Posts from ‘Roguelikes’ Category

Dwarf Fortress Tale: Matul Remrit

By: Derek Yu

On: July 1st, 2011

Matul Remrit

There have been some excellent Dwarf Fortress tales floated around the past few years (Boatmurdered perhaps being the most well-known), but this one kicks it up a notch. Combining text, illustrations, screencaps taken from the DF visualizer Stonesense, and even music, Matul Remrit is a rather awe-inspiring tribute to the roguelike/simulation being developed by brothers Toady One and Threetoe. What’s next, a live action film?

(Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun)

Desktop Dungeons Website Launches with Preorders

By: Derek Yu

On: June 2nd, 2011

Desktop Dungeons, by QCF Design

QCF Design has just launched a website for Desktop Dungeons, the popular puzzle game inspired by roguelikes. The launch comes with announcements that 1. the team is taking pre-orders for the new version of DD (shown above), 2. the original, freeware game is receiving a small update, and 3. an official forum for the games has also been opened.

Preview: Dungeons of Dredmor

By: Alehkhs

On: May 20th, 2011

Gaslamp Games‘ roguelike title Dungeons of Dredmor is nearing release, bringing with it fresh hand-drawn graphics, a sharp sense of humor reminiscent of LucasArts/Telltale Games point-and-click adventures of old, and the great roguelike tradition of randomized worlds filled with all variety of beast and bounty for the player to encounter.

Oftentimes shunned for their unintuitive interfaces and alphabet-soup graphics, I usually feel a bit apprehensive about recommending roguelike games to people I don’t know, but having gotten my hands on a recent beta version of Dungeon of Dredmor, I can say that this is one roguelike I can recommend to both players new to the genre, and veterans looking for a new addiction. Check out the trailer above for a look at the gameplay, and hit the jump if you want to hear about my time exploring the Dungeons of Dredmor.

Read the rest of this entry »

DoomRL 0.9.9.2

By: Derek Yu

On: February 26th, 2011

DoomRL 0.9.9.2, by Kornel Kisielewicz
Screenshot by Japa. (Source)

Kornel Kisielewicz has released a new version of DoomRL, the fast-paced roguelike that’s based on the Doom series of games. This update adds asynchronous animation and assemblies (special combinations of weapons and mods that produce unique weapons), as well as new levels, items, and other goodies. The asynchronous animation system is one of the features that supports the long-awaited graphics version of the game that I’m helping Kornel with – this version is being developed and tested concurrently with the ASCII releases.

Link: DoomRL Wiki

Dwarf Fortress v0.31.19

By: Derek Yu

On: February 17th, 2011

Dwarf Fortress, by Bay12Games
Dwarf Fortress running in the DF visualizer Stonesense. Screenshot by Japa.

A new version of Bay12Games’ ambitious roguelike/sim Dwarf Fortress has been released. This is the first release of the “Caravan Arc”, which deals with trade and economy, and includes the addition of trade routes and several industries, like farming, crafts, and animal husbandry. Apparently trolls can be sheared for their wool now, raising some very serious questions about troll anatomy in the world of DF.

Oilfurnace

By: Derek Yu

On: September 5th, 2010

Oilfurnace

Do you remember Bronzemurder? Well, here’s another graphic saga from Dwarf Fortress, penned by the talented Tim Denee. Mark my words, the legend of Oilfurnace shall not soon be forgotten by dwarf or humankind.

(Source: Reddit)

Preview: Serial Killer Roguelike

By: Derek Yu

On: August 26th, 2010

Update: The creator of this project has announced that it was an elaborate “hoax”. Not sure I buy that, but… in any case, you can read more about it here.

As GameSetWatch’s Eric Caoili deftly points out, someone’s gone and started working on an actual murder simulator. CrimsonKing’s Serial Killer Roguelike was originally themed after the popular HBO Showtime series Dexter, but has since turned into a more general killing game, with detailed combat that’s inspired by Dwarf Fortress. The goal is to develop the game into a full-blown crime sim that characters can (virtually) stalk their prey in (or not, as the creator notes), either as lone wack-jobs or as hitmen for organized crime factions.

In the description of the above video, CrimsonKing writes:

Keep in mind that this is a GAME, and that I am not advocating or condoning murder or any of the crimes that take place in it. I feel that the subject of serial killers, specifically the psychological conditions that drive them to do what they do, is one of interest and will hopefully translate into a unique game that has a vast number of potential options for play.

Well, what’s art and entertainment good for, if not exploring these darker themes? Personally, I think the game shows a lot of promise as a genuinely disturbing horror movie generator. But will it see a release before a U.S. senator decides to stir up some outrage over it? It is an election year, after all…

(Source: TinyCartridge)

Hit the jump for a video showing the character generation:

Read the rest of this entry »

Shoot First

By: ithamore

On: July 9th, 2010

Shoot First

Shoot First, the latest game from Beau Blyth (aka Tenkopants), is the offspring of a run-n-gun and a roguelike. It reminds me much of my experiences of learning how to play Spelunky and Xong, and it’s addictive. I’ve been playing it everyday after reading about it on the IndieGames Blog.

Exploring the floors of Shoot First is the core of the game. You can take a careful, attentive approach or take a gun-blazing, death-dodging approach to get to the exit as quickly as possible or to fully explore a floor. Its gameplay has nice openness.

To help you get further into the game than your gun assortment and skills alone can provide, there are chest that can be shot open to reveal helpful equipment, keys to unlock closed exits, AI friends to fight along your side, and ways of healing (potions, leveling up, rescued loves, and fountains of youth). It can also be a 2-player, co-op game to help balance out the challenge.

The controls are customizable, but the configuration isn’t saved. There is too much slide to the characters’ momentum, and some have complained about traps and rare bugs with enemy placement. However, Shoot First still provides a great experience with wonderful chiptunes to match it.

Update: A windowed version is available for those who had issues with the fullscreen version.

Desktop Dungeons v0.14

By: Derek Yu

On: June 15th, 2010

Desktop Dungeons

A new version of Desktop Dungeons has been released! Version 0.14 has a number of improvements, including a more in-depth religion system based on piety, an improved interface, new areas and other added content, an in-game tutorial, and the option to play the game at 2x scale or fullscreen. Also, I donated my tileset to the game’s creators and they were cool enough to use it as the default (check out this TIGForums thread for alternatives)! Enjoy!

TIGdb: Entry for Desktop Dungeons

ToME 4 and T-Engine4 (Beta)

By: Derek Yu

On: May 15th, 2010

ToME

Tales of Middle-Earth, a roguelike more commonly known as ToME, has come out of its hobbit’s hole after a multiple-year hiatus. What’s really exciting about ToME 4’s release is that it comes with T-Engine4, an open-source, Lua-based roguelike engine. In fact, ToME 4 is simply included as a module for the engine. According to DarkGod, the game’s creator:

Being the lua fanatic I am the engine obviously uses it, and much more than in T-Engine2/3. There is a very small C core that is mostly unaware of any high level designs, it simply provides access to graphics, sounds, input, …
T-Engine4 can handle many things and is meant to be easily extended. Its lua core is documented and based on a simple OO design, leveraging the full power of Lua.

Among its features, T-Engine4 has a single, unified user interface using OpenGL on all platforms, keyboard and mouse support, generic save and load using serialization, and support for both a graphical (tile-based) mode and traditional ASCII (potentially at the same time). Developers interested in creating their own roguelike should check this engine out. See DarkGod’s original announcement for more information.

TIGdb: Entry for Tales of Middle-Earth

(Source: Slash, via Temple of the Roguelike)