魔法门：心灵圣地之谜 Might and Magic: Book I - Secret of the Inner Sanctum p.82

对我而言最大的挑战某过于担当游戏设计师（或制作人）外兼公司 CEO，这种双重身份很多时候都相当矛盾，一方面在制作过程中我总是希望让游戏变得更完美，加入更多的功能，尽可能的润色……而另一方面我又不得不维持公司运营，所以能使我妥协的理由只有一个：如果公司能够盈利的话，我们就有机会去制作其他的游戏。

The biggest challenge for me was being the designer/creator of the games and the CEO of the company. This dual role always created personal conflict. On one hand I wanted to make every game perfect, more features, better polish… and on the other I had to pay the bills. My ongoing compromise was: if I stayed profitable, I will always be able to make another game.

Jon Van Caneghem,
《魔法门》的制作人

Jon Van Caneghem,
Might and Magic's creator

至于本作的世界观与故事更是天马行空，游戏中你经常会遇到杂糅了科技与魔法的物品，你的敌人通常是单个的巨型昆虫、吸血蝙蝠或者教徒之类的东西，但有时也会遭到兽人加狮鹫这样的组合敌人围攻。这给人一种出神入化的感觉，这能加强游戏体验让你不会因为这抽象的游戏名而放弃它。

《魔法门 1》的文字较少，但点睛之处恰恰是游戏的文本，它不仅成功地用丰富的传说与情节为整个游戏故事奠定了坚实基础，甚至还为了续作预留了足够的拓展空间。在游戏中，NPC 会提供相应的任务，你在世界各地也都可以找到传奇人物的相关传记文献。

伴随着这些错综复杂的故事以及在这庞大的世界中取得的每一场胜利，我们迎来了最终结局。但这并未结束，而是这个角色扮演游戏系列开辟了一条漫长且伟大的道路的开始。（正作可是足足出了 10 部）

Then there is the world and story. Little regard is given to realism. You will run into an odd mix of magic and alien technology, and be attacked by unlikely parties where insect swarms, vampire bats and clerics can just as easily form an alliance against you as more typical formations of Orcs and hippogriffs. This gives an out-of-this-world sense that adds to the experience without wrecking it as a less abstract title probably would.

Might and Magic I is light on text, but it manages to form the foundation of a rich lore and a storyline that will be expanded upon with future titles. NPCs will offer quests that contribute to this, and mention is made of legendary characters in short bursts of text found in key locations throughout the world.

All these intricate pieces and hard-won victories of this large world fall together toward a finale that opens the way to one of the longest series of roleplaying adventures (ten titles!).

剧透警告： 《魔法门 2》有一个不同寻常且饱受争议的结局，那就是在大决战后，你必须在十五分钟内破解一个密题，否则就会死亡。

SPOILER: Might and Magic II had a unusual and controversial ending: after the final battle you had to solve a cryptogram in under 15 minutes or you would die.

到了 1988 年续作《魔法门 2：异世界之门（Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World）》发售了，游戏系统与前作相比有许多类似的地方（比如战斗系统），尽管本作新增了许多法术，但这些却要到非常高的等级才能学到，最重要的是本作战斗中逃跑时要承担的风险也被大大增加了。

等级系统在本作中也得到了改进，并将等级上限提高很多（当然，这并不明显）。除此之外本作中新增要素还包括了两个新职业（忍者和野蛮人），在冒险过程中可以学到像是“攀登”或“寻路”这类的非战斗技能，一个初级的自动映射功能（需要获得技能才能启用），以及大大改进的视觉效果。

虽然早期的《魔法门》的玩法颇具挑战性（有的时候那难度可以说丧心病狂），但是玩家在克服这一切后的满足感和自豪感仍让它成为了一款无法被媲美的特殊游戏。作为一名独立游戏开发者，我无疑是受到了《魔法门》系列的激励才开始制作我的游戏——《剑与巫术（Swords and Sorcery）》系列，并希望以此追赶 John Van Caneghem 这已走了几十年的脚步。

The second of which, Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World (1988), largely offers more of the same. The combat system, for one, is quite similar, albeit with a new list of spells, new skills to acquire at higher levels, and running away is riskier.

The levelling system evolves as well, offering many more levels but with less noticeable effects. There are two new classes (Ninja and Barbarian), noncombat skills that can be acquired while adventuring (path-finding, mountaineering, etc.), a rudimentary automapping feature (which requires the acquisition of a skill to be enabled) and much improved visuals.

While the early Might and Magic games have a challenging (and sometimes frustrating) gameplay, the satisfaction in overcoming them is still something special that's rarely rivalled. As an indie developer, they inspired me to undertake my own series, Swords and Sorcery, following on John Van Caneghem's footsteps decades after these were published.