Released in 1987 by FTL Games, Dungeon Master is a first-person RPG that debuted on the Atari ST and was later ported to Amiga, MS-DOS, SNES and other platforms. It pioneered dungeon-crawling RPGs with its innovative real-time combat system and immersive pseudo-3D graphics.
Players take on the role of Theron, an apprentice tasked with resurrecting four warriors to form an expedition party, delving deep into the dungeon to find the Firestaff and defeat the evil Lord Chaos. The real-time combat mechanic requires players to command party members to attack, defend and cast spells on the fly, boosting tension and challenge.
Dungeon Master was a huge commercial hit, selling 40,000 copies in its first year and becoming one of the best-selling games on the Atari ST. Its innovative design exerted a profound influence on later RPGs and is regarded as the prototype of 3D dungeon-crawling games.
Its success spawned the sequel Chaos Strikes Back and numerous inspired similar titles. To this day, Dungeon Master remains a classic in RPG history, highly revered by players and developers alike.