The game was met with high critical praise and positive gamer reaction. An expansion pack, The Deeper Dungeons, was released on 30 November 1997. The following month, a Premium version was released in Japan.[3] A Gold Edition was released in North America and Europe in March 1998.[4] This was Molyneux's final project with Bullfrog before he left the company in July 1997 to form Lionhead Studios.
In the game the player attempts to build and manage a dungeon while protecting it from enemies (typically computer-controlled 'heroes' intent on stealing the user's accumulated treasures and causing your demise, but can also be the minions or rival Keepers). A game typically starts with a Dungeon Heart (the dungeon's life force; if this is destroyed, you lose the game), some Imps, some gold, and sometimes some rooms, and the player usually needs to construct the basic rooms (typically considered to be the Treasure Room, Lair, Hatchery, Training Room, and the Library) and tunnel to a Portal to attract creatures to his/her cause. Areas generally need to be dug out and claimed by Imps before rooms can be built there (Imps can also fortify walls to prevent breaches by hero Tunnellers or enemy Imps). Additional gold used to construct rooms, cast spells, and pay the creatures' wages can usually be obtained by excavating gold seams and gem seams.
Creatures need resting in the Lair and nourishment via the Hatchery, and can be put in the Training Room to gain experience (and with it, abilities and increased stats, but doing so costs gold) or in the Library to research additional spells and rooms, such as the Workshop (used to construct doors and traps) and Torture Chamber (used to torture creatures to convert them to your side or to boost the speed and efficiency of creatures of the same type by inducing fear into them). Creatures can be slapped with the Hand of Evil to make them work faster, picked up and dropped elsewhere, or possessed by using the Possess Creature spell, which allows you to take direct control of a minion, see the world from its perspective, and use its abilities.
Realms guarded by heroes often have a Lord of the Land, a Knight who serves as the boss of the level as he is the strongest and usually the final hero (not necessarily the final enemy) encountered. He is often accompanied by a large party or multiple parties of heroes and you are usually required to defeat him to win. The ultimate hero of the original campaign and boss of the final level is the Avatar, the strongest unit in the game.
Some levels feature Dungeon Specials to aid keepers in their quest. Neutral creatures can sometimes be found and will join the cause of the Keeper who reaches them first, and spells can be obtained by retrieving loose spell books too (traps and doors can also be obtained this way).
Development and release[]
Early logo
Another early logo
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Dungeon Keeper's development began in November 1994.[5] There are conflicting accounts on how the idea came about:
In 1997, Molyneux said that he came up with the idea while sitting in a traffic jam; he was bored, waiting for the traffic to move, when the idea of a reverse role playing game, and then the ideas of Dungeon Keeper (including having monsters in tunnels, controlling them directly, dealing with their problems, mining gold, and heroes invading), occurred to him. He was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed the traffic moving.[6]
As of 2025, however, Molyneux does not remember the traffic jam (though he said he could see himself annoyed, and that a road rage incident could have been inspirational,[7] contradicting what he said in 1997) and attributes the idea to the James Bond films, especially a scene in You Only Live Twice in which a volcano is destroyed. He said that he was a little obsessed with the fact that the villains never win, the manner in and the fugacity with which their lair is destroyed, and the fact that Bond never considers the amount of effort that would have been needed for its construction.[7][8]
In a pre-release developer interview, lead programmer Simon Carter said the idea "started with people at Bullfrog sitting down and messing with RPGs and stuff, and then thinking 'wouldn't it be more fun if you could play the evil guy?'".[9] In 2025, he corroborated a claim made in 2015 by programmer Jonty Barnes that the idea came from the group playing board war games,[10] by citing tabletop RPGs as an inspiration,[8] and said that it was after an evening of playing Dungeons & Dragons and Wiz-War (Molyneux often had board gaming nights at his house) that Molyneux started discussing ideas for a dungeons-based game.[8]
According to Molyneux and Carter, lead artist Mark Healey was instrumental in transforming the game from concept to reality; at the start, there was nothing but the idea that the player is running the dungeon and the general idea of combining evil elements with humour: there was nothing game-wise, and no visuals. Molyneux credited Healey's "whimsical" art style for shaping the concepts, and said that his work brought an amusing and almost mischievous charm to the setting, which the team built on as development progressed.[8]
Late 1995 trailer
