Prelude of the Chambered is a first-person dungeon crawler video game designed by Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft. The game was created for the 21st Ludum Dare programming competition within 48 hours on August 20–22, 2011. The game was released following the end of the competition.[1]
Gameplay
A gameplay screenshot showing the opening room
In Prelude of the Chambered, the player navigates their way through various dungeon-like areas as they try to escape a prison while fighting enemies and solving puzzles.[2] Along the players journey, they will find various items, powers, and weapons.[3] Enemies in the game that the player must fight include bats and ghosts.[3]
While a plotline is not specified, the player starts inside of a small prison cell that they must escape from. As the player traverses through the prisons mysterious corridors, the player will explore locations such as dungeons, crypts, ice caverns, and haunted labyrinths.[4]
Development and release
Prelude of the Chambered was programmed in the span of 48 hours by Markus Persson for the 21st Ludum Dare programming competition.[5] The theme of the Ludum Dare was "Escape".[6]Prelude of the Chambered was based on a previous game developed by Markus Perrson known as Legend of the Chambered. The development of the game was livestreamed and documented on the now defunct Justin.tv.[7][8]
The game was released on August 22, 2011. The game took third place in the Ludum Dare 21 community rankings, but did not place in any other categories.[6] In December 2011, the game was recreated in Minecraft with commands and redstone.[9]
Reception
Prelude of the Chambered was positively received, being considered impressive for being coded in only 48 hours. The gameplay was described as reminiscent of the Legend of Zelda series of games according to Wired.[2]Rock Paper Shotgun described the game as having traces of Wolfenstein 3D.[3]Game Informer described the game as being "surprisingly deep" for its length of development.[4]
