<s>
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Final	I-Application
Quest	I-Application
is	O
a	O
home	O
computer	O
game	O
by	O
U.S.	O
Gold	O
and	O
Tengen	O
it	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1991	O
for	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
,	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Amstrad	B-Device
CPC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
the	O
standard	O
four	O
main	O
Gauntlet	B-Device
characters	O
,	O
Thor	O
,	O
Thyra	O
,	O
Merlin	O
,	O
and	O
Questor	O
,	O
four	O
new	O
playable	O
characters	O
were	O
available	O
:	O
Petras	O
,	O
a	O
rock	O
man	O
;	O
Dracolis	O
,	O
a	O
lizard	O
man	O
;	O
Blizzard	O
,	O
an	O
ice	O
man	O
;	O
and	O
Neptune	O
,	O
a	O
Merman	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
viewed	O
from	O
an	O
isometric	B-Application
perspective	I-Application
and	O
the	O
cooperative	O
multiplayer	O
mode	O
only	O
supports	O
two-players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
differs	O
from	O
previous	O
games	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
perspective	O
change	O
from	O
a	O
top-down	O
view	O
to	O
an	O
isometric	B-Application
projection	O
,	O
type	O
view	O
that	O
would	O
later	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
Gauntlet	B-Device
Legends	O
and	O
other	O
Gauntlet	B-Device
games	O
made	O
after	O
Legends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
view	O
is	O
much	O
like	O
that	O
of	O
Solstice	B-Application
and	O
games	O
made	O
with	O
the	O
Filmation	B-Application
engine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
enemies	O
in	O
this	O
title	O
,	O
as	O
in	O
other	O
Gauntlet	B-Device
games	O
,	O
come	O
mostly	O
from	O
generators	O
that	O
keep	O
producing	O
the	O
enemies	O
until	O
the	O
generators	O
are	O
destroyed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Amiga	B-Device
and	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
versions	O
of	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Final	I-Application
Quest	I-Application
,	O
as	O
developed	O
by	O
Software	O
Creations	O
,	O
began	O
development	O
in	O
the	O
Summer	O
of	O
1990	O
,	O
and	O
were	O
released	O
in	O
the	O
Spring	O
of	O
1991	O
for	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
and	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
;	O
a	O
DOS	B-Device
version	O
was	O
in	O
development	O
and	O
announced	O
for	O
Spring	O
1991	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
never	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
January	O
1991	O
issue	O
of	O
British	O
gaming	O
magazine	O
The	O
One	O
,	O
The	O
One	O
interviewed	O
team	O
members	O
from	O
Software	O
Creations	O
for	O
information	O
regarding	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
's	O
development	O
in	O
a	O
pre-release	O
interview	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
design	O
specifications	O
for	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
were	O
left	O
up	O
to	O
the	O
developer	O
,	O
and	O
Software	O
Creations	O
's	O
development	O
team	O
originally	O
conceived	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
as	O
a	O
2D	O
maze	O
game	O
like	O
its	O
arcade	O
predecessors	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
team	O
wanted	O
something	O
more	O
original	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
David	O
Broadhearst	O
,	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
's	O
development	O
manager	O
,	O
said	O
that	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
became	O
a	O
3D	O
game	O
because	O
"	O
we	O
'd	O
never	O
seen	O
anybody	O
do	O
a	O
really	O
good	O
3D	O
scrolling	O
game	O
with	O
masking	O
before	O
-	O
most	O
of	O
them	O
are	O
just	O
static	O
screens	O
,	O
generated	O
one	O
after	O
the	O
other	O
-	O
so	O
we	O
decided	O
to	O
do	O
one	O
which	O
scrolls	O
around	O
like	O
one	O
big	O
map	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
's	O
team	O
noted	O
the	O
core	O
gameplay	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Gauntlet	B-Device
as	O
"	O
simple	O
"	O
;	O
Richard	O
Kay	O
,	O
the	O
founder	O
of	O
Software	O
Creations	O
,	O
expressed	O
that	O
the	O
team	O
tried	O
to	O
'	O
remain	O
faithful	O
 '	O
to	O
the	O
gameplay	O
of	O
the	O
originals	O
,	O
but	O
through	O
a	O
3D	O
perspective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Few	O
monsters	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
games	O
are	O
