Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Qu’est-ce Que C’est: Serial Killer Roguelike

By Kieron Gillen on August 27th, 2010 at 6:44 pm.

I am actually a % tag and I am wearing the skin of a @

A lot of people have mailed us about this, mainly after GSW posted about it, thinking that it’s our sort of thing. I could be hurt, if I still had any human emotions left. Anyway, it’s a serial killer rogue game. As in, you play a serial killer and cut people up. It’s the logical philosophical extension of Dwarf Fortress’ devotion to individually modelling body parts, I suppose. I’ve been holding off on posting about it, as I assumed I’d be able to look at its alpha but… well, now I’ve gone and actually looked, nothing’s been released yet. This both surprises me (rogues seem to release early and often) and sets off alarm bells, as Rogue-like footage isn’t exactly tricky to fake. With that proviso, you’ll find some more details and the videos showing off interaction and character creation below…

EDIT: Yes, fake.

It apparently started work as a Dexter-fan-project. As in, the serial killer on the TV show, not Walker’s cat. But, in the way of feature bloat, it’s grown into something that simulates more generally the concept of stalking, murdering, eating and pooping in their gaping body cavities and/or comment thread trolling. He’s been at work at it for five months, but the plan is to have lots of features. Like… well, lots of material stuff (inspired by Dwarf Fortress) where characters have lots of different elements. It’s a bit buggy right now. “I recently bit someone and his entire body basically exploded into individual pieces”, the creator Crimson King said. Which makes it more the shame he hasn’t released it, says I. Other interesting features include crime-tracking by the police and generally building towards a city populated with NPCs with schedules and their own factions.
There’s a handy disclaimer on the Youtube footage…

Keep in mind that this is a GAME, and that I am not advocating or condoning murder or any of the crimes that take place in it. I feel that the subject of serial killers, specifically the psychological conditions that drive them to do what they do, is one of interest and will hopefully translate into a unique game that has a vast number of potential options for play.

Phew. Glad to know he’s not actually advocating it.

With that in mind, here’s some footage…

He also notes that the Pre-generated characters based on real serial killer names won’t be in any released version, which is probably just as well, as it’ll leave room for lots of mod content.

Here’s the current character generation. Skip past the start, which is just defining your physical abilities, and go straight to the mental conditions section, where you appear to be able to choose multiple abilities from a list. For example, the example they select is a Vigilante Cannibal who can only actually kill people who are bad people and he… oh, you know. Other interesting ones include Dissociative Personality disorder, which means you have something inside you which forces you to do bad things occasionally – like when I buy a new pack of Skaven before I’ve painted all the old ones, Jim writes another philosophical treatise about bricks or when Alec skins and eats a dude.

There’s also “Insane” which is the sort of heavy-handed lazy bullshit which makes me worry about the person making the game. Frankly, if you want to make a quasi-realistic serial killer game, do the bloody research.

Yeah, I’ve lost my jovial tone as I’ve gone through the post. Just stinks of basic teenage nihilism, bless ‘em. But hey! socially unacceptable teenage nihilistic rogue-likes are pretty much my thing, and if anything’s ever released, I’m sure I’ll do something akin to Rebel Without A Pause-Key with it. Until then, you can follow its development at its thread over at Rogue Temple.

Thanks for Mr Mendes for being the first to contact us about this and Ms Alexander for being the first French speaker within internet-reach.

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118 Comments »

  1. 27/08/2010 at 18:51 kulik says:

    This game got in our forum 800 replies in two days.

  2. 27/08/2010 at 18:54 Freud says:

    Mailing Daily Star.

  3. 27/08/2010 at 18:55 Valient says:

    I would imagine the crazy stuff if the cops take your PC for something silly only to find this game on it. Fox news would be all over you lol.

    I find it disturbing but only because is not my thing, i’m sure others will like it and there is nothing wrong with that, just another thriller.

  4. 27/08/2010 at 19:06 coupsan says:

    It is odd that he would include an insane characteristic in a game about murdering innocent people. The game looks…interesting? I guess?

