Doom, the Roguelike

Posted by Derek Yu Thu, 30 Nov 2006 20:14:00 GMT

Peanut butter and hamburger, teaching elementary school and being nude… there are many great things in this world that are NOT better together. But Doom and Roguelikes? Those are two great things that are incredible together.

Whereas other Roguelikes require you to remember a zillion key commands and little tricks to get by (“Oh wait, I’ve got to press ‘q’ to ‘quaff’ this potion of troll buggery…”), DoomRL is quite easy to get into, with only a few important commands to remember. And Kornel Kisielewicz, the author of the game, has added just enough to the Doom universe to keep the game interesting, but without losing the flavor of the original FPS.

And if you’ve already played the game a year or so ago, it’s time to try it out again, as the latest version (0.9.8.5) has a buttload of new features, like difficulty levels, challenge modes, advanced traits, and new special levels. And arch-viles!

So yeah, as you can see, I’m a big fan of this project. Play the game and then join the forums. Kornel is great about taking user suggestions to improve the game! Check it out – it’s fun.

Posted in Highly Recommended, Roguelikes, Linux, Windows, Freeware | Tags KornelKisielewicz | 24 comments

Dwarf Fortress

Posted by Derek Yu Wed, 30 Aug 2006 02:26:00 GMT

“My legendary clothesmaker just threw a tantrum because his masterwork giant cave spider silk pants were stolen by invisible goblins. Which I guess I can understand, they probably were really nice pants. The thing I don’t understand is why he decided to mangle the limbs of one of my legendary craftdwarves and break the legs of my legendary carpenter.” -bloodyfool, Dwarf Fortress player, from the forums

I need to stop talking about this game, because it’s annoying my friends and keeping me from my work. It’s a Roguelike that let’s you build and run a… well, dwarf fortress. (I love saying “dwarf fortress.”) There’s so much detail in this game that it’s almost too complex to play. I just like revelling in the possibilities.

EDIT: Also, here’s a link to a beginner’s guide (Penny Arcade forums) and the Dwarf Fortress wiki. The game’s hard to get into without either.

Posted in Highly Recommended, Roguelikes, Windows, Freeware | Tags TarnAdams | 20 comments