Demon's Forge: A Look Back at the Apple II Game by Saber Software

Today we're going to take a look back at a game that was published in 1981 for the Apple II by Saber Software and developed by none other than industry legend Brian Fargo. Fargo would later go on to found Interplay and inXile Entertainment, and worked on famous titles like The Bard's Tale, Wasteland, and Fallout.

The relation between Demon's Forge and Fargo's first published game is only nominal. Instead, we have the Mastertronic release from 1987, which contains the IBM PC booter version on one side, and the Apple II original on the other. This release caused some unwarranted disdain for Demon's Forge, as many people didn't realize it was a 1981 game being rereleased in 1987.

At first glance, Demon's Forge may seem like a game that has nothing to do with using a satanic minion's blacksmithing equipment. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. The game does indeed feature demonic minions and blacksmithing equipment, but these elements are not the main focus of the game.

When playing Demon's Forge, you're dropped straight into the game with no fanfare at all. You find yourself in a random kingdom as a random dude who got in a random bar fight and killed four dudes that randomly happened to be the king's four best guards. Your sentence is to wander this sadistic labyrinth known as the Demon's Forge. And if you make it out alive, you win your freedom and your stuff. If you don't, I guess you're...not coming out of there. That's pretty much a given.

The gameplay of Demon's Forge is straightforward. You'll be using two-word commands in order to navigate and interact with the world. The game has no graphical inventory management, no animation, and no sound to speak of. It's really as simple as typing in two words or less to say what you want to do. You'll be relying mostly on the text descriptions, although the graphics drawn by Michael Cranford certainly help visualize some stuff.

One thing that's worth noting is that Demon's Forge can also be argued to be more immersive than simplistic color graphics. With its detailed descriptions, the game tries to create a sense of atmosphere and immersion. However, this isn't always successful. Sometimes the text descriptions feel a bit too long or convoluted, making it hard to follow what's going on.

Despite its simplicity, Demon's Forge has one major flaw: its complete lack of common sense or believable progression. The game plays like the most absurd, illogical game imaginable. It's as if the developers took every possible rule and threw them out the window in favor of something more... creative. This can be frustrating at times, but it also makes for an interesting look into how far game design has come since 1981.

In conclusion, Demon's Forge is a text adventure game that's worth looking at, even if it doesn't live up to modern standards. With its basic gameplay and lack of graphical sophistication, it may not be the most impressive game on the market. However, its unique blend of absurd logic and simple gameplay makes for an interesting look into the early days of gaming.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enToday we've got a game that–much to my disappointment–has nothing to do with using a satanicminion's blacksmithing equipment.Demon's Forge,published in 1981 for the Apple II by Saber Softwareand developed by Brian Fargo.Yes, this is the first published game by Mr. Fargo,the industry legend wholater went on to found Interplayand inXile Entertainment,and worked on famous titles like The Bard's Tale,Wasteland,and Fallout.Incidentally, he was also the executive produceron Hunted: The Demon's Forge in 2011.Though as far as I can tell, the relationto his first game here is only nominal.This is the later Mastertronic release from 1987,which contains the IBM PCbooter version on one side,and the Apple II original on the other.This release actually caused someunwarranted disdain for Demon's Forgesince many people didn'trealize it was a 1981 gamebeing rereleased in 1987.Not only was it a basic textadventure game with simple graphics,but it was a PC booter game–not an MS-DOS game–which was an outdated concept by then.But taken in the context of 1981 Apple II games–and not 1987 DOS games–it's not nearly as bad as the naysayers sayand is worth a look.So let's look at the Apple II version.Like this!Smells like soap!Mmm, didn't work as well as I'd planned.Boot up Demon's Forgeand you're dropped straight intothe game with no fanfare at all.Though reading the back ofthe game box will tell you thatyou're some random dude in a random kingdomwho got in a random bar fightand killed four dudes that randomlyhappened to be the king's four best guards.So your sentence is to wander this sadistic labyrinthknown as the Demon's Forge.And if you make it out alive,you win your freedom and your stuff.If you don't, I guess you're...not comin' out of there.That's, that's pretty much a given.Similar to text adventures like Zorkand other graphical adventure gameslike Wizard and the Princess,you'll be using two-word commands in orderto navigate and interact with the world.Go North. Look room. Get this. Kill that. Etc.There is no graphical inventory management,no animation, no sound to speak of.It's really as simple as typing in two words or lessto say what you want to do.You'll be relying mostly on the text descriptions,though the graphics drawn by Michael Cranfordcertainly help visualize some stuff.Though it can also be arguedthat text-only adventureswith their more detailed descriptionsare actually more immersivethan simplistic color graphics,but maybe that's a topic for another day.The topic of today is how Demon's Forge plays,and well, there's not really much to say.It's a text adventure, and it's pretty basic.There isn't really a story.There aren't really any standout moments.And because of the use of graphicsinstead of in-depth text descriptions,there are not too many memorable locations.What is memorable is how absolutelyfreakin' insane the game's logic is.Or rather, its complete lack of any common senseor believable progression is.Yeah, it plays like the most absurd\"Choose You Own Adventure\" book you've ever read.But instead of being able to choosethe page to see the next event,you're given a random smattering of trinketsand ham-fisted puzzles to tossaround in order to progress.Almost every room has something that isabsolutely required to move onward later in the game,and almost every room has a way to completelymiss out on that item or person or whatever,making it impossible to finish the game.And, yes, I know I'm complaining about oneof the oldest tricks in the adventure game book.But seriously, Demon's Forge goes astep beyond with the way it hides things,and uses an obscure series of events toperform even the most mundane tasks.I've read several times wherepeople will describe this gameas easily one of the most difficultadventure games ever made,and I really don't disagree with that at all.It is certainly one of the mostaggravating I've ever played,and I wouldn't even dream aboutattempting it without a walkthrough.And even then, the sillinessyou're required to take part into, say, even open a door and leave a roomwill leave you scratching your head and wonderinghow anyone figured it out before the Internet.Poor bored '80s kids. Never cease to amaze me.It's worth noting that at least the gameisn't very lengthy, if you know where to go,in what order and duringwhich time you enter a room.You can probably grind throughit in less than 40 minutes.But it's the fact that the game doesn'ttell you that you can do somethingand doesn't even hint at it that makesthe game infuriating when playing it legit.And these logical improbabilitiesand mysterious strings of eventstake place from beginning to end,with the possibility of screwing up beyond repaira very real probability at any given time.Now, yes, I know this anti-logic was often usedto inflate gameplay back in the day.But Demon's Forge, it reallydoes exemplify all the annoyingand irritating things about adventuregames that I haven't missed at all.I mean, how was I supposed to knowthat I needed to fail to kill the assassinto use the pocketed vialto get a second chance to kill the assassinto find a chime to jump in a wellto have my fire elemental vaporizedand then open a locked door to getto the floating, murderous rabbit?!Unless you were Brian Fargo, balls if I know, man.It's crap like this that makes mesay the game isn't worth playingunless you're an absolute hardcorefan of old school adventure games,Brian Fargo, self-flagellation,or some mixture of the three.Now don't get me wrong: Demon's Forgeis by no means a badly made game.It works without any major problems.It's actually a pretty good exampleof an early graphical adventure game.And it's fun when you finally do figure things out.But for me, it's the figuring outthe most deranged puzzlesthat overshadows any fun I was having.Some people may find this nostalgicor even their retro gaming cup of tea.But I find it more my cup of needless aggravationthat I don't see myself coming back to any time soon.\n"