    • 27/08/2010 at 19:13 PJMendes says:

      The game may be about murdering innocent people, or it could be about just going streaking through the streets (exhibicionist character trait). You could even not murder anyone, be a police officer or something of the kind.
      It’s what you make of it.

    • 28/08/2010 at 10:08 Zogtee says:

      Well, it’s unusual at least. I can’t remember ever seeing a game on this subject before. If it’s real, then maybe it will face some mild controversy, but the limited graphics and distribution will probably take the edge of that.

      Wouldn’t a game like this be too repetitive, though? In your average roguelike, there’s usually some sort of progession, build your (dorf) fortress, gain levels and find the magic sock, or whatever. Would this just be a series of murders? Get a death high score before the coppers get you? The only progression I can think of would be to take on increasingly harder to get targets, but that would be more Hitman than a nutter with a knife. I dunno. I’m not entirely convinced about this one.

    • 28/08/2010 at 10:10 Zogtee says:

      Correction!

      I meant limited *appeal*, not limited distribution, as roguelikes have a limited, but enthusiastic audience.

  5. 27/08/2010 at 19:10 deadpan says:

    I’m really looking forward to the hard-hitting TV news reports on this violent videogame corrupting YOUR CHILDREN and then they show some footage of little ASCII characters clicking around with no sound. It will be beautiful.

    • 27/08/2010 at 23:35 bob_d says:

      Knowing the media, they’ll talk about this game while simultaneously showing some other, more graphically sexy, game or two, perhaps trying to tie the various games together with the theme of “violent games.” The end result will be that all the games shown will be considered serial killer simulations by the uninformed. I’ve seen that exact dynamic happen before, with the end result being that friends of mine were sent angry emails blaming them for projects they weren’t responsible for.

  6. 27/08/2010 at 19:18 Andy_Panthro says:

    Surely since we have games like GTA, Hitman etc. this won’t make too many waves?

    The amount of games where you can randomly (or otherwise) kill vast amounts of (sometimes innocent) people are plentiful.

    Is this any worse than me killing half of Tamriel in the Elder Scrolls games? Does the description of the act (which I imagine will be more graphic than most games visuals) make it terrible despite you not being able to to see anything but ASCII on screen?

    Is this any worse than reading “American Psycho”, because you press a button rather than turn a page?

  7. 27/08/2010 at 19:21 Nick says:

    Yay Talking heads!

  8. 27/08/2010 at 19:22 The Dark One says:

    I hadn’t even finished reading the headline before I heard Nick Mailer’s voice insulting the overredundancy of the French language.

  9. 27/08/2010 at 19:25 Dominic White says:

    The moment this is released, I plan on unleashing a series of ridiculous gimmick killers.

    Starting with: The Alphabet Killer. First, he will kill Albert with an Axe. Then he will kill Bethany with a Bat. Then Clive with a Chainsaw, and so on. Ultimate goal of the game: To reach Z.

    Oh, the fun that will be had.

  10. 27/08/2010 at 19:27 Sigma Draconis says:

    Any bets on which news outlet will attempt to “scoop” this first? Mine’s on the Daily Star, as they’ll try to use this to make up for their GTA: Rothbury blunder. “Look, a game that lets you play as a serial killer! Really! We’re serious this time!”

  11. 27/08/2010 at 19:30 Peterkopf says:

    Wasn’t there a Commodore 64 game that was kinda like this? I got a bit of a flashback watching that. I kinda remember some bad dude running around a neighbourhood killing people (unleashing a bonechilling scream from the C64′s soundchip every time it happened) and then you had to dash to the scene and try to track him down before he killed too many.

    As I recall, the murderer would always be in black, but he was disguised until you either caught him at it, or figured out who it was based on the evidence from the scene. It’s been ages, but that still strikes me as a great idea for a game.

  12. 27/08/2010 at 19:32 Torqual says:

    Whats a cereal killer?

    • 27/08/2010 at 20:58 golden_worm says:

      One who kills in a dreamlike setting, usually with a melting clock or lobster telephone.

      No wait, that a surreal killer.

    • 27/08/2010 at 22:23 Flimgoblin says:

      One who kills people in dark movie theatres, usually strangling with magnetic tape.

