The short clip intro to the podcast is from Soliton off of the album "Light Bullets", and the very long track can be purchased at Amazon.com. 

Wondering what that background music in the podcast is?  It's some pretty obscure stuff.  As a former Fujitsu FM-Towns owner, I owned the Ultima Trilogy, and those songs are CD Digital Audio tracks from the Trilogy CD.  Made by Origin back in the early 1990's just for Fujitsu's advanced home computer, I don't think the songs were ever ported or used again.  You can read more - if you recall I blogged about the Ultimas on the FM-Towns HERE.

You can find the the game files and SIDs at the links to the names of the games in the paragraphs above.

If you are new to C64 Emulation, follow this Tutorial.
Here's a link if you're new to SIDs: Playing SID Chiptunes on your PC or Mac

I took the advice of the experienced podcasters such as Jan Lund Thomsen over at the Remix64.com boards to try and make my podcasts more entertaining, so I hope you like the new sound!

Press play on the button below to enjoy the Podcast, or use the player app that also includes previous podcasts on the left hand sidebar.  Please subscribe to my podcast if you enjoy it, available now on iTunes, and I'll promise to make more!

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