Distinguished folks of Roguetemple and random folks from elsewhere that eventually see this, I have an announcement to make. Of the many reasons I choose to make this here as opposed to the .Dev or .Misc Google Board, one of them is so this doesn’t get lost among spam for shoes and bags. There’s not been a post of this ilk on here before, or technically anywhere else on the internet that I know of, so I ask for some slack to be cut as is necessary and proper. That said:
My name is Brian Emre Jeffears. I enjoy videogames and Roguelikes in particular. I am
25 years old, single, childless, have no degree of higher education, unemployed, have a screwed up family/personal life, unusually disabled in a certain way, living at home, and owing to various other private medical circumstances in the background it would not be at all strange for me to shuffle off by the time I’m 30. Some of the folks here might be on enough in years or circumstances likewise to understand the concept of “Legacy” and what it can mean to a person---for those that don’t you will at some point down the line.
Remember how everybody thought the lads behind Dwarf Fortress were patently insane to chuck it all and expend themselves at their would-be Magnum Opus and count largely on the contributions of grateful players in a classical fashion? I surely do and nodded approvingly that such a plan of action has thus far proved viable for them.
However, what I have decided to do is quite different, yet much more insane, far reaching, and likely generally counterproductive to having a reasonable go at life in the grand scheme of things.
We’ve all seen many things happen in the Roguelike community and videogame industry over the years. For the many good things that have happened and exciting moments of progress, there have also been many things lost and obscured along the way as well as things that should’ve panned out but didn’t for one reason or another. As is often the case, we shrug our shoulders and are content to deal with that which did make it and just hope things work out in general otherwise somewhere down the line.
At this point in time though, I feel it to be a less than optimal use of my remaining time to continue to carry on as a benign spectator in the fine tradition of voyeurism.
Instead, with this serving as my official declaration of intent, I have come to the conclusion that the path now before me is one of direct participation and interaction within the world of videogames and Roguelikes proper---with a slant to the latter in particular.“What in the world are you going on about? Just use the announcements section if you’ve got a game you are trying to cobble together or fish some team members for to be the next great or something!”Indeed, if only that were the case here. I suspect I’d be on something akin to easy street if this was just a long preamble heading towards another Talkie info stub on the Roguebasin database. No, this is something entirely different that really has no precedent to work off of.
Relative to the Roguelike portion of what lies on my plate, what I aim to do is acquire the necessary skills to modernize things up and ultimately keep things lively---across the board. As opposed to a project or projects of my own, which would come much later I suspect, instead this is about settling things up from the past that have gone unsettled for far too long now.
Below you will find what I’ve come up with after digging through the entire Roguebasin database while specifically ignoring certain projects either due to lack of information to make a decision on them, lack of interest on my part, everything seemingly already being well in hand, or they being something to get into much later on account of one aspect of their existence or another. This list is meant to grow and shrink over time and as people can better inform me of projects out there and these in question. If you have some to mention, or can clarify on anything I’ve got a question mark on, please do so in this thread.
Current list of known applicable Roguelike projects:
Tiles Language3059 Yes C++
Abura Tan No C++
Advanced Rogue No C
Alan’s Psychadelic Journey No C
AliensRL No Free Pascal
Artisan ? Python
Atinar Some ?
Avanor No C++, Lua
BOSS No Pascal
Beggar Yes? Java
Berserk! No? Free Pascal
Beyond Some ?
CalcRogue Yes C
Caravan No Reva
CastlevaniaRL Yes Java
Caverns of Underkeep Yes Java 1.5
Champion of the Savarian Empire No ?
Deliantra Yes/Some C++, Perl
Dimension Dungeon Yes Java
DoppeRogue No FreeBasic
Chronicles of Doryen N/A C++
Downfall No C++
dRogue No C, Scheme
DungeonMinder No C++
DungeonS No PAlib, C++
Dungeon Monkey Yes Free Pascal, JediSDL?
Egoboo 3Dyes C SDL/OpenGL
Elona Yes Hot Soup?, ?
Evolution No Free Pascal
Fourth Age ? Python
Frozen Depths No C++
G.O.R.E. No Vala?
Geminum Orbis No C++
GenRogue No FreePascal
Gruesome No FreePascal
Guild No ?
H-World Yes Lua, C++
Hokuto no Rogue Yes Java
I, Monster No Python
IVAN Yes C++
Ighalsk ? Python
Jaunt Trooper series Varies ?
Kaduria Yes C++
Reptoran Saga No C++
LambdaRogue Yes FreePascal
Larn No C
Legerdemain No Java
Lord of Rage and Death No ?
Mage Guild Yes C#
MetaCollider No Python
Nazghul Yes C++
Netchaos ? O’Caml
Omega No? C
Papaki No C++
Paprika Yes Visual Basic 6
Peleron’s Brilliant Rebith No C++
Prospector Yes FreeBasic
Pyro No Python
Scallywag: In the Lair of the Medusa Yes C++/Libs
S.C.O.U.R.G.E. Yes C++, OpenGL, Squirrel
Super Rogue No C
Star Rogue Yes Delphi
Valley of Neustria Kinda ?