      No wait, that’s a showreel killer.

    • 27/08/2010 at 22:37 Bret says:

      A series of short films, each ending in a cliffhanger, with a massive bodycount.

      Wait. Killer Serial, my mistake.

    • 27/08/2010 at 23:55 jarvoll says:

      A snake-like water-dweliing creature that gazes into a crystal ball and delivers such a convincing prediction of your suicide that it comes to pass purely through self-fulfilling prophecy.

      No wait, that’s a seer-eel killer.

    • 28/08/2010 at 00:30 Crane says:

      A person who commits multiple murders by stranding his victims on small deserted islands and napalming them…

      Oh, no, that’s a ‘sear-isle’ killer…

    • 28/08/2010 at 00:36 Kast says:

      One who seeks out feudal lords and poisons their tankard of mead.

      Oh, sorry that’s a ‘sire-ale’ killer.

      (How much further can we take this??)

    • 28/08/2010 at 00:39 Taillefer says:

      One whose modus operandi is to first attempt to publicly bully his victim shortly before killing them with a single shot to the head whilst delivering the line “You’re fired.”

      No wait, that’s a Sir Al Killer.

    • 28/08/2010 at 02:08 Unaco says:

      One who breaks down the killing of his intended victim into several discrete steps, and then carries out those steps simultaneously.

      Wait… no. Sorry, that’s a parallel killer.

    • 28/08/2010 at 02:11 bleeters says:

      Someone who hunts down alphabet deniers, forcing them to accept the truth of organised letters in their final moments.

      Or maybe that was C-real killers.

      ….

    • 28/08/2010 at 02:12 Corporate Dog says:

      Someone who feels the urge to kill every 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.091 seconds.

      Wait. No. That’s a sidereal killer.

    • 28/08/2010 at 02:18 Corporate Dog says:

      A killer who hacks his victims up into discrete bits, and then puts them into storage.

      Wait… sorry. No. That’s a serializable killer.

    • 28/08/2010 at 13:38 Kefren says:

      Someone who smashes packets of Frosties to bits with a claw hammer.
      It really is.

    • 28/08/2010 at 13:41 Zogtee says:

      Cereal Killer was a character in the movie “Hackers”, which is kinda stupid and dated now, but still fun and features a very young and alluring Angelina Jolie, miles away from who she is today.

    • 29/08/2010 at 07:51 Spacewalk says:

      One who is a damage destructor and a crowd disruptor.

      Whoops my bad, that’s a Serial Thrilla.

  13. 27/08/2010 at 19:34 Unaco says:

    Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Interesting idea with the whole Police force chasing you, crime tracking, and a city full of NPC’s with schedules… and all the freedom and emergent gameplay that is likely to come from that. However, I think the serial killer aspect is pretty bad taste, sensationalist, and, as Kieron says, likely to lend itself to heavy handed shock or schlock and probably quite juvenile aspects. If it was sticking to the whole Dexter fan thing, vigilante, only killing bad people aspect, it would probably sit better with me… like a vigilante, pseudo-super-hero simulator… or a super natural sort of thing, were you’re a Vampire or a Werewolf or a ‘demon’ or something, trying to exist and ‘survive’ with the Police or other investigators trying to catch you.

    • 27/08/2010 at 21:01 FunkyBadger says:

      The “only killing bad people” is such a bullshit equivocation though. The best/most-interesting parts of Dexter are where he hints/questions the code and why he adheres to it (as I recall, more from practicality than any morality, which is, of course, completely reasonable for the character).

    • 28/08/2010 at 13:46 Zogtee says:

      Only killing the bad people sounds good, but would be more Batman than nutter with a knife. I think it could be interesting, because it’s so odd. It all depends on how seriously they treat it and if they can (or want to) avoid the stupid and juvenile.

      That said, a roguelike with superheroes who keeps the city safe? Awesome idea. Has it been done? If not, the why not? :D

  14. 27/08/2010 at 19:39 DennisK4 says:

    Sounds cool. I am guessing your weapon of choice will be the hatchet, eh Kieron? Judging by the hatchet job you did on Brad Wardell, you are quite adept at handling just this weapon.

