The Interface

The interface to Death Blade is simple. Below are the actions buttons which appear as a cluster at the lower left of the main window.

                Attack

This button is used to attack an enemy. Combat is more or less real-time in Death Blade. The enemies have a set interval of time for their attack. You must continually click the attack button (or the attack key) to attack the enemy.  

                Defensive

This button is one that may save your life. When this button is clicked, you are foregoing you attack to focus only on defense. This has the effect of lowering you armor class by one-half your character's level. This makes it more difficult for creatures to strike you in combat. You ask "Why would I want to do this if I can't attack?". The answer is simple. There are magical items that heal you over time. Using this item could buy you just enough time to heal and avoid an untimely death. Also, some items and scrolls are usable on all creatures surrounding you (by one step). This could buy time to collect them around you for a tactical strike.

                Interact

This button is used to look at or activate certain items within the game. You may encounter friendly individuals that something to offer you. However, they will only offer thier services if you click on this button while they are standing directly in front of you.

                 Jump

This button can be valuable for the experienced player. You will surely encounter traps while adventuring in the underground complex. Traps occupy a single 10' in a corridor or room. If you know where a trap lies, you may use this button to leap over the 10' area in front of you, landing on the other side (and hopefully avoiding the trap).

                  Sleep

This button should be obvious. Your character will sustain damage while adventuring. This button allows you to restore some of that damage through rest. There are limitations however. Your character has a sixth sense for smelling danger. If he senses enemies nearby, he will be unable to sleep. This does not always mean that sleeping is safe. While you sleep, creature continue to move and attack. If you are attacked while you are asleep, you will be immediately awoken, ready for combat (as any good adventurer should). One more thing. If your character is poisoned, sleeping is not a good idea. The poison acts much more quickly than the healing. For this reason, your character will refuse to sleep if poisoned

                Character Record

The button displays a short informational sheet about your progress. If displays the number of experience points required to advance to the next level, the number of creatures defeated since you began the game, a skill rating based on the creature levels defeated, and more.

                  Map

This is a must for any adventurer. This button displays a map of where you have been and what you have seen. If you have actually used a secret door, this map will show a secret door on the map. You will also occasionally find a scroll called "Mystical Sight" that reveals the entire map through the use of magic. Check the status of your adventure often by using this button. The walls have been known to change as magical and mechanical traps are sprung.

                  Help

This help button will display the assigned keys for all possible actions. Many games require you to memorize the sequences, forcing you to quit your game to view your preferences if you forget them. I put this on the main screen for an easy reminder.

                 Pause

This button will pause the game in progress. the game will remain paused until you again select the pause option to resume the game.

                 Save Game

This is a button you will want to use often. When you start a new game, you are asked to save a game file using the standard Macintosh file save dialog. This game file will be written to each time you click on this option. You will be notified by a message on the screen, when the save is complete. It is usually very fast.

                 Quit

This button does not actually terminate Death Blade, but returns you to the solicitor screen where you may start a new game, open a saved game, alter game preferences, register the game, or quit to the Finder.

Other Interface Items

Another item of note is the small arrow buttons to the left and right of the inventory title text. These buttons flip through the different categories of items in your possession. This makes it easier to find precisely the item you want.