Gamers who like roguelikes will like the Seven Day RogueLike Challenge at Cymon’s Games, where 28 games in the genre from a range of amateur developers are now freely available for download and play.
The challenge was simple: Make a roguelike game in only seven days, then submit it to Cymon’s Games, a site dedicated to amateur game development. Cymon’s Games has hosted various challenges over the past four years and this time around a “historic” 28 games were submitted and are now ready to be tried.
For those not in the know, “roguelikes” are simply games that share similarities with the 1980 classic Rogue, the great-granddaddy of action-RPGs. While most roguelikes are turn-based and feature ASCII graphics, the style has grown from its humble roots and games like Diablo and other action-RPGs are sometimes considered part of the genre as well.
“Generally they’re text based, but not always,” the Cymon’s Games site says. “Generally they’re D&D type cRPGs, but not always. Generally they employ line of sight or area of sight mechanics, but not always. Sometimes they’re painfully difficult and sometimes they’re perfect for killing 5 minutes of a coffee break.”
The 28 games on tap include reviews to help potential players decide which ones will be the best time-killers. And although the 7DRL Challenge isn’t a competition, Cymon’s Games is taking votes on Best of Show, Best Visual Presentation and Technical Merit, with polls open until the end of April. Try one, or try them all, right here.
Published: Mar 24, 2009 09:46 pm