  15. 27/08/2010 at 20:12 Bassism says:

    Man, I am so excited abut this.
    Then I read some comments on the bay12 thread, and realized it’s kind of creepy. Then I watched the video again, and realized that creepy or not, it looks like ridiculous fun. “You hear the sounds of television and laughter to the west.” Brilliant!

    But seriously, how can you develop a DF-inspired roguelike, release gameplay footage, then -not- release a horribly buggy alpha? I mean, c’mon, all the indies are doing it these days!

  16. 27/08/2010 at 20:13 Javier-de-Ass says:

    this is really really really cool. need the night/day cycle, normal day life and fully functioning complete city aswell :O~

  17. 27/08/2010 at 20:50 Jake says:

    The killer’s a literature professor. He cuts off little chunks from his victims’ bodies until they die. He calls himself “the deconstructionist”.

  18. 27/08/2010 at 20:58 Gbroderix says:

    Im going to make a charecter that has a svedeesh accent – Boork Boork Boork!

  19. 27/08/2010 at 21:01 Nimdok says:

    I can dig it; sensationalist escapism fantasy, especially for people who obsess over real-life serial killers. I’ll play it just to create in-game versions of friends and relatives AS the killers and see how they’d fare…

  20. 27/08/2010 at 21:07 Samuel Erikson says:

    “Torqual says:
    August 27, 2010 at 7:32 pm

    Whats a cereal killer?”

    This should answer your question:
    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000498/

  21. 27/08/2010 at 21:10 Redd says:

    I agree. One of the first rules is write what you know, and this really needs a lot more research into the psych side of things as he clearly has little understanding at the moment (aside from, perhaps, an interest in cannibalism).

    To be done right it needs a behind the scenes list of symptoms, with encompassing traits/illnesses presented to the player at creation, should the player wish to choose.

    That way, further down the line, physical and psychological stressors, such as drugs, head injuries and the sheer pressure of killing and remaining uncaught (assuming accrued traits allow playing an organised offender), can apply new symptoms to the character, dynamically but believably changing gameplay and increasing difficulty.

    As it stands it’s Bieber gen hack’n'slash.

    Do want tho’. Do want.

  22. 27/08/2010 at 21:11 Peter Radiator Full Pig says:

    It would be interesting if you could play as a cop chasing down a serial killer, as well. Access to evidence, all that stuff.

    Or a vigilante whos close ones have been attacked by a serial killer.

    In the first instance, you have to follow rules with evidence and such (Maybe with the option to fake it, which also might get hs trial thrown out in cort) but also with powerful detecive tools to help.

    Vigilante doesnt require evidence, but it might be harder to be certain.
    Make it like spy party in that if you kill the wrong person, you lose…

    • 27/08/2010 at 21:47 Deacon Blues says:

      There’s a vigilante option, but going by the description it just prevents you from killing innocent people instead of being a distinct game mode.

      I wonder how the player is supposed to distinguish between good people and bad people? Hopefully it’s more in depth than just labeling certain NPCs “Joe the criminal.”

  23. 27/08/2010 at 21:40 Samuel Erikson says:

    Oh for fuck’s– It seems the second anti-spam CAPTCHA (because of the included link?) broke the reply function.

    Now let’s see if this posts correctly.

  24. 27/08/2010 at 22:15 cockchopper says:

    if you can’t then remove and wear tom grine’s moustache, put on a fat suit and imitate him while you conceal the evidence, i’m not playing.

  25. 27/08/2010 at 22:58 Foxoxox says:

    Hurrah! Intelligent discussion.

    I think a game like this could be fascinating. /could/.

  26. 27/08/2010 at 23:25 Alex Bakke says:

    I could murder a bowl of cornflakes right now.

  27. 28/08/2010 at 00:01 bob nobbs says:

    scary movie the game.

    i hate typing on my phone but we americans love violence and hate sex and we also love gadgets to dstract us from how horrible and shitty our lives our so cool i guess

    the gun is good the penis is evil

  28. 28/08/2010 at 00:22 Arthur Frayn says:

    Go forth, and kill! Zardoz has spoken.

