Master of Magic
Encyclopedia
Master of Magic is a single-player, fantasy turn-based strategy
computer game created by Simtex
and published for MS-DOS
by Microprose
in . It is of the 4X genre. The player is a wizard attempting to dominate two linked worlds. From a small settlement, the player grows an empire and banishes the other wizards. The player manages resources, builds cities and armies, and researches spells.
Master of Magic's early versions had many bugs, and were heavily criticized by reviewers. The last official patch version 1.31, released in March 1995, fixed many of the bugs and implemented updates to the AI. The patched version was received more positively by reviewers.
A world is randomly generated each game, with player input on land size, the strength of magic, game difficulty, and other features. The player can customize the skills, spell choices, and appearance of their wizard, choosing one of fourteen races for the starting city.
The gameplay starts as units explore surroundings, pushing back the strategic map's fog of war
. Among the exploration goals are defeating monsters guarding treasure, finding the best locations for new cities, discovering the Towers of Wizardry that link the planes Arcanus and Myrror, and locating the cities of enemy wizards.
Cities are established by settlers, then upgraded by adding buildings improving the economy. Cities produce food, gold and mana. Military units require food and gold upkeep; spellcasters consume mana in combat.
At the same time as colonizing territory, new magical spells are researched. Spells are either used in or out of combat.
Battles for squares in the strategic map are resolved in an isometric
turn-based view that shows unit positions and the effect of magical spells.
In Master of Magic, players research and cast spells from schools from which they have selected spellbooks. There are global spells which can affect targets all across the world, like Cursed Lands which incites rebellion and reduces production in opponents' cities, Fire Storm which causes an area to erupt into damaging flames, and Spell Binding which allows the caster to steal another wizard's global spell. Unit or city enhancement spells can boost the potential of its target, such as hasting units to move and attack twice as fast, enabling them to regenerate wounds, and blessing their weapons to become more potent. Wizards can summon fantastic creatures related to their schools, like Chaos' hell hounds, Life's archangels, and Sorcery's sky drakes. The player can research combat spells to cast them in battles to hurt enemy units in various ways, turning the odds around, like throwing out fireballs, petrifying foes, and webbing them. Lastly there is the Arcane Spell of Mastery which takes enormous resources to research and cast, but wins the game for the player.
In Master of Magic, a tactical battle takes place when two armies clash for a square on the global map. The battle takes place in a separate close up of the contested square. The two forces are arrayed at different ends, and the battle is conducted in a turn-based manner as well. The battle ends in victory for one side by eliminating the other or forcing it to flee the combat, or a draw if both sides still exist after 50 turns.
The player can recruit 86 unit types from the cities to build their armies. A few (such as swordsmen
and archers
) are generic, while most others (such as troll
shamans
) feature racial bonuses (regeneration, in the trolls' case.) The majority of city-recruited units are racially unique units with special abilities like the nefarious Doom Bolt casting dark elven
warlock
s, the lucky halfling slingers, and the first-to-strike elven lords. Mercenaries can seek employment with famous wizards, allowing them to recruit units which their cities are unable to produce. The player can even summon fantastic creatures, such as demon
lords, beholder
-like chaos spawn, enormous behemoth
s, etc. The vast variety of units with their own special abilities give players a lot of choices in configuring their armies.
Heroes are another option for players to boost their military edge. 35 distinct heroes are available for players to hire or to summon. Their own special abilities can help to boost the efficiency of other military units (like bestowing offensive or defensive bonuses), or enable them to take on whole armies on their own (such as armor piercing attacks, immense strength or toughness, etc.), especially when equipped with magical items discovered or forged by the players.
The game Master of Magic takes place across two worlds
of existence, Arcanus and Myrror. Arcanus is a land much like our Earth
, with arctic poles, and terrain consisting of forests, oceans, grasslands, and deserts. Myrror is a parallel world
to Arcanus, with a heavier magical atmosphere, fantastic flora and fauna not found on Arcanus. The two worlds are physically linked to each other by special Towers of Wizardry, allowing units to travel between them. The concept is akin to two floors of a building linked by stairwells
.
