<s>
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
is	O
a	O
1992	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Naughty	O
Dog	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Electronic	O
Arts	O
(	O
EA	O
)	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
pitched	O
under	O
the	O
working	O
title	O
Buccaneer	O
by	O
Naughty	O
Dog	O
founders	O
Andy	O
Gavin	O
and	O
Jason	O
Rubin	O
following	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
their	O
previous	O
title	O
Keef	B-Application
the	I-Application
Thief	I-Application
,	O
and	O
was	O
developed	O
while	O
the	O
pair	O
attended	O
college	O
in	O
separate	O
states	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
originally	O
intended	O
for	O
a	O
PC	B-Device
and	O
Amiga	B-Device
release	O
until	O
Gavin	O
and	O
Rubin	O
happened	O
upon	O
–	O
and	O
decided	O
to	O
invest	O
in	O
–	O
EA	O
's	O
secret	O
operation	O
of	O
using	O
makeshift	O
development	O
kits	O
to	O
create	O
Genesis	O
games	O
without	O
Sega	O
's	O
permission	O
;	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
became	O
Naughty	O
Dog	O
's	O
first	O
console	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
was	O
a	O
moderate	O
commercial	O
success	O
,	O
EA	O
declined	O
to	O
reprint	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
technical	O
and	O
financial	O
reasons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
is	O
a	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
controls	O
an	O
apprentice	O
sorcerer	O
named	O
Buc	O
,	O
who	O
is	O
tasked	O
with	O
exploring	O
the	O
land	O
of	O
Ushka	B-Application
Bau	I-Application
and	O
gathering	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
five	O
other	O
adventurers	O
,	O
with	O
whom	O
he	O
must	O
collect	O
the	O
eleven	O
titular	O
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
in	O
order	O
to	O
confront	O
and	O
defeat	O
the	O
evil	O
god	O
Void	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
played	O
from	O
an	O
isometric	B-Application
perspective	I-Application
and	O
with	O
a	O
diagonal	O
control	O
scheme	O
;	O
the	O
camera	O
zooms	O
closer	O
to	O
Buc	O
whenever	O
he	O
enters	O
a	O
building	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
party	O
member	O
is	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
strength	O
and	O
magic	B-Application
meter	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
affected	O
by	O
how	O
much	O
damage	O
a	O
character	O
takes	O
or	O
the	O
type	O
of	O
spells	B-Application
the	O
character	O
uses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
party	O
member	O
will	O
die	O
if	O
their	O
strength	O
meter	O
is	O
fully	O
depleted	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
character	O
will	O
only	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
cast	O
weak	O
spells	B-Application
if	O
their	O
magic	B-Application
is	O
depleted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
can	O
set	O
the	O
party	O
's	O
spells	B-Application
to	O
be	O
selected	O
automatically	O
or	O
manually	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
adjust	O
how	O
aggressively	O
a	O
party	O
member	O
behaves	O
in	O
a	O
fight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Winning	O
a	O
fight	O
grants	O
the	O
party	O
currency	O
and	O
experience	O
points	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
learn	O
stronger	O
spells	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Strength	O
and	O
magic	B-Application
can	O
be	O
restored	O
by	O
camping	O
,	O
which	O
also	O
accelerates	O
the	O
passage	O
of	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Long	O
ago	O
,	O
the	O
divine	O
being	O
Nexus	O
the	O
Benevolent	O
used	O
the	O
Rod	O
of	O
Creation	O
to	O
turn	O
the	O
desolate	O
planet	O
of	O
Ushka	B-Application
Bau	I-Application
into	O
a	O
paradise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
further	O
divided	O
their	O
halves	O
into	O
eleven	O
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
and	O
hid	O
them	O
to	O
keep	O
each	O
other	O
from	O
reassembling	O
the	O
Rod	O
and	O
taking	O
power	O
again	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
completion	O
of	O
Keef	B-Application
the	I-Application
Thief	I-Application
in	O
1989	O
,	O
Naughty	O
Dog	O
founders	O
Andy	O
Gavin	O
and	O
Jason	O
Rubin	O
pitched	O
a	O
more	O
ambitious	O
role-playing	O
game	O
code-named	O
Buccaneer	O
to	O
EA	O
,	O
and	O
requested	O
$	O
90,000	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
game	O
;	O
the	O
budget	O
would	O
balloon	O
to	O
$	O
150,000	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
production	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
