Friday, March 4, 2011

Going Roguelike

Well, so much for "we'll cover MP3s in a couple of days". I made the mistake of downloading the source for a simple Java Roguelike written by Will Thmbleby and then got completely engrossed in tinkering with it.

So, what's a Roguelike? Rogue was an ASCII dungeon-crawler written for Unix systems in 1980. Since then it's inspired literally thousands of similar games - genericly called Roguelikes. Every year there's a competition to see who can devise the most interesting new variant in 7 days - The Seven Day Roguelike Challenge.

One Roguelike in particular has been under continuous development since 1987. If you don't mind wrecking your grades/life/marriage/career, download The Greatest Game You Will Ever Play from the project's website [nethack.org].

Here's a dime-bag to give you a taste. Use the arrow keys (or "jkhlyubn") to move your intrepid explorer - "@" - around a dungeon. Type ">" to go down any staircase (">") you encounter.



Just reload the page to play again when you're killed.

(If you want to go deeper, play the version on the "Roguelike" page above.)
Posted by Suciô Sanchez at 13:21
Labels: ,

53 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 4, 2011 at 1:33 PM

    That was very fun, but I kept typing > and it would not go down the staircase

    ReplyDelete
  2. Suciô SanchezMarch 4, 2011 at 1:46 PM

    @ A Hermit - you have to be standing on the ">" when you type ">" to go downstairs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sharon DayMarch 4, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    Always clever and I always learn something new. You just kept my brain alive on a Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  4. World of ZeroMarch 4, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    Neat game. Their is no "start over" button though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. World of ZeroMarch 4, 2011 at 2:08 PM

    Also, Don't go down the stairs!!! Never, ever go down the stairs.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMarch 4, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    dead & buried on level 1 with $20 =(

    ReplyDelete
  7. Julie FergusonMarch 4, 2011 at 2:50 PM

    Cool Sucio, thanks for the info.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cpt PownzorMarch 4, 2011 at 4:27 PM

    i just spent far too much time playing that game hahaha

    ReplyDelete
  9. AndrewMarch 4, 2011 at 6:19 PM

    I feel like I've been raped, possibly, but I don't know if it was a man or a woman, or both. I don't know what happened to me. I was kind of sad that it didn't keep going, honestly.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Guy Movie BloggerMarch 4, 2011 at 6:23 PM

    Goddamn stairs!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. MarleneMarch 4, 2011 at 6:41 PM

    All I see is "error...click for details"

    ReplyDelete
  12. A Beer for the ShowerMarch 4, 2011 at 6:45 PM

    What a horrible ending to one of my old, favorite, classic games!

    Very, very cool app though, as a huge Roguelike fan (nerd).

    ReplyDelete
  13. GMarch 4, 2011 at 7:24 PM

    One of my favourite apps on the iPhone is a rouge like game iHack...no fancy graphics, no safety of a save...just endless frustration and fun

    ReplyDelete
  14. Quinn ElectronicsMarch 4, 2011 at 7:45 PM

    awe-some

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousMarch 4, 2011 at 7:54 PM

    thanks for not forgetting Lynnie:-)
    have a great weekend and i'll be back...

    ReplyDelete
  16. MixedNutsMarch 4, 2011 at 9:15 PM

    Thats pretty cool using just symbols to make a game, also thanks for making links in the header it makes things more easy.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Suciô SanchezMarch 4, 2011 at 9:26 PM

    @ Marlene - the "Java" page above has links to sites where you can test whether you have the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed. Unfortunately, there are a lot of reasons why your browser may not be able/willing to run a Java program.

    ReplyDelete
  18. ChrisMarch 4, 2011 at 9:44 PM

    great info!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Bargain HunterMarch 4, 2011 at 11:21 PM

    I loved these games!
    I remember Castle of the Winds was a childhood favorite of mine!

    ReplyDelete
  20. appleciderMarch 5, 2011 at 12:55 AM

    thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  21. xyMarch 5, 2011 at 5:13 AM

    Hello lovely :)!

    thanks so much for your comment :)!

