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Tyrant Cenobite
December 19th, 2013, 16:43
This is to everyone who was involved with the conception and development of the original Dungeon Keeper.

Dungeon Keeper is, even to this day, is my all time favourite video game. It's the sole reason I have a passion for video games as a whole and is my main inspiration as to why I have pursued a career in the industry. For all of that, I have the DK Team and my grandfather to thank. My one and only hero. My very own 'mentor'.

I lost my grandfather to cancer on Monday. I remember being eight years old in 1997 and the first time I ever got my hands on Dungeon Keeper. Me and my grandfather were in PC World in Norwich and we saw the game hooked up to a projector and one of the staff were offering a hands-on with the game. Curiosity overtook us and we ventured over and started to move the mouse, causing the cursor to transform into the evil hand and we were instructed to slap the imps and to dig tiles. A little over five minutes in of just moving the hand and not having a grasp on what the game actually was, I was so enthralled and my grandfather, on a hunch, purchased the game.

The game is a masterpiece. For years me and my grandfather played, I remember when I used to visit regularly, he would have trained my minions overnight and helped out with various other things. My grandfather had a love for the games music and atmosphere and we literally lost countless of time playing. It was glorious and a game that we really both bonded over. For my tenth birthday, my birthday cake was actually Horny with the game's logo emblazoned on it. You can imagine our excitement when Deeper Dungeons was released, extending the fun.

Even to this day, 16 years on, I'm never bored with the game. It has left such an impression on me and is one of the strongest memories I have of my grandfather. He was the one who introduced me to the game through sheer luck and on a hunch, it's a game we had such a bond over and a mutual love for. It's because of him why I have fire and passion for video games and I hope that as my career grows, his legacy will live on in everything I do. He taught me all about computers and video games throughout the time I knew him and all my future endeavours will be dedicated and a testament to him.

Therefore I want to thank everyone involved with Dungeon Keeper. You created something so paramount to me and you guys were the catalyst in bringing two people closer together and strengthening such a strong bond with a man who was my hero and I'll never forget the power one single video game could possibly have. Me and my grandfather were even reminiscing on how impactful the game was just days before he passed away. It just goes to show how one small project can make the biggest lasting impressions.

Thank you.

- Tony

DragonsLover
December 19th, 2013, 23:31
Such great and true words of a real dungeon keeper! :) I can understand you there, Dungeon Keeper is still epic today.

Noanechu
December 22nd, 2013, 17:52
My condolence for your loss.
I also was one of the first players of this game and it still is one of my favourites. Most games from this time are still unmatched today. Today it´s only about graphics and releasing the 19th part of a series with just more boring casualisation. Unfortunately this is also the way EA handles it and they have the rights for DK :mad: . I find myself having more fun with playing some classics again than the new stuff. I also have to say I was disappointed with DK2 - all cool creatures that made the game great removed, new unpleasant ones added, existing creatures modified in a way I don´t like(e.g. Horny doesn´t look like an pure evil demon anymore but more like the brother of Hellboy - and isn´t a real creature anymore) and the overall game feeling wasn´t a match for the original.
I started playing DK again a while ago and haven´t played all new campaigns of KeeperFX yet - so more hours of gameplay await me :cool: .