In line with the theme of magic
in the game, magic nodes - which are sources of magical power - are scattered throughout the two worlds. Likewise, the worlds are populated by fantasy
races, such as the magical elves
, the gregarious halfling
s, the despised and productive klackons, and the noble high men. Fantastic creatures like the burrowing great wyrm, undead
skeletons, and dragon
s also abide in ruins and lairs, guarding treasures. Occasionally they stalk the land, and can be summoned
and pressed into the services of wizards.
and Age of Wonders
series. While the acclaimed Warlords series later allowed customization of heroes, Master of Magic was the first major fantasy strategy game to feature individually distinct heroes, with unique abilities, which could be equipped with customized items. This customizability extended to the creation of a unique persona/wizard with access to a variety of spells dependent upon the number of "ranks" or "books" of magic of a given school. Wizards could also be designed with specific traits, a feature which separated Master of Magic and the later Master of Orion 2 from Civilization
.
Early versions of Master of Magics were riddled with bugs and had a terrible artificial intelligence
(AI), frustrating a lot of reviewers with its crashes and ignorant enemies. Despite that, it was announced as the Runner-up Strategy Game of the Year by Strategy Plus
magazine, coming in behind its older sibling Master of Orion
. A few patches later, version 1.2 corrected a lot of the bugs and added some tweaks but there were still game crashing moments. Bill Cranston of GameBytes also savaged other aspects of the game, constantly comparing it against the 1991 hit computer game, Civilization. He said the gameplay was mostly repetitive clickings of the 'end turn' button throughout several hundreds eventless turns. Other complaints on his list also include Master of Magic's magic not being as crucial to winning the game in a straight forward manner, as compared to Civilization's technology. The potential of racial strife was less than fulfilled as military units of different races can co-exist harmoniously even though subjugated cities of a different race can rise up in rebellion. Coming Soon Magazine! however reviewed the same version and called it a must-have for strategy fans with great gameplay and lots of spells.
The game was reviewed in 1995 in Dragon
#213 by Jay & Dee in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Jay gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars, while Dee gave the game 4 stars.
Master of Magic version 1.31 was released in March 1995. It rectified many more bugs, and implemented a few changes to the AI. IGN reviewed this version of Master of Magic in 2002, and stated that the ability to customize the player's character, random maps, and vast variety of spells and creatures give an immense replayability to the game. The dual planes concept and intense tactical battles spiced with spells, encouraged them to name the latest version of the game as the best fantasy strategy game ever made. Computer Gaming World
called this version fantastic, and named it as one of their "150 Best Games of All Time". Similarly IGN
placed the game as one of their "Top 25 Games of All Time" in 2000 and "Top 100 Games of All Time" in 2003, praising it for its innovative simultaneous play of two worlds. Tracy Baker wrote in Computer Gaming Classics, naming it as a strategy game classic for its success in implementing the mechanics of Master of Orion
in a fantasy setting.
's Hall of Fame in 2000, citing it as a visually stunning game with "enduring replayability" due to its randomness, and large variety of spells. They also credited the game as being more popular than Master of Orion, and responsible for making Steve Barcia
and Simtex
household names. Computer Gaming World
also inducted Master of Magic into its Hall of Fame in 2005. Its impression on the gaming community can be evidenced by it being referenced as a representative product of Microprose
in gaming reviews. Even Alan Emrich
, the coiner of the 4X genre, has listed Master of Magic as his number one game of all time. Due to Master of Magic's impact on the fantasy turn-based strategy genre, the Age of Wonders
series, which were almost identical in gameplay, tend to be put up against it in their reviews, even though Lennart Sas, Age of Wonders's lead designer has stated the games have differences from one another. Another series that has been compared to Master of Magic was the Dominions series
from Illwinter Game Design.
Despite such acclaims, Master of Magic still has yet to produce a sequel or remake. Steve Barcia had stated in 1997 that Master of Magic II would be ready by spring 1998 with new features, spells, monsters, and even a spell designer. However, Simtex was closed down in the same year. Microprose revealed it was developing the sequel on its own, but had to cancel the plans when the company's financial situation deteriorated in 2000. Despite the later presence of games which resemble Master of Magic (such as the Age of Wonders series), reviewers like Kyle Ackerman and GameSpot
editor Andrew Park lament they never capture its spirit.
Hopes were raised when news began of companies like Quicksilver Software
and Stardock
picking up the rights to produce a sequel. They were dashed when the deals fell through, as the companies were unable to reach an accord with Atari
's demands for full control of the software's marketing. Game Informer
claimed in its November 2007 issue that Stardock was targeting a remake of Master of Magic for 2009. However, Stardock's employee, Aaron Rister, clarified in their own forums that Game Informer was mistaken. The project is a creation of Stardock's own, and was unveiled in their 2007 interview with Gamasutra
as a "part Master of Magic, part Populous
and part X-Com" game. This game, Elemental: War of Magic
, was announced in late 2008 and released in 2010.