pair	O
spent	O
a	O
year	O
trading	O
information	O
and	O
data	O
using	O
modems	B-Application
ranging	O
from	O
300	O
to	O
2,400	O
baud	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
summers	O
,	O
they	O
reconvened	O
at	O
Gavin	O
's	O
family	O
home	O
in	O
Virginia	B-Application
to	O
continue	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Buccaneer	O
,	O
eventually	O
titled	O
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
,	O
was	O
originally	O
developed	O
as	O
a	O
PC	B-Device
and	O
Amiga	B-Device
release	O
,	O
although	O
EA	O
considered	O
them	O
to	O
be	O
weak	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
a	O
visit	O
by	O
Gavin	O
and	O
Rubin	O
to	O
EA	O
's	O
offices	O
,	O
Gavin	O
immediately	O
identified	O
a	O
reverse-engineered	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Genesis	I-Operating_System
development	O
kit	O
–	O
EA	O
was	O
privately	O
using	O
these	O
kits	O
to	O
develop	O
Genesis	O
games	O
without	O
Sega	O
's	O
permission	O
,	O
with	O
plans	O
to	O
use	O
this	O
ability	O
as	O
leverage	O
against	O
Sega	O
to	O
obtain	O
a	O
better	O
licensing	O
agreement	O
from	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
pointing	O
out	O
the	O
development	O
kit	O
,	O
Gavin	O
and	O
Rubin	O
were	O
required	O
by	O
EA	O
founder	O
Trip	O
Hawkins	O
to	O
sign	O
non-disclosure	O
agreements	O
,	O
upon	O
which	O
Gavin	O
suggested	O
that	O
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
would	O
make	O
a	O
suitable	O
Genesis	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
became	O
Naughty	O
Dog	O
's	O
first	O
console	O
game	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
second	O
EA	O
game	O
to	O
begin	O
development	O
for	O
the	O
Genesis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
visuals	O
for	O
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
were	O
created	O
by	O
Rubin	O
from	O
8×	O
8-pixel	O
16-color	O
blocks	O
,	O
with	O
as	O
many	O
of	O
these	O
blocks	O
being	O
reused	O
as	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
titular	O
character	O
of	O
Keef	B-Application
the	I-Application
Thief	I-Application
has	O
a	O
cameo	O
appearance	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
a	O
non-player	O
character	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
cartridge	O
includes	O
an	O
EEPROM	B-General_Concept
for	O
the	O
purpose	O
of	O
storing	O
saved	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
issue	O
of	O
Game	B-Device
Players	I-Device
was	O
pulled	O
from	O
distribution	O
at	O
Toys	O
"	O
R	O
"	O
Us	O
for	O
printing	O
an	O
unedited	O
screenshot	O
of	O
the	O
alternate	O
title	O
sequence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
was	O
showcased	O
at	O
the	O
1991	O
Summer	O
Consumer	O
Electronics	O
Show	O
,	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
January	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
upon	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earth	O
Angel	O
of	O
GamePro	O
compared	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
size	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Seven	I-Application
Cities	I-Application
of	I-Application
Gold	I-Application
and	O
felt	O
that	O
its	O
isometric	O
view	O
,	O
battle	O
scenes	O
and	O
"	O
terrific	O
"	O
music	O
made	O
it	O
unique	O
,	O
but	O
mentioned	O
that	O
the	O
scrolling	O
was	O
somewhat	O
choppy	O
and	O
the	O
gameplay	O
had	O
a	O
steep	O
learning	O
curve	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Howard	O
H	O
.	O
Wen	O
of	O
VideoGames	O
&	O
Computer	O
Entertainment	O
commended	O
the	O
presentation	O
(	O
describing	O
it	O
as	O
"	O
Ultima	O
with	O
the	O
look	O
of	O
Populous	B-Application
"	O
)	O
and	O
was	O
engrossed	O
by	O
the	O
magnitude	O
of	O
the	O
setting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rings	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
was	O
a	O
moderate	O
commercial	O
success	O
,	O
selling	O
its	O
entire	O
initial	O
allotment	O
of	O
100,000	O
copies	O
in	O
three	O
months	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
EA	O
declined	O
to	O
reprint	O
it	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
large	O
and	O
expensive	O
cartridge	O
size	O
compared	O
to	O
John	B-Application
Madden	I-Application
Football	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
selling	O
faster	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
sales	O
helped	O
fund	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
Naughty	O
Dog	O
's	O
next	O
project	O
,	O
Way	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Warrior	I-Application
.	O
</s>
