Battles ~ Text Based Combat in Other Games

As programmers, we must try our best not to reinvent the wheel. There are many text-based RPGs with time-tested and well-refined combat systems; here I list several, along with some of their more interesting characteristics, to be used for inspiration when working on the Chiventure battle system.

1. Wasteland (1988) (clip 1 [single enemy], clip 2 [multiple enemies])
   • Players fondly recall the game's exciting description of action using phrases such as "spinning him into a dance of death" and "exploding it like a blood sausage"
   • Each round, the player selects which each of their characters should do: run, use, hire, evade, attack, weapon, or load/unjam
   • Each character has a single weapon (e.g. “VP91Z 9MM PISTOL”), some amount of ammo (e.g. 16/18), and hit points (e.g. 22/29) which carry forward between battles
   • If there are multiple enemies, you can choose which to engage at the beginning of each turn

2. Dwarf Fortress: Adventure Mode (2006) (clip)
   • Players can choose which body part of the enemy to aim for; each says how likely the attack is to land, and how "solid" the attack will be if it does
   • Player can choose which weapon to use for the attack
   • Short text displays describing the result of the move in significant detail (e.g. “You hack the goblin in the right upper leg from the side with your iron battle axe, bruising the muscle through the small troll fur cloak”)
   • Player can look at a summary of the enemy’s current condition (physical appearance, how it’s been injured, what it’s holding, etc.)
     • Includes descriptive details unrelated to the current battle, which enhance immersion (e.g. “her red eyes are wide-set”)
   • Enemies are able to evade attacks, so hits aren’t guaranteed

3. Bard's Tale (1985) (clip)
   • Options: party attack, attack foes, defend, use an item
   • Hit points listed at the bottom of the screen, along with various other stats
   • As with Wasteland, you get to choose which each member of your party is going to do each turn
   • After each round of attacks, the user is told how many enemies they still face, and prompted for whether they want to fight or run
   • In addition to weapons, some characters have many different spells to choose from
   • After each battle, the characters receive experience points and gold

4. Wizardry (1981) (clip)
   • Options for each party member: Fight/Spell, Parry, Run, Take Back
   • At the bottom of the screen the name of each party member is displayed, as well as their player class, AC (armor class), hits (i.e. health), and status (e.g. “Fight” or “Parry”)

5. Pokémon (various) (clip)
   • More reliant on visuals (image of each pokémon, HP bars, animations), though all necessary information is viewable via text
   • Player gains experience points, gold after defeating each enemy
   • Each turn, the player can choose between fight, pack (i.e. access an item), pokémon (i.e. change pokémon), or run
   • Different attacks are more effective against certain enemies (helps to make combat more engaging/strategic)