King of Dragon Pass Coming To An iPhone Near You
King of Dragon Pass, the much-loved computer game from 1999, is, in the Orlanthi spirit of change, undergoing a transformation. Even as we speak, ASharp chieftain David Dunham shepherds it into 21st century form as an iPhone/iTouch app. For those unfamiliar, the game, through a unique fusion of resource management and crisis-management storytelling, follows the fortunes of your clan of wind-worshiping cattle herders as they resettle an uninhabited land, centuries after a catastrophic event called the Dragonkill War. Hint: it wasn’t the dragons who got killed. You build your clan from hardscrabble beginnings. Generations later, you get the chance to take part in the selection of a king, as disparate hill tribes form a nation.
I’d describe it as one of the best and most immersive portrayals of Greg Stafford’s world of Glorantha ever. However, modesty forbids me from doing so, as I was one of the game’s writers and designers. Rob Heinsoo, later of 4E fame, was also a part of the team.
Its use of gorgeous full-color drawings rather than computer graphics made it stand out as unique and perhaps quaint at the time of its release. It also made the game timeless in the way that its market-dominating competitors from 1999 were not. If anything, it will make more aesthetic sense now, in handheld form, than it did back then.
At present David has ruled out an iPad version, as the illustrations weren’t scanned at a resolution suitable for its larger screen. I’m betting many gamers will want it for that device anyway, no matter how thick the margins-especially if David can figure out how to sync saved games between devices. But that’s me creating more work for him.
When the news of this hits Finland, where KoDP enjoyed an incredible cult success, and which is the spiritual home of the mobile phone, there may be a national holiday declared in David’s name. I can see the reindeer parade now...
Follow the project’s progress toward release on the social network of your choice, as seen on the linked page.