Topics

1

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Legerdemain 10th Anniversary

« on: July 25, 2018, 10:27:31 PM »

Hello,

The Phenomedom Tourist Bureau is looking for new visitors.

I noticed the other day that I was coming up on ten years since I first announced Legerdemain 1.0 to Usenet (and probably here as well) so I wanted to do something to celebrate. I came up with the idea of hosting a source code ransom:

https://www.gofundme.com/legerdemain-source-code-ransom

Legerdemain is what I like to call a work of roguelikefiction: it is inspired by roguelikes but seeks to invoke a story & atmosphere that is inherently nonrandom. I'm under the impression some people still like to play it, but its presence online these days is rather dim. I figured a ransom would be a way to stir things up & maybe give something back to the developer community.

I have other roguelikefiction projects that have all fizzled or been held in abeyance for various reasons, but I suspect my enthusiasm for the form will last a lifetime. I wanted to say thanks for the reviews, emails, and criticisms over the years, they've all added up to an experience for which I am very grateful.

Cheers,
Nathan

http://roguelikefiction.com

2

Programming / Ye Olde Roguelike Grimoire

« on: May 08, 2012, 04:34:01 PM »

Hello,

Wanted to bounce an idea off you guys here - imagine a screen where the player is looking at the yellowed pages of an old musty grimoire. The book is full of recipes and magic formulae but with proper training the reader can make the text come alive, can make it move and rearrange itself at the behest of ahem, keystrokes typed from his, umm, magic keyboard. (This part of the metaphor needs work) Anyway this interplay between the reactive text and the player's decisions results in a little scene or a battle which feels like a roguelike game.

For the moment I'm bringing this up just to focus on whether this kind of interface would *look* good. Almost all roguelikes I've encountered use a black background. For something like the grimoire you'd want the color of old pages and text that was black or at least dark enough to show up well against parchment. Fonts and so forth would reflect Renaissance moods, Arthurian, Gothic, etc.

So are there any text-centric games out there (bonus points if it is a Roguelike) that look like this? MUDs could conceivably fit but they typically look like Telnet consoles. Browser-based text games are typically too modern, full of buttons and menus and combo boxes. Kingdom of Loathing comes close but it isn't really a text-centric game imo.

3

Off-topic (Locked) / Roguelike Business Ideas and Indie Press Revolution

« on: December 07, 2010, 12:28:49 AM »

Those of you familiar with Legerdemain (http://roguelikefiction.com) may be interested to know it has been picked up by Indie Press Revolution. These guys specialize in pen-and-paper roleplaying books produced by small publishers, and more often than not the content is creator-owned. They've been established in business for a few years now and evidently provide distribution services for over a hundred such companies.

You can check out the link here: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17432

They sell PDFs as well.

In the case of Legerdemain they've gone outside of their comfort zone with, in their mind, a very retro-styled CRPG offering. I'm pretty sure the reason they've done this is because when you order the game it comes with physical stuff. If you package together the CD, map, and cluebook and put it on a shelf, the form factor is very similar to many of their pen-and-paper products. If I had just handed them a video game on a CD I don't think they would have been able to sell it.

One reason I thought I'd mention this here is that, well, if they are interested in one product it stands to reason they'd be interested in two. I personally don't have another roguelike-ish/CRPG game with a printed book waiting in the queue, ready to be shipped, but I figured there might be folks at Roguetemple who'd consider shooting for that. The physical stuff needn't be a cluebook, of course, or even a book, but I think the key is to have something tangible that can sit on a shelf.

Anyhow, this could be an opportunity for a roguelike developer out there, and I'd be interested in participating or even just being a sounding board if the right project came along. I've had experience pitching Legerdemain to folks at gaming conventions, and even though I've yet to achieve the measure of psychedelic Boogadah domination I had originally hoped for, I have learned a few things.

And I think it would be fun to brainstorm, at the very least.

4

Other Announcements / Internationale Spieltage 2010

« on: September 01, 2010, 07:31:42 PM »

Hello,

I'll be promoting my game Legerdemain at Essen Spiel in Germany from October 21-24. It is one of the biggest game conferences in the world and I imagine it will be a blast.

