Later this week, I'll be posting a Retrospective on the early dungeoncrawler Temple of Apshai. While doing some research into this important computer game, I was reminded that, in 1985, publisher Epyx released Temple of Apshai Trilogy, which collected all three games in the series and graphically updated them for the newest generation of personal computers. Temple of Apshai Trilogy also included a game manual entitled The Book of Apshai whose interior contained, in addition to instructions on how to install and play the game, some truly amazing art by Mike Mott.
Before getting to the interior art, here's the color cover art of the game box itself, courtesy of Ken Macklin. This image is reproduced, in black and white form, on the cover of The Book of Apshai.
Inside the book, we get to Mike Mott's work, like this piece showing an adventurer facing off against one of the game's iconic Antmen.
Speaking of Antmen, here's one lurking in the dark near a set of stairs the same adventurer is now descending.
The adventurer appears yet again, this time waiting around a stone pillar, sword drawn, as some vicious monster prepares to attack.
As in Dungeons & Dragons, torches are very important in Temple of Apshai.
Here's a nifty little illustration from a section at the end of
The Book of Apshai where the concept of roleplaying games is explained to an audience that, even in 1985, might still not understand it. The section is worthy of a post on its own, but I'll leave that for later.
I know nothing of Mike Mott, the artist behind these terrific illustrations. Does anyone have any details about him or his career? His artwork is both very good and very evocative, the kind of thing that often appeared in computer game manuals at the time. Just looking at it as I wrote this post was strangely inspiring, which is what good gaming artwork should be.
Strangely, he's in IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14598848/
ReplyDeleteYes, I saw that. Sadly, it's his only credit and thus not of much help in learning more about him.
DeleteIMDB isn't the place to go...MobyGames has more info for PC and video games. Mr. Mott has a few other games to his credit: https://www.mobygames.com/person/26263/mike-mott/
DeleteCalthaer, yeah I just did a Google search for "Mike Mott Apshai", and the link was one of the first page results. I just found it surprising that IMDB would even have his info in the first place.
DeleteThose are great images. Proper Swords & Sorcery vibe. If it weren't for the fact that the adventurer is on his own they'd fit in nicely to early D&D books and modules.
ReplyDeleteLooks like he goes by the name of Wm. Michael Mott. Apparently he is an illustrator, author and ancient alien expert.
ReplyDeleteHere's his blog, though it seems to be about ten years since he posted: https://www.mottimorphic.com/blog/
Here's an illustration from his blog that has his signature on it. Looks just like the ones for the Apshai pictures.
https://mottimorphic.com/blog/?p=715
Always love the packaging art on these '80s video games, and how they "set the stage" in the player's imagination... as the home computer graphics of that era were rather lacking.
ReplyDeleteThe updated Apshai Trilogy was hardly Atari 2600 fare -- if memory serves, it even resembled Gauntlet, which was gobbling quarters-a-plenty in the arcade around that time. But things juuuust weren't there yet, and so it fell upon the illustrators to convey the proper atmosphere, much like what you saw with D&D.