system. A player's turn can be used to walk up to 9 steps in the direction the character is facing, turning towards either direction, trying to talk the monster out of the fight, or executing a number of different attacks. A bow and arrows can be used to attack enemies from afar. If the player doesn't make any input for a while, the enemies continue to move and attack in set intervals regardless. All actions decrease the player character's fatigue rating, depending on stats and carrying weight. When this value sinks below zero, the character cannot act anymore before resting. The player gains experience points while adventuring, which raise a number of hidden statistics. Temple of Apshai was the first computer role-playing game with room descriptions. Detailed descriptions of all the rooms in the game's manual complement the sparse graphics and provide vital information. Pen-and-paper games like Dungeons & Dragons frequently make use of verbal depictions given by dungeon masters to suggest to players what is of interest in a setting. Similarly, in Temple of Apshai the player matches an on-screen room number to its entry in the manual that accompanies the game. One sample entry reads: "The aroma of vanilla makes the senses reel and the floor of the room is covered with the shiny stuff previously observed. Bones lie scattered across the floor and the clicking sound grows fainter from within. Gems stud the south wall." A vanilla scent is used in the game to suggests the presence of Antmen, the dominant monster type in the temple. When beaten by a monster, the player character may be rescued by one of several non-player characters. Depending on the rescuer, a portion of the player's inventory is removed as payment. The game has no particular goal other than fighting monsters, collecting treasure and gaining experience points. Development and releases Temple of Apshai was originally programmed by Jim Connelley, founder and president of Automated Simulations / Epyx Software, for TRS-80 and Commodore PET, using BASIC. The role-playing system, named Dunjonquest was designed by Jon Freeman, while the level design of the dungeons was provided by Jeff Johnson (Roadwar 2000). According to Connelley, his motivations to create Temple of Apshai were "the popularity of noncomputer role-playing games" and the opportunity "to create a graphics-oriented adventure game". Like most early computer RPGs, Temple of Apshai was influenced by Dungeons & Dragons. Both Connelley