Published by
Bullfrog and designed by
Peter Molyneux,
Dungeon Keeper was supposed to the
reverse of an RPG. You would play the dungeons
Keeper as opposed to the
Hero.
The concept was pure genius, Instead of the
Avatar and his party romping through a
dungeon,
slaughtering all sorts of
horrible beasts, you play the Dungeon Keeper. Your goal is to build up your
dungeon, populate it with
monsters and traps, and protect it from the
heroes.
Unfortunately, it didn't turn out quite right. You build up your dungeon, usually
fortify it so no hero could access it at all, train you
minions to become master fighters, and then go forth to
destroy a
rival keeper, or the heroes dungeon. That's right, the heroes build there own dungeon.
In the average
RPG you would gather a party, go into the dungeon, kill
monsters scattered along the way, eventually reach some horrible
boss creature, kill it, and fight your way out.
In Dungeon Keeper you build a little
village for your minions, with a
hatchery,
lair,
training room,
library,
treasure room, ect. Wave after wave of heroes attack your dungeon. When they get close enough, you drop every creature at you disposal on them, creating one big ugly
melee you can't see through. If the heroes win, they go on to destroy your dungeon heart (no boss creature). If you win, you get attacked some more.
Don't get me wrong, Dungeon Keeper is a truly
excellent game. As an
RTS, it's very
innovative. For example, you have no direct control over your
minions. it's not select, click location to go/attack. You can only pick up creatures, and drop them in places you would suggest they work. But if they don't like
manufacturing traps and doors, dropping them in the
workshop will make them mad.
Though it doesn't live up to it's claim of being a
reverse RPG, maybe this is what being a dungeon keeper is all about. Perhaps if they made a true reverse of the RPGs everybody plays, it just wouldn't work as a
strategy game.