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
computer game created by Simtex
Simtex
Simtex was a video game developer established by Steve Barcia in 1988. It created a number of well-known turn-based strategy games for the PC, most notably the first two Master of Orion games...
and published for MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
by Microprose
MicroProse
MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
in . It is of the 4X genre. The player is a wizard attempting to dominate two linked worlds. From a small settlement, the player grows an empire and banishes the other wizards. The player manages resources, builds cities and armies, and researches spells.
Master of Magic
Gameplay
The gameplay starts as units explore surroundings, pushing back the strategic map's fog of war
Fog of war
The fog of war is a term used to describe the uncertainty in situation awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding own capability, adversary capability, and adversary intent during an engagement, operation, or campaign...
. Among the exploration goals are defeating monsters guarding treasure, finding the best locations for new cities, discovering the Towers of Wizardry that link the planes Arcanus and Myrror, and locating the cities of enemy wizards.
Cities are established by settlers, then upgraded by adding buildings improving the economy. Cities produce food, gold and mana. Military units require food and gold upkeep; spellcasters consume mana in combat.
At the same time as colonizing territory, new magical spells are researched. Spells are either used in or out of combat.
Battles for squares in the strategic map are resolved in an isometric
Isometric
The term isometric comes from the Greek for "having equal measurement".isometric may mean:* Isometric projection , a method for the visual representation of three-dimensional objects in two dimensions; a form of orthographic projection, or more specifically, an axonometric projection.* Isometry and...
turn-based view that shows unit positions and the effect of magical spells.
Magic
Master of Magic splits spells into six schools of magic. Life Magic, that heals and protects. Its antithesis Death Magic, which drains life forces and raises undead. Chaos Magic, that warps its subjects and spews destructive energies. Nature Magic, that turns the weather against its foes. Sorcery Magic the bends the air to its will and seek to subvert other magics. Arcane Magic, which is a general school and free for all.In Master of Magic, players research and cast spells from schools from which they have selected spellbooks. There are global spells which can affect targets all across the world, like Cursed Lands which incites rebellion and reduces production in opponents' cities, Fire Storm which causes an area to erupt into damaging flames, and Spell Binding which allows the caster to steal another wizard's global spell. Unit or city enhancement spells can boost the potential of its target, such as hasting units to move and attack twice as fast, enabling them to regenerate wounds, and blessing their weapons to become more potent. Wizards can summon fantastic creatures related to their schools, like Chaos' hell hounds, Life's archangels, and Sorcery's sky drakes. The player can research combat spells to cast them in battles to hurt enemy units in various ways, turning the odds around, like throwing out fireballs, petrifying foes, and webbing them. Lastly there is the Arcane Spell of Mastery which takes enormous resources to research and cast, but wins the game for the player.
Combat
The player can recruit 86 unit types from the cities to build their armies. A few (such as swordsmen
Swordsmanship
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword...
and archers
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
) are generic, while most others (such as troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
shamans
Cleric (character class)
The Cleric, Priest, or Bishop is a character class in Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy role-playing games. The cleric is a healer, usually a priest and a holy warrior, originally modeled on or inspired by the Military Orders...
) feature racial bonuses (regeneration, in the trolls' case.) The majority of city-recruited units are racially unique units with special abilities like the nefarious Doom Bolt casting dark elven
Dark elf
Dark elf may refer to:* Dökkálfar or dark elves, a type of elf in Norse mythology* Svartálfar or dark elves, a type of elf in Norse mythology* Moriquendi, a fictional race of elves in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium...
warlock
Warlock
The term warlock in origin means "traitor, oathbreaker".In early modern Scots, the word came to be used as the male equivalent of witch ....
s, the lucky halfling slingers, and the first-to-strike elven lords. Mercenaries can seek employment with famous wizards, allowing them to recruit units which their cities are unable to produce. The player can even summon fantastic creatures, such as demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
lords, beholder
Beholder
The beholder is a fictional monster in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It resembles a floating orb of flesh with a large mouth, single central eye, and lots of smaller eyestalks on top with deadly magical powers....
-like chaos spawn, enormous behemoth
Behemoth
Behemoth is a mythological beast mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15-24. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity.-Plural as singular:...
s, etc. The vast variety of units with their own special abilities give players a lot of choices in configuring their armies.
Heroes are another option for players to boost their military edge. 35 distinct heroes are available for players to hire or to summon. Their own special abilities can help to boost the efficiency of other military units (like bestowing offensive or defensive bonuses), or enable them to take on whole armies on their own (such as armor piercing attacks, immense strength or toughness, etc.), especially when equipped with magical items discovered or forged by the players.
