Game:Discworld

Cover to Discworld

Discworld the Game is a point-and-click adventure featuring Rincewind as he attempts to defeat a dragon. Several plot elements are borrowed from Guards! Guards!. Released on PC, Playstation and Sega Saturn.

Gameplay

Discworld is a third-person point-and-click graphic adventure game. The PlayStation version is compatible with the PlayStation Mouse, as well as the normal PlayStation controls. However, the Saturn version is not compatible with the Saturn Mouse. Rincewind, the player character, moves through a scrolling background, with an overhead map that appears when leaving a city that allows the player to go straight to a location. Items can either be examined or used, and can either be stored in Rincewind's pockets or in the Luggage. In order to progress in the game, Rincewind must collect items, talk to people and solve puzzles.

Plot

A secret brotherhood summons a dragon from its native dimension, so as to cause destruction and mayhem across the city of Ankh-Morpork. The following day, rumours of the dragon's rampage across the city reaches Unseen University. Since the Archchancellor wishes the involvement of at least one wizard in the matter (so that people don't question their usefulness), Rincewind is summoned to handle the problem. After acquiring a book to learn what is needed to track the dragon to its lair, Rincewind searches the city for the various components needed to assemble a dragon detector and brings them back to the Archchancellor. After the Archancellor lets slip that the dragon's lair is stocked with gold, Rincewind snatches the dragon detector from the Archchancellor, searches the city, finds the lair, and takes all the gold within it. Just before he leaves, the dragon stops him and requests his aid in removing the brotherhood's hold upon her, claiming they are using her for evil and are planning to make her go on a major rampage.

To do this, Rincewind is told to discover who they are, and recover a golden item from each, since these items are what they use to control the dragon. Learning that a book about summoning dragons had been stolen from the library at Unseen University the night before, Rincewind gains access to L-Space, allowing him to journey into the past, witness the theft, and follow the thief back to the brotherhood's hideout. After gaining entry in disguise, Rincewind learns that each member holds a role in the city — Chucky the Fool, the Thief, the Mason, the Chimney Sweep, the Fishmonger, and the Dunny King — and seeks to change the city so they can have a better future for themselves. Acquiring their golden items, Rincewind brings them to the dragon, only to learn it will not return to its dimension but seek revenge on the brotherhood before coming after him. Wishing to stop this, Rincewind decides to prevent the summoning book from being stolen, by switching it for one that makes love custard. In his efforts to be recognised for stopping the dragon, Rincewind gets into an argument with the Patrician over the existence of dragons, summoning the very same one back to Discworld. An annoyed Patrician tasks Rincewind to deal with it.

Rincewind's room in the game

Learning that a hero with a million-to-one chance can stop it, Rincewind searches for the right components to be that hero, journeying across the city, the Disc, and even over the edge, to find the necessary items, including a sword that goes "ting", a birthmark, and a magic spell. With the components acquired, he returns to the city's square, where Lady Ramkin, the owner of a local dragon sanctuary, is tied to a rock to be sacrificed to the dragon. Despite having what is needed to combat the dragon, Rincewind fails to stop it, and so seeks out an alternative method. Taking a swamp dragon called Mambo the 16th, and feeding him hot coals and a lit firecracker, Rincewind tries again, but Mambo stops working when he becomes infatuated with the dragon. Rincewind then throws a love custard tart at the dragon. The dragon falls in love with Mambo, and the two fly off to perform mating dances. Rincewind heads to the pub for a pint to celebrate the end of his adventure.

Voice actors

Eric Idle: Rincewind.

Rob Brydon: various.

Jon Pertwee: various.

Kate Robbins: various.

Tony Robinson: various.

Terry Pratchett has a non-speaking cameo appearance in the crowd scene (next to Dibbler) at the end of the game.

Ideas and themes

The game was titled Discworld: The Trouble with Dragons while it was in development.

There is a subtle easter egg in the game that is activated by double clicking on the sheep in Nanny Ogg's back yard. Many more secrets can be found throughout the game. In another easter egg, Rincewind states that he "want[s] to be the first person in a game to say fuck". A similar, albeit censored line is also hidden in the sequel.

Releases

The game was originally released on both floppy disk and CD-ROM, with the CD-ROM version featuring full voice acting for all characters. For the Japanese release on the PlayStation and Saturn, all the voice acting was redone by a prominent Japanese comedian, which was a major selling point for the game in Japan.

After the release of Discworld II, a second CD-ROM version of the game, codenamed the Director's Cut, was developed. This new version was made using the sequel's improved TINSEL game engine, and also fixed several outstanding bugs that had not been fixed by any previous patch. It also included a missing "future-cut-scene" for the butterfly effect that never made it into the original game due to time constraints. However, this version was never released, since the publisher assumed that large sums of money would be required to test it, even though that wasn't the case since the game's logic (written using the TINSEL language) remained the same.

Strategy Guide

Terry Pratchett's Discworld The Official Strategy Guide
Cover
Co-author(s)	Glen Edridge
Illustrator(s)	Josh Kirby (cover)
Publisher	Prima Publishing
Publication date	September 1995
ISBN	0552144398
Pages	142
RRP	£17.99
Main characters
Series	Peripherals
Annotations	View
Notes
All data relates to the first UK edition.

A strategy guide was released for all versions by Prima.

Bonus Items

A special edition of the game was released with either:

• A pewter Clarecraft figurine of either Rincewind or Death.
• A poster of the Librarian.

External Links

• The Discworld Game Pages, LSpace
• ScummVM
• ScummVM MIDI Music Enhancement Project, James Woodcock's Blog