    CHANEL iS THE BEST :)))))))))

    Wish you a great weekend :)

    with love
    Mariza
    http://mar-iza.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. ClaudiaMarch 5, 2011 at 8:26 AM

    Bah it wouldn't load for me! Glad you're glad the fur is back- I missed it, too.. it was time for its return. And American coffee is "full-bodied", not burnt. ;P

    ReplyDelete
  23. Major MackMarch 5, 2011 at 12:47 PM

    Sucio for Pres :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. BartMarch 5, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    esagaf your blog has been broken last couple of days, cant even leave a comment sometimes

    ReplyDelete
  25. The Angry LurkerMarch 5, 2011 at 2:33 PM

    Sucio is the person down the stairs waiting for you.

    ReplyDelete
  26. MRanthropeMarch 5, 2011 at 2:42 PM

    hacking in baby steps?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Suciô SanchezMarch 5, 2011 at 3:13 PM

    @ MRanthrope - couldn't resist.
    @ The Angry Lurker - every night.

    ReplyDelete
  28. SamMarch 5, 2011 at 7:03 PM

    I seem to be getting an error, won't work for me. Any1 got any idea why?

    ReplyDelete
  29. The Game Store GuyMarch 6, 2011 at 2:57 AM

    Hahaha. Love Roguelikes...although that one was a bit odd.

    ReplyDelete
  30. ZakkMarch 6, 2011 at 5:17 AM

    you totally have my support!

    ReplyDelete
  31. level85nerdMarch 6, 2011 at 12:07 PM

    Thats kinda funny! I tried it a few times, really awesome work. Awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  32. CandleintheDarkMarch 6, 2011 at 12:23 PM

    It's always the stairs..

    ReplyDelete
  33. Jessica ThompsonMarch 7, 2011 at 4:50 AM

    Nice, very nice... Followed! alphabetalife.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  34. Devon DavidsonMarch 7, 2011 at 11:21 AM

    Can't play on a Mac.

    Will try on PC.

    ReplyDelete
  35. RawrMarch 7, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    this is awesome, always something cool on your blog :D

    ReplyDelete
  36. BartMarch 8, 2011 at 1:36 AM

    lmfao not sure what i did, but had a good time. got ya killed on the first level with 28 bux. winningest!

    ReplyDelete
  37. CandleintheDarkMarch 8, 2011 at 4:38 PM

    I came here to comment and spent like 45 minutes that stupid game

    ReplyDelete
  38. Ante BabajaMarch 9, 2011 at 1:52 PM

    haha cool game

    ReplyDelete
  39. The Angry VegetarianMarch 9, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    took me a while to figure out wtf I was trying to do. made me feel like an idiot

    ReplyDelete
  40. kwileMarch 9, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    Sweet...thanx Sucio. Downloaded it.

    ReplyDelete
  41. caretakerMarch 10, 2011 at 6:24 AM

    nice

    ReplyDelete
  42. noogMarch 12, 2011 at 1:05 AM

    I kinda killed you and buried you on Level 1... sorry dude... but you did have $18... but I'm not sure if you can bring that into the afterlife haha... Great work!

    ReplyDelete
  43. UnknownMarch 17, 2011 at 11:50 AM

    How dear you give me SORCE for a game, now I'm going to be playing with that instead of doing my work!!!

    ReplyDelete
  44. 123March 21, 2011 at 7:21 PM

    what did i just play, oh god

    ReplyDelete
  45. JoeMarch 23, 2011 at 10:34 PM

    but I don't want to kill the dog :(

    ReplyDelete
  46. tigeyMarch 28, 2011 at 8:45 PM

    Its very well made, a played two times :)

    ReplyDelete
  47. TheHarvesterMarch 30, 2011 at 11:46 AM

    suuuuuper nice

    ReplyDelete
  48. Das Mostrencxs Information & Intellingentsia SistemaMarch 30, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    Have you reckon create an cell app with this game?

    ReplyDelete
  49. UnknownApril 13, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    sanchez where art thou ?

    ReplyDelete
  50. Linda MusaApril 16, 2011 at 12:04 PM

    kinda cool! tnx dude :)

    ReplyDelete
  51. World of ZeroMay 4, 2011 at 11:21 PM

    Is Sucio gone?

    ReplyDelete
  52. PrimitiveMay 22, 2011 at 11:05 PM

    this is mad!

    ReplyDelete
  53. AnonymousJune 26, 2011 at 8:33 PM

    where are you...*le sigh*

    ReplyDelete

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