Plot and setting
Physical plane
The physical plane , physical world, or physical universe, in emanationist metaphysics such as are found in Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Hinduism and Theosophy, refers to the visible reality of space and time, energy and matter: the physical universe in Occultism and esoteric cosmology is the lowest...
of existence, Arcanus and Myrror. Arcanus is a land much like our Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, with arctic poles, and terrain consisting of forests, oceans, grasslands, and deserts. Myrror is a parallel world
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
to Arcanus, with a heavier magical atmosphere, fantastic flora and fauna not found on Arcanus. The two worlds are physically linked to each other by special Towers of Wizardry, allowing units to travel between them. The concept is akin to two floors of a building linked by stairwells
Stairway
Stairway, staircase, stairwell, flight of stairs, or simply stairs are names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps...
.
In line with the theme of magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
in the game, magic nodes - which are sources of magical power - are scattered throughout the two worlds. Likewise, the worlds are populated by fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
races, such as the magical elves
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
, the gregarious halfling
Halfling
Halfling is another name for J. R. R. Tolkien's Hobbit which can be a fictional race sometimes found in fantasy novels and games. In many settings, they are similar to humans except about half the size. Dungeons & Dragons began using the name halfling as an alternative to hobbit for legal reasons...
s, the despised and productive klackons, and the noble high men. Fantastic creatures like the burrowing great wyrm, undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
skeletons, and dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s also abide in ruins and lairs, guarding treasures. Occasionally they stalk the land, and can be summoned
Conjuration
Conjuration is used in many video games, mainly RPGs, where it is usually referred to as summoning.* A notable example is the Final Fantasy franchise which incorporates summoning of monsters to fight alongside the characters....
and pressed into the services of wizards.
Reception
Master of Magic was recognized for its introduction of concurrent gameplay across two planes of existence, allowing for greater tactical play, which was later implemented in the Heroes of Might and MagicHeroes of Might and Magic
Heroes of Might and Magic is a series of video games originally created and developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Computing. As part of the Might and Magic franchise, the series changed ownership when NWC was acquired by 3DO and again when 3DO closed down and sold the rights to Ubisoft...
and Age of Wonders
Age of Wonders
Age of Wonders is a turn-based strategy PC-game often likened to Master of Magic. Originally titled World of Wonders, the game incorporated several role-playing video game elements that were dropped when simultaneous turns were implemented...
series. While the acclaimed Warlords series later allowed customization of heroes, Master of Magic was the first major fantasy strategy game to feature individually distinct heroes, with unique abilities, which could be equipped with customized items. This customizability extended to the creation of a unique persona/wizard with access to a variety of spells dependent upon the number of "ranks" or "books" of magic of a given school. Wizards could also be designed with specific traits, a feature which separated Master of Magic and the later Master of Orion 2 from Civilization
Civilization (computer game)
Sid Meier's Civilization is a turn-based strategy "4X"-type strategy video game created by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley for MicroProse in 1991. The game's objective is to "Build an empire to stand the test of time": it begins in 4000 BC and the players attempt to expand and develop their empires...
.
Early versions of Master of Magics were riddled with bugs and had a terrible artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters . The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from the field of artificial intelligence...
(AI), frustrating a lot of reviewers with its crashes and ignorant enemies. Despite that, it was announced as the Runner-up Strategy Game of the Year by Strategy Plus
Computer Games Magazine
Computer Games Magazine was a computer gaming print magazine. It was formerly Computer Games Strategy Plus, and before that, Strategy Plus, which had been founded as Games International in the UK in 1988. While its initial focus was on strategy games, it covered a wide range of game genres...
magazine, coming in behind its older sibling Master of Orion
Master of Orion
Master of Orion is a turn-based, 4X science fiction computer strategy game released in 1993 by MicroProse on the MS-DOS and Mac OS operating systems. The purpose of the game is to lead one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing...
. A few patches later, version 1.2 corrected a lot of the bugs and added some tweaks but there were still game crashing moments. Bill Cranston of GameBytes also savaged other aspects of the game, constantly comparing it against the 1991 hit computer game, Civilization. He said the gameplay was mostly repetitive clickings of the 'end turn' button throughout several hundreds eventless turns. Other complaints on his list also include Master of Magic
The game was reviewed in 1995 in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#213 by Jay & Dee in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Jay gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars, while Dee gave the game 4 stars.
