| DND | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Daniel M. Lawrence |
| Platform | PDP-10 |
| Release | 1977 |
| Genre | Role-playing video game |
DND is arole-playing video game developed byPurdue University student Daniel Lawrence in 1977 for theDigital Equipment Corporation (DEC)PDP-10mainframe computer. The nameDND is derived from the abbreviation "D&D" from the originaltabletop role-playing gameDungeons & Dragons. It was later ported to several other computer systems and languages. After Lawrence re-used code from the game in the 1982 role-playing gameTelengard, DEC orderedDND be removed from their computers to avoid litigation byTelengard's publisher.DND was one of the earliest role-playing video games, as part of a set of games developed in the 1970s based on the 1974Dungeons & Dragons.
DND was written inBASIC for theTOPS-10 time-share operating system by Daniel Lawrence, a student atPurdue University, for theDigital Equipment Corporation (DEC)PDP-10mainframe computer and released around 1977.[1][2][3] It was one of several freeware games based onDungeons & Dragons in the 1970s.[3] Later the game found its way to DEC and was there rewritten in 1983 toPascal.[4][5]
DND was one of the earliestrole-playing video games, which began to appear around 1975, and likeDND were largely based onDungeons & Dragons (1974).[3] Lawrence re-used some of the code for the game for the 1982 role-playing gameTelengard.[6] This led to DEC orderingDND to be removed from all DEC computers in September 1983 to avoid litigation fromTelengard's publisher,Avalon Hill.[3] Due to the BASICsource code availability, the game was later ported and adapted to newer systems andprogramming languages.[1] One such port was toMS-DOS in 1984 by R.O. Software, which sold the game under a US$25shareware license without first seeking permission from Avalon Hill or Lawrence.[3]