New Roguelike: "The Hunger Games" - May the odds be ever in your favor ;)

[Cruiser1]

Download page: http://www.astrolog.org/labyrnth/daedalus/hunger.htm
Wiki page: http://roguebasin.roguelikedevelopment.org/index.php?title=Hunger_Games

I've created a Hunger Games theme roguelike, inspired by "The Hunger Games" book trilogy and movie. As expected, you're one of 24 tributes forced to fight to the death until only one remains standing. Personally, I really enjoyed the novels, and wanted a video game simulating you playing in the arena. As a long time fan of roguelikes, I felt that genre is an effective way to represent arena exploration and combat with fellow tributes (potentially large group combats like in the opening "Bloodbath"). The Hunger Games is free software for Windows, with full source code available. In addition to the Hunger Games theme, it also features 3D first person perspective graphics (similar to Dragonslayer, my other roguelike).


This screenshot is a 3rd person overview of the randomly generated arena, showing the 24 tributes in a semicircle, the central "Cornucopia" containing a concentration of the best gear, and the surrounding woods.


This screenshot shows the early game Bloodbath battle. The "Career tribute" alliance of Districts 1, 2, and 4 is guarding the mouth of the Cornucopia against the girls from Districts 6, 7, and 3.


This screenshot shows an example of winning, in which you nicely avoided killing your District alliance partner until you were the final two remaining.

[mrmojorisin]

This looks really awesome.  I was commenting in another topic how I'd love to play a rl based on Battle Royale, and this is the next best thing, lol.

[Cruiser1]

A picture can be worth 1000 words, and a video can be worth 1000 pictures. Here's a video of somebody playing "The Hunger Games" Roguelike, using the simple but effective strategy of "let others fight each other first then come in and finish off the wounded": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1rAAeDNhGE 

[Quendus]

This is really cool. A couple of suggestions:

• The escape key instantly quits the game with no warning. This is a bad thing, because so many people are used to the escape key backing out of a menu or bringing up an options menu. I'm especially prone to doing this after using the inventory and wanting to get it off the screen. Is this a limitation in Daedalus, or something that can be fixed in the script?
• I have some trouble using ranged weapons. A tribute may be pretty close to the centre of the display, but not in the firing line. As a game of strategy rather than skill, it would be nice to have a way of confirming whether someone is in the firing line.

Anyway, good work!

[Cruiser1]

Thanks for trying out The Hunger Games and posting your feedback!

The escape key instantly quits the game with no warning. I'm especially prone to doing this after using the inventory and wanting to get it off the screen. Is this a limitation in Daedalus, or something that can be fixed in the script?

Both! Daedalus has "Escape" as a hotkey for "File / Exit". However, keys can be redefined so it can be fixed in the script. I've updated the next version to have "Escape" bring up a confirmation dialog before exiting. Note the inventory list is just a text dump appended to the text displayed at the top of the screen, and not a modal dialog you can cancel. (That's different from selecting an item from inventory to use, throw, or give, which is a special mode, in which hitting spacebar or selecting an illegal option will make it go away.) As getting a long inventory list off the screen is something people want to do, I've also updated "spacebar" to refresh the screen and remove most text (which is useful if you want to redisplay useful game information like "there is an X here" that was replaced by the inventory).

I have some trouble using ranged weapons. A tribute may be pretty close to the centre of the display, but not in the firing line. As a game of strategy rather than skill, it would be nice to have a way of confirming whether someone is in the firing line.

Use the chat command for this ("c" hotkey). Chatting has the exact same distance limit as ranged weapons, meaning a ranged weapon will hit them if and only if chatting with them works. Chatting (like displaying inventory) is a free action that doesn't end your turn. I've updated the documentation to ensure this use of the chat command is clear.