in	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
by	O
design	O
;	O
a	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
development	O
team	O
member	O
expressed	O
that	O
"	O
ghosts	O
were	O
pretty	O
much	O
characteristic	O
[	O
of	O
Gauntlet ]	O
"	O
thus	O
they	O
were	O
kept	O
in	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
but	O
otherwise	O
the	O
team	O
opted	O
for	O
new	O
monsters	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
sharks	B-Algorithm
and	O
triffids	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
first	O
began	O
on	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
version	O
,	O
with	O
this	O
version	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
but	O
this	O
was	O
soon	O
reversed	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
's	O
hardware	O
scrolling	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
main	O
complications	O
in	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
's	O
development	O
was	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
sprite	O
masking	O
:	O
Paul	O
Salmon	O
,	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
's	O
graphic	O
artist	O
,	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
every	O
time	O
a	O
sprite	O
moves	O
behind	O
an	O
object	O
it	O
halves	O
the	O
speed	O
of	O
the	O
sprite	O
routine	O
and	O
slows	O
the	O
game	O
by	O
a	O
factor	O
of	O
two	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Salmon	O
designed	O
the	O
sprite	O
masking	O
algorithm	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
many	O
methods	O
of	O
saving	O
memory	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Michael	O
Delves	O
,	O
the	O
programmer	O
of	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
version	O
of	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
expressed	O
that	O
the	O
way	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
sprites	O
are	O
arranged	O
saves	O
on	O
memory	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
that	O
for	O
this	O
same	O
reason	O
,	O
not	O
all	O
sprites	O
are	O
masked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
of	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
's	O
eight	O
playable	O
protagonists	O
have	O
72	O
frames	O
of	O
animation	O
each	O
;	O
due	O
to	O
memory	B-General_Concept
restrictions	O
,	O
one	O
frame	O
of	O
animation	O
is	O
used	O
twice	O
in	O
each	O
sequence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Keeping	O
track	O
of	O
items	O
in	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
inventory	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
difficulty	O
due	O
to	O
memory	B-General_Concept
restrictions	O
;	O
because	O
of	O
this	O
,	O
the	O
collectible	O
potions	O
in	O
the	O
original	O
arcade	O
games	O
are	O
cut	O
,	O
they	O
are	O
instead	O
automatically	O
used	O
upon	O
being	O
collected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
's	O
graphics	O
were	O
illustrated	O
using	O
OCP	B-Application
Art	I-Application
Studio	I-Application
by	O
Paul	O
Salmon	O
and	O
Chris	O
Collins	O
;	O
Salmon	O
predominantly	O
worked	O
on	O
sprites	O
,	O
while	O
Collins	O
did	O
backdrops	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
and	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
versions	O
use	O
a	O
16-color	O
palette	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
introduction	O
uses	O
32-colors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
is	O
rendered	O
in	O
16	O
colors	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
sprite	O
masking	O
:	O
a	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
team	O
member	O
said	O
that	O
"	O
if	O
we	O
used	O
five	O
bit	O
planes	O
the	O
game	O
would	O
slow	O
down	O
because	O
it	O
'd	O
have	O
to	O
mask	O
five	O
bit	O
planes	O
as	O
well	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
that	O
the	O
isometric	B-Application
perspective	I-Application
could	O
result	O
in	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
view	O
being	O
blocked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
British	O
gaming	O
magazine	O
The	O
One	O
gave	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
version	O
of	O
Gauntlet	B-Application
III	I-Application
an	O
overall	O
score	O
of	O
87%	O
,	O
praising	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
3D	O
perspective	O
,	O
graphic	O
design	O
,	O
and	O
soundtrack	O
,	O
but	O
criticized	O
is	O
as	O
unoriginal	O
,	O
but	O
very	O
fun	O
.	O
</s>