For those who don't know, Legerdemain is a roguelike/IF style game with a paid version that comes with a cluebook, the game on a CD, and a printed map. I've promoted it at several conferences in the USA and the response for the game in particular (as well as Roguelikes in general) has been very encouraging.

I'm posting here because I don't have anybody helping me run the booth at Spiel and I could use the assistance. I've rented a two-bedroom flat so you'd have a place to stay about ten minutes from the con as well as a free badge to get in. A lot of the work merely involves engaging with customers and telling them about the game, although there is some set up and teardown involved (but really, not much).  

It also happens that I don't speak German, so if you do that would be a huge plus.

Anyhow if you think you might be interested PM me or send an email to legerdemain at bellsouth dot net. I'm looking for folks well-versed in roguelikes and not unaccustomed to talking with strangers.

And if you have any questions just ask!

Cheers!
Nathan

5

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Legerdemain v1.0.1 now available

« on: October 28, 2008, 01:18:58 PM »

Hello! The latest version of Legerdemain, a Roguelike fantasy RPG dreamed in clouds of Unicode, is now available for the taking.

Version 1.0.1 is a bugfix-only release. Some folks that have delved deep into Phenomedom's fractures have come back with some nasty buglike creatures in tow. You may not ever encounter any of them, but then again you might.

To shield yourself, head on over to the Downloads area at http://roguelikefiction.com and ensure your adventures will remain intact till the end of days...

I wanted also to thank the roguelike community for its feedback and encouragement over these past couple of months. There's still some cluebooks left but they are going at a steady rate, show your support by grabbing one from here: http://roguelikefiction.com/?page_id=65

Cheers,
Nathan

 

6

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Legerdemain v1.0.0 now available

« on: August 25, 2008, 03:25:48 AM »

At long last! Now available for download at http://roguelikefiction.com.

Legerdemain is a hybrid offering of interactive fiction and roguelike exploration set in the surreal fantasy world of Phenomedom. There are dozens of areas to explore, hundreds of original monsters to slay, and nearly two hundred citizens brimming with lies and idle gossip.

There's never been a better time to give it a try.

A big thanks for all the emails, donations, and folks who have purchased the map and the cluebook. I'll be mailing these out any day now.

Cheers,
Nathan

7

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Legerdemain v0.9.7 now available

« on: June 05, 2008, 01:31:14 PM »

Hello everyone!

Legerdemain, everybody's favorite (and only) unfinished IF/RPG/Roguelike
hybrid, has been updated with more silly dialogue than ever before. For
those of you out there who've always wanted to argue with crotchety old
man-badgers, or journey throughout a world where you can become eviscerated
in new and better ways, your prayers have been answered.

For the rest of you, the world of Phenomedom now has a cast of nearly two
hundred characters to become acquainted with, as well as new enemies, new
spells, new events, and lots more polish. (as in the substance, not the
language). Download Legerdemain and give it a whirl, or drop by the forums
and let us know what you think.

I've also made some .zip and tar.gz distros available for convenience.

A big thanks to all those who've shown an interest in registering. I should
have something in place to handle this in the coming weeks.

Cheers!
Nathan

http://roguelikefiction.com

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Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Legerdemain v0.9.6 now available

« on: April 23, 2008, 03:16:53 PM »

Hi folks!

A new version of Legerdemain is now ready for consumption! There's never
been a better time to visit the surreal, Unicode-rendered world of
Phenomedom. Besides, in what other world can you:

-go bowling with skulls?
-take a bath at the Elysium?
-do battle with cannibals and dream porridges?
-hang out with snake charmers?
-watch boogadahs gorge themselves?
-delight in pies half-eaten?
-wade through 120,000 words of garish prose and crudely-rendered vernacular?

Come on in, enjoy some fiction from a roguelike perspective!

Cheers,
Nathan

http://roguelikefiction.com

9

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn Based) / Legerdemain v0.9.5 now available

« on: March 03, 2008, 04:05:52 PM »

Visit http://roguelikefiction.com and check out the downloads area, or just click on the following link and let Java do the rest:

http://roguelikefiction.com/legerd_beta_095.jnlp

You can also visit the site's 'Todo List' for listings of implemented and forthcoming features.

Cheers!
Nathan