The Lords of Midnight

The Lords of Midnight is an epic fantasy game blending strategy and graphic adventure, created by Mike Singleton. Set in the land of Midnight, locked in perpetual winter by the evil Witchking Doomdark, you control four characters: Luxor the Moonprince, his son Morkin, Rorthron the Wise, and Corleth the Fey. The game features a groundbreaking 3D effect called "landscaping," offering first-person panoramic views in eight directions across 4,000 locations, resulting in over 32,000 unique visual perspectives. You can recruit up to 28 additional characters, including lords and armies, to help defeat Doomdark. Victory can be achieved in two ways: a military campaign to storm Doomdark's citadel of Ushgarak, or an adventure where Morkin destroys the Ice Crown, the source of Doomdark's power. Both objectives can be pursued simultaneously in "Epic" mode. Movement is turn-based, with Doomdark's forces active at night.

ZX Spectrum

Released in 1984 by Beyond Software, The Lords of Midnight was the original version written entirely by Mike Singleton over three months of coding . CRASH magazine awarded 10 out of 10, highlighting the panoramic views, detailed units and "wonderfully coherent" storyline . The pioneering "landscaping" technique was achieved through billboarding—pre-scaling images of mountains, forests, and buildings to create perspective-correct landscape scenes from any viewpoint . The game won Best Strategy Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards and was voted the 7th best game of all time in Your Sinclair magazine in 2004 . There is no sound throughout the game.