[Cruiser1]

I've been updating the Hunger Games Roguelike, with the following features implemented in what will be the next version:

• 3D: The 3D view makes it easier to perceive 3D movement. You can now climb trees, mountains, and even the Cornucopia. Enemies may climb up after you, chop the tree down, attack with ranged weapons, or just wait you out at the bottom.
• Mutts: The other tributes aren't the only dangers in the arena. There are also hungry "muttation" monsters. Yes, there's an option to play as a mutt if you want!
• Scenery: There are now mountains to climb, and water to swim or fish (or drown) in. Track tributes or mutts by following their footprints!
• New items: Nets can be used to entangle other tributes. Picks can be used to dig up things, including the landmines around the starting platforms, which can be reset to lay traps for your opponents.

Above is the new "burning desert" arena. Notice the cactus plants, hills, and even an oasis or two in the background. Yes, you lose health if you poke yourself on a cactus.


Above is the new "frozen mountains" arena. Present are mountains, a creek weaving among them, and if you look carefully some Nets in the Cornucopia.

[Cruiser1]

Below are a couple more screenshots from the upcoming next version of the Hunger Games Roguelike. It wasn't finished in time to make this year's Annual Roguelike Release Party (ARRP), but it should be available in the next few weeks. You can pick your basic arena type (and arena size) or have them randomly chosen for you, resulting in a proper Hunger Games experience in which tributes don't know what environment they'll be thrust into.


Above is the new "gooey swamp" arena, which is largely water and thick clumps of trees. Being able to swim and/or fish is of course a significant advantage here.


Above is the new "giant Maze" arena, which as expected is composed of numerous walls. The Maze is generated with few dead ends, to prevent tributes from hiding in them, so one needs to always watch their back.

[Cruiser1]

A new version of the Hunger Games Roguelike has been released! Version 2.5 is described here and directly downloadable here. A summary of new features in it:

• New Arenas: In addition to Forest like before, you also can play in Mountain, Desert, Plains, Swamp, and Maze arenas (see the four pictures above). Choose your arena type and size, or have them randomly chosen for you. In additon to trees like before, you can also encounter rivers, lakes, hills, and meadows in whatever arena.
• New Actions: Climb trees (and potentially fall out of them), chop down trees with Axes, wade or swim in water (and potentially drown in it), catch fish in water, and track tributes and Mutts by following their footprints/pawprints.
• New Items: Nets can be used to entangle other tributes. Picks can be used to chisel away cliffs or dig up things, including the landmines around the starting platforms, which can be reset to lay explosive traps for your opponents.
• New Enemies: In addition to other tributes, aggressive "muttation" monsters are roaming the arena.

[Cruiser1]

Here's a new YouTube video, this time of the new version of "The Hunger Games" Roguelike, which demonstrates both good gameplay (successfully taking stuff from the Cornucopia without getting injured in the process), and mistakes (accidentally posioning yourself with Nightlock berries): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWTjkraKv4g

[Samildanach]

Seems really interesting, I'll definitely give it a go.

[Cruiser1]

Here's another video of the new version of "The Hunger Games" Roguelike, demoing the computer tribute AI. The computer is controlling all tributes from start to finish of the Games, and the camera is manually flying around observing the action. For example, you can see the "Career" tribute alliance members take control of the Cornucopia and then hunt as a pack, before turning on each other at the end. See the District 4 Boy defeat all 23 other tributes, winning with full health: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1No6yuHnxW0

[Cruiser1]

Even single player Roguelikes can have multiplayer elements if you compete with others to see who does better. In this new video somebody made of "The Hunger Games" Roguelike, two people play the game in sequence, competing to see who finishes higher. The first runs toward the Cornucopia at the beginning, while the second runs away. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZd2mQMG-RE

[Zireael]

I really ought to find time to play this...

[Cruiser1]

Here's the latest video of "The Hunger Games" Roguelike. GameBot reviews a first time playthrough in the longest video anybody's made of it so far (he plays it three times in a row): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot5UADZZRC4

[tjg92]

Holy crap. This is off topic but I love Daedalus. First downloaded it probably 10 or more years ago and that website transformed me into the maze obsessed lunatic I am today.