The first demos were entirely in first-person view. Amongst Carter's first tasks were adding shadows and transforming the perspective to top-down isometric.[8] The first primitive version only had the ability to scroll around the map and enter third-person mode.[10] Molyneux then developed a 2D top-down prototype, whose gameplay focused on constructing the dungeon and its rooms. The Treasure Room, "Feeding Room", Training Room, and Dungeon Heart were all in this prototype. The Torture Chamber was implemented afterwards.[10] Development of a level editor began in May 1995, and by September, the Possess Creature view had been developed.[5] A trailer was released in late 1995, and Bullfrog attempted to release a version by Christmas, but failed.[5] By around this time, the game was in a "playable stage", according to Carter.[9]
Early 1996 trailer
Another trailer was released in early 1996, showing aspects such as mana and creature summoning. Around this time, dead creatures released their spirits. The goal of the game at this stage was to create a dungeon, and use gold and mana to summon creatures to guard the passageways or unleash on enemies when you have a large enough army.[11][12] Gold was dug by the player him/herself.[11]
Late 1996 trailer
Another Late 1996 trailer
Not long afterwards, the development team decided that the game, despite being "playable and graphically gorgeous",[11] was too similar to Command & Conquer,[13] lacked the "magic" that Populous and Magic Carpet had,[11] and "wouldn't cut mustard with the Bullfrog name".[11] Tester and manual writer Jon Rennie said this version "wasn't very good."[14] The team moved out of Bullfrog's offices (Molyneux had decided to leave Bullfrog, so Electronic Arts wanted him to leave its offices[10]) and into Molyneux's house.[10] There, they fundamentally revamped the game. Out went the user interface, the idea of creatures being split into corporeal and magical categories, summoning them with resources, and eventually mana. In came claimed tiles, fortified walls, attracting creatures through Portals, and a brand-new user interface.[11] The team played the game in their spare time, and argued about the correct victor based on how they thought the game should be against the way it actually was. The design was changed when someone won too easily.[10]
By early-mid 1997, the team were confident that the new Dungeon Keeper had everything, including a "brilliant" intro (storyboarded by Mark Healey and created by Darren Thomas[10]), "amazing" sound and music, "flash" graphics, and the "best" gameplay. Rooms now have multiple purposes, and there was potential for many new features. The game had 25 Creature Spells, 12 Traps (including a Fireball Trap), 16 Keeper Spells.[11] The game went into final testing in April.[5] There are two existing prototypes from this period, dated 21 May 1997 and 28 May 1997 respectively. Even at this late stage, there are still minor differences to the released game, indicating that the game was still undergoing changes. The final build is dated 13 June 1997, and the game was released later that month.
The game was patched in August 1997 to improve the artificial intelligence and Computer Assistance, rebalance the creatures, streamline creature activity code, and provide extra savegame security. An expansion pack, The Deeper Dungeons, and repackagings such as Dungeon Keeper Gold and (in Japan) Dungeon Keeper Premium, which bundle that and other extras released afterwards, such as the level editor, the Desktop Theme, and the Direct3D version (these were also released individually), were released in the months following the game's release.[15][16][17] In 2008, development of a fan mod, Dungeon Keeper FX (or simply KeeperFX), which fixes bugs and adds features, began.[18] Version 1.0.0 was released on 10 November 2023.[19]
Versions for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation were planned, but cancelled. The Saturn version was being developed by just one person (Carsten-Elton Sorensen), and was scrapped after only a few months. It was very primitive: it only had a third-person and a first-person level display and a minimap; there were no creatures, no menus, no gameplay, and no anything else. However, the Saturn's rendering allowed the roof corners to be completely smooth rather than the rough triangles they are on the PC version. The PlayStation version was scrapped because it was believed the memory requirements made it infeasible.[20]
A third-party remake, Natural Born Keeper, was in development, but was never completed.
Reception[]
“ Some people say that Dungeon Keeper is the PC game of the century. They're right! Bloody right! ”
Dungeon Keeper received near universal critical acclaim, with Edge saying "Molyneux has created a masterpiece that again epitomises everything that's good about computer rather than console gaming",[26]Computer Gaming World describing the game as "The most unique game in years",[24] and these sentiments were echoed by Game Revolution and PC Zone, who described Dungeon Keeper as "revolutionary" and "classic" respectively,[28][31] with similar views being held by GameZilla, Edge, and Génération 4.[21][26][22]Computer and Video Games concurred by describing Dungeon Keeper as "totally awesome!" and "One of the most impressive, awe-inspiring, atmospheric, and, most importantly, enjoyable games EVER!", and awarding the game its High Five! Highest CVG Recommendation badge.[25] These sentiments were echoed by PC Gamer, who described the game as "A stunning achievement" and named it their June 1997 Game Of The Month.[30] Amongst the most-lauded aspects were the humour, originality, atmosphere, and voice acting.