T.o.M.E. Yes? C/Lua
TwilightMMORL No C
UltraRogue No C
Vampire Hunt No ?
Woods of Torbin Yes C++/Java
Xenocide No C++
XRogue No C
Total C: ~12
Total C#: ~2
Total C++: ~20
Total Java: ~6
Total Java 1.5: ~1
Total Python: ~6
Lua: ~3
Delphi: ~1
Squirrel: ~1
OpenGL: ~2
Libs: ~1
FreeBasic: ~2
Visual Basic 6: ~1
O’Caml: ~1
FreePascal: ~7
Hot Soup: ~1
SDL: ~1
JediSDL: ~1
PAlib: ~1
Scheme: ~1
Reva: ~1
The goal with each of these, as applicable unless they wind up taken off the list, is to get them graphical via tiles(there will be some cases where ASCII will also be needed as well I’m sure) or some such as appropriate, get them working properly, and to help them get effectively finished as can be reckoned---all at as ruthlessly efficient and quick a pace as can be figured out and implemented. This amounts to me going around raising the bar overall whilst raising the dead.
If you are, or part of, the original or ongoing force behind these games---expect to hear from me at some point unless you wind up contacting me first. The order of events in terms of stuff definitively starting and happening is still quite up in the air as you can see there’s a decent sized list above as well as the several programming related aspects that I’ll have to pick up on and gain competence at from scratch. From my prior posts, the sleuths among us will quickly realize 2 projects in particular that hold a high probability of being my first targets on account of buying them and such---but nothing is written in stone. Logic would seem to entail that the graphical aspect to all of this would happen faster than the programming aspect.
“This is completely impossible pie in the sky!”
It shouldn’t be completely impossible, though I forecast all to be difficult in their own ways as I come to grips with each one’s unique situation and at least one or so to be very difficult despite when it has come to pass that I’ve satisfactorily completed several other of the above listed.
“How do you avoid a common end like starving the death?”Well, not unlike in the games, part of that comes down to random events I’ve no control over. Otherwise, an aim would be to break into the videogame industry via developing the necessary array of skills and a portfolio, testing, and so on. Ideally, I’d like to not be tied into any one company per se but rather able to assist as needed across the spectrum. I’ve already helped with closed testing for an upcoming PC Retail RPG, and hope it is not the last such instance. Failing the above, or perhaps ultimately anyhow, I’ll wind up going the one-man corp/small business route of digital distribution without DRM to get by as I don’t need vast wealth though it would be handy. I also see a void that could be filled in terms of a Roguelike Foundation of sorts, and such would be something for me to look into as the years roll on. Should random, “normal” work bits avail itself to me in my local area for a change, I’d likely take a crack at it if I can get it for useful bursts of cash for useful bits like development programs, hardware, food, etc along the way. Once I actually have accomplishments under my belt, I too would likely submit to a Donationware model not so unlike what the Dwarf Fortress lads are doing.
“Is there a website where you are going to centralize all of this?”Eventually, there will have to be I reckon. For now, this thread will serve that purpose in terms of updates, answering any and all questions that I can comfortably, and so on as learning how to make a website is another of the skills that I need to pick up and train to competence. I am very much opposed to the “sporadic updates at random intervals of months and/or years” approach, so the instinctual drive is to post updates in this thread and such at a likely weekly rate or thereabouts. AIM and such will also probably enter into the equation on that so as to facilitate real time collaborations and whatnot.
Furthermore, and with the intent of getting things livelier within Roguetemple, this is not totally subject to my own arbitrary decisions and whims. Community feedback, discussion, lobbying, and so on are meant to be very much a part of this in terms of the order I work on this or that and at times the direction things will go when it comes to hard questions.
There are 1 to 3 conditions I do have for working on any given Roguelike project though:
-Properly in the credits/credited by name as to the contributions I’ll have made.
-(when possible) To literally put myself into the game in question in a certain capacity…
-(hopefully) Anybody else being worked with has enthusiasm to get things squared away.From here on, I open up the floor to comments, questions, vitriol, and so forth. Thanks for reading, wish me success as luck tends to be something I don’t attract when actually playing.
Ongoing list of projects I've made some manner of difference in:
http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/index.htmhttp://keye2.phk.at/http://lambdarogue.net/http://trianglewizard.webs.com/apps/blog/http://javacrpg.sourceforge.net/http://www.soldak.com/Dins-Curse/Overview.htmlhttp://www.sumwars.org/http://www.plos.isgreat.org/MainPage.htmlhttp://te4.org/http://www.classicgamesremade.com/http://www.gaslampgames.com/As of January 8, 2012