Master of Magic version 1.31 was released in March 1995. It rectified many more bugs, and implemented a few changes to the AI. IGN reviewed this version of Master of Magic in 2002, and stated that the ability to customize the player's character, random maps, and vast variety of spells and creatures give an immense replayability to the game. The dual planes concept and intense tactical battles spiced with spells, encouraged them to name the latest version of the game as the best fantasy strategy game ever made. Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
called this version fantastic, and named it as one of their "150 Best Games of All Time". Similarly IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
placed the game as one of their "Top 25 Games of All Time" in 2000 and "Top 100 Games of All Time" in 2003, praising it for its innovative simultaneous play of two worlds. Tracy Baker wrote in Computer Gaming Classics, naming it as a strategy game classic for its success in implementing the mechanics of Master of Orion
Master of Orion
Master of Orion is a turn-based, 4X science fiction computer strategy game released in 1993 by MicroProse on the MS-DOS and Mac OS operating systems. The purpose of the game is to lead one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing...
in a fantasy setting.
Legacy
Master of Magic was inducted into GameSpyGameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
's Hall of Fame in 2000, citing it as a visually stunning game with "enduring replayability" due to its randomness, and large variety of spells. They also credited the game as being more popular than Master of Orion, and responsible for making Steve Barcia
Steve Barcia
Steve Barcia is a game programmer, game producer and entrepreneur, having founded the computer game developer Simtex Studios Inc. in 1988. The company released computer games such as Master of Magic, Master of Orion and Master of Orion II....
and Simtex
Simtex
Simtex was a video game developer established by Steve Barcia in 1988. It created a number of well-known turn-based strategy games for the PC, most notably the first two Master of Orion games...
household names. Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
also inducted Master of Magic into its Hall of Fame in 2005. Its impression on the gaming community can be evidenced by it being referenced as a representative product of Microprose
MicroProse
MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
in gaming reviews. Even Alan Emrich
Alan Emrich
Alan Emrich is best known as a writer about and designer of computer games, who coined the term "4X", contributed to the design of Master of Orion and Master of Orion 3, and wrote strategy guides for video games. Before the rise of computer games Emrich wrote about and designed board games and...
, the coiner of the 4X genre, has listed Master of Magic as his number one game of all time. Due to Master of Magic
Age of Wonders
Age of Wonders is a turn-based strategy PC-game often likened to Master of Magic. Originally titled World of Wonders, the game incorporated several role-playing video game elements that were dropped when simultaneous turns were implemented...
series, which were almost identical in gameplay, tend to be put up against it in their reviews, even though Lennart Sas, Age of Wonders
Dominions: Priests, Prophets and Pretenders
Dominions: Priests, Prophets and Pretenders is a turn-based strategy game designed by Illwinter Game Design, in which up to fourteen "pretender gods" at a time each battle for global dominance...
from Illwinter Game Design.
Despite such acclaims, Master of Magic still has yet to produce a sequel or remake. Steve Barcia had stated in 1997 that Master of Magic II would be ready by spring 1998 with new features, spells, monsters, and even a spell designer. However, Simtex was closed down in the same year. Microprose revealed it was developing the sequel on its own, but had to cancel the plans when the company's financial situation deteriorated in 2000. Despite the later presence of games which resemble Master of Magic (such as the Age of Wonders series), reviewers like Kyle Ackerman and GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
editor Andrew Park lament they never capture its spirit.
Hopes were raised when news began of companies like Quicksilver Software
Quicksilver Software
Quicksilver Software, Inc. was founded in 1984 by three Intellivision programmers from Mattel Electronics. Two of the three, William Fisher and Stephen Roney, currently work there...
and Stardock
Stardock
Stardock Corporation is a software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2 platform, but was forced to switch to Windows due to the collapse of the OS/2 software market between 1997 and 1998...
picking up the rights to produce a sequel. They were dashed when the deals fell through, as the companies were unable to reach an accord with Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
claimed in its November 2007 issue that Stardock was targeting a remake of Master of Magic for 2009. However, Stardock's employee, Aaron Rister, clarified in their own forums that Game Informer was mistaken. The project is a creation of Stardock's own, and was unveiled in their 2007 interview with Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
as a "part Master of Magic, part Populous
Populous
-External links:*...
and part X-Com" game. This game, Elemental: War of Magic
Elemental: War of Magic
Elemental: War of Magic is a fantasy 4X turn-based strategy game developed and published by Stardock, released August 24, 2010.Stardock calls Elemental "a strategy game in an RPG world." The game revolves around exploration, city-building, resource management and conquest, but also incorporates...
, was announced in late 2008 and released in 2010.