The detail and atmosphere were highly praised by Computer and Video Games and Edge; the former described the game as "too staggeringly detailed!" and the atmosphere as "masterly",[25] and the latter concurred by saying "Dungeon Keeper is easily the most atmosphere-drenched and minutely detailed god sim to date.[26]
The graphics were commended by Game Revolution as "terrific",[28] and by GGGames, who believed that the brown and green colours gave the game a unique look.[35]Computer Games Strategy Plus were of the opinion that the game is "quite attractive" graphically.[23]
The Possess Creature ability was extolled by many reviewers, including Computer and Video Games,[25]Game Revolution,[28]Computer Games Strategy Plus,[23] and PC Gamer.[30]Game Revolution were particularly impressed with it,[28] as were Computer and Video Games, who were of the opinion that it separated Dungeon Keeper from other games of its type.[25]
The humour was complimented by Next Generation, who described it as typical of Bullfrog,[32] and Computer Games Strategy Plus, who described it as "wicked".[23]
The audio was lauded by Gamezilla and GGGames, both of whom described it as "great".[21][35]Jeuxvideo.com, Game Revolution, and Computer and Video Games concurred, the latter of whom saying that each character's and room's sounds, along with the voice acting, greatly added to the atmosphere.[25][29][28] Also in agreement was Computer Games Strategy Plus, who described the sound effects as "superb".[23]
The soundtrack was described by Next Generation as "dark and edgy".[32] Their views were shared by GGGames, who believed that it fits perfectly with the game's sinister theme,[35] and Jeuxvideo.com.[29]
The voice acting was highly praised by GGGames,[35]GameZilla,[21]Game Revolution,[28]Computer Games Strategy Plus,[23] and Computer and Video Games, the latter of whom describing the voice of the advisor as "awesome".[25]GameZilla agreed, saying the narrator's "eerie" voice was cast "perfectly".[21]
Criticisms included an "occasionally weak" artificial intelligence from Next Generation,[32], "repetitive" gameplay from PC Zone,[31] the lack of TCP/IP multiplayer support from GGGames,[35] and the lack of a difficulty option from GameZilla.[21]
Dungeon Keeper appeared on a The Guardian list of Britain's 30 greatest video games.[36] It appeared fourth on a list of top 100 games the following month.[37] The game appeared at #16 on a Rock Paper Shotgun list of the 20 best management PC video games to play in 2022. They cited the KeeperFX mod as the main reason for its enduring playability.[38]
Dungeon Keeper Gold was released in March 1998. It includes the base game, The Deeper Dungeons, and various extras such as the Dungeon Keeper Editor and the Direct3D version.
Similar to Dungeon Keeper Gold, Dungeon Keeper Premium was released in Japan in December 1997 and includes extras, including The Deeper Dungeons and the Direct3D version. Dungeon Keeper Premium was largely re-branded as an Electronic Arts game developed by Bullfrog Productions, as opposed to a Bullfrog Productions game published by Electronic Arts.
Theme Hospital's intro contains two references to Dungeon Keeper: the Horned Reaper makes a cameo appearance as a patient being tended to by a nurse, and a doctor is seen playing a console version of the game.
The Pentium Pro was the ideal CPU for Dungeon Keeper at the time of its release
Dungeon Keeper has two video modes, and defaults to one of them depending on the PC's spec. There's 320x200 for low-spec PCs, and 640x400 for high-spec PCs. The game considers high-spec to be a Pentium Pro or higher with 16MB or more RAM. Therefore, it is impossible for the game to default to high-resolution when run in DOSBox (including the GOG version), no matter how much RAM or how many cycles you give it, for DOSBox only emulates CPUs up to a Pentium (the game looks at the CPU model, via the CPUID instruction; it doesn't look at the clock speed at all). However, you can force high-res mode if you have 16MB or more RAM (with less, high-res is disabled entirely), even if you don't have a Pentium Pro, by pressing ⎇ Alt + R. Likewise, the same hotkey can be used to force low-resolution if you have a high-spec PC.
The Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold is arguably the best sound card for Dungeon Keeper, with its gold-plated RCA plugs and 4MB onboard RAM for SoundFonts
Dungeon Keeper uses SoundFont technology to provide ambient sounds for the dungeon if the system has a Sound Blaster AWE32 or AWE64. In KeeperFX, this feature has been remade to work on any system KeeperFX runs on, without requiring a SoundFont-capable device.
Some versions[clarification needed] of the DOS setup program have language flags on poles for the language selection, whereas other versions[clarification needed] simply present a choice of flags on top of the Dungeon Keeper Horned Reaper background. There are also Theme HospitalGUI assets from its DOS setup program, including the game logo.
The original Japanese version had the game text in English.[1] In fact, only the packaging and documentation are in Japanese, and, despite the documentation referring to the game as Dungeon Keeper英語版 (Dungeon Keeper English version), the game is also available in French, Spanish, Polish, Swedish, and Dutch, like the European version. Dungeon Keeper Premium, released in December 1997,[3] is the first known version whose text is in Japanese, and has only Japanese and English.
Regional differences[]
European and Chinese logo
Japanese and North American logo
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In the German version, the tent torture animation is used for all creatures.
In the Japanese version, instead of the Mentor saying you can't give Imps any more work, the Imps themselves seem to tell you to wait if you try to overwork them.
Japanese releases (both original and Dungeon Keeper Premium) are heavily EA-branded, with most of the Bullfrog branding removed or replaced with EA branding.
[23]
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