Ancient Domains of Mystery
| Ancient Domains of Mystery | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) |
|
| Publisher(s) | Thomas Biskup |
| Platform(s) | AmigaOS, MS-DOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X |
| Release |
Linux
|
| Genre(s) | Roguelike |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Score |
| The Good Old Days | 4 of 6 |
| Abandonia | 3.0 of 5.0 |
Ancient Domains of Mystery (ADOM) is a roguelike video game designed and developed by Thomas Biskup, who first released it in 1994. The player's goal is to stop the forces of Chaos that invade the world of Ancardia.
Like the original roguelike games, Ancient Domains of Mystery uses ASCII graphics to represent the game world. A later version added the option to play with sound, tile-based graphics, and an overworld map. Most dungeons are procedurally generated, but once the game generates a dungeon, it does not change even if the player exits and re-enters it. (The Infinite Dungeon is an exception, however.)
Biskup ceased development of the game for nine years, but revisited it in 2012. He also resumed work on a sequel, Ancient Domains of Mystery II. Biskup first made an updated version of ADOM available to sponsors of his crowdfunding campaign. Later versions, beginning with v1.15.2.r60, he released on the Web and through digital distribution services.
Ancient Domains of Mystery takes place in the fictional world of Ancardia, in the mountainous Drakalor Chain. For 6,000 years, it has known relative peace, but recently reports have spread of the appearance of dangerous dungeons and frightening monsters. Khelavaster, a wise sage, discovers an ancient prophecy regarding the Coming of Chaos and propagates it to the peoples of the world. It speaks of a champion who will defend the world from the forces of Chaos in the Drakalor Chain. Hearing of this prophecy, many would-be heroes set out. The player assumes control of one such adventurer.
Ancient Domains of Mystery presents an initial choice of one (male or female) player character from twelve races and twenty-two character classes, the combination of which strongly affects gameplay, in both subtle and obvious ways. Among other traits, character development includes experience levels, statistics, and skills. Version 1.1.0 introduced a talent system, allowing further customization of characters, based on a hierarchical system of prerequisites.
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