  29. 28/08/2010 at 03:54 DMcCool says:

    Up until I saw the descriptions of the personality traits, this looked rather excellent. Maybe he should get a writer or use wikipedia for that shit, because the rest is comparitavely classy/existentalist, which is the vibe to go for, not Scary Movie, right?

    Can’t win them all, but colour me intrigued.

  30. 28/08/2010 at 05:08 CrimsonKing says:

    “There’s also “Insane” which is the sort of heavy-handed lazy bullshit which makes me worry about the person making the game. Frankly, if you want to make a quasi-realistic serial killer game, do the bloody research.”

    Speaking of laziness and lack of research, perhaps you would have noticed, had you read the video’s description, the part where I say that ALL of the current traits that are listed are merely copy/pasted flavor text taken from my notes, and that all of them are subject to eventual changes.

    It’s not an ultra-realistic serial killing simulation, meticulously detailing EVERY psychological aspect of actual killers, with text book definitions. It would take me, amateur programmer that I am, years to work out how to implement the finer details of such a simulation.

    The psychological aspects will be greatly simplified, due to time constraints as well as various game play reasons.

    • 28/08/2010 at 06:24 qrter says:

      You’re on the dev’s black list now, Kieron! Time to bolt those doors and load those shotguns!

    • 28/08/2010 at 06:32 Redd says:

      He just wants to secure an appearance in the game, à la Subversion. Strangled with his own tights in a 16×16 pixel bathtub.

    • 28/08/2010 at 10:50 Gwyn says:

      There’s no need to get so touchy. We all know this will never reach a playable state.

      Enjoy your internet fame while it lasts, though.

    • 28/08/2010 at 11:31 Kieron Gillen says:

      What you said was “I’ll probably change most of them” which isn’t saying you realise they’re actually nonsense and you’ll change them.

      My point still stands and is supported by your comment. You’re much more interested in simulating accurately all those layers of flesh than even trying to engage with the real issue with serial killers – which is the layers of psychology. That you even wrote this in your notebook, put it into your early game and then *decided to show the world* says everything.

      And dude! This is absolutely the response you were looking for. Relax.

      KG

  31. 28/08/2010 at 08:10 BardWradell says:

    Speaking of laziness and lack of research, perhaps you would have noticed, had you read the video’s description, the part where I say that ALL of the current traits that are listed are merely copy/pasted flavor text taken from my notes, and that all of them are subject to eventual changes.

    Nah they don’t do research or uphold any type of journalistic standards here. The tabloid and Kotaku type stuff gets them more page hits, you see.

  32. 28/08/2010 at 09:31 ffordesoon says:

    A serial killer roguelike? That is creepy and amazing and I NEED.

  33. 28/08/2010 at 09:38 Warg says:

    Serial Killer game = plusgood, stupid “ASCII gfx is gfx, too” trend = stupid.

    Similiar to postal, I’d say this needs to be elevated to a higher level visually / engine / mechanics wise, but what an intriguing core concept.

    I would like to encourage the world of gaming devs to go more down the “deviant” route as opposed to the knight in shining armor done-to-death stuff.

    Also, RPS was right in pointing out the Bill Of Rights vs completely broken game hypocrisy and no two ways about it.
    If you sell a game that crashes when you press “New game”, THEN IT’S NOT A FINISHED GAME. And your QA sucks.
    Don’t pretend it’s a personal crusade if a gaming journalist uses his blogging powers of freedom to point out what he perceives as a wee bit wonky logic on behalf of a publisher/dev/whatever(“You all deserve finished products! I just never said from me!”.

    –

    BTW – where is Shank for PC?

    • 28/08/2010 at 10:31 DeepSleeper says:

      Find me that tree icon on an ASCII chart.

      Just because it’s using an @ as a representation for the player does not make it an ASCII-graphics game. You could not play this on a text terminal.

      No wonder you’re defending them, you don’t research either.

    • 28/08/2010 at 13:05 Warg says:

      Two mentions referring to these gfx as ASCII and on mine you pick.

      Quite frankly I would call it whatever else if there IS a common and applicable term for it.
      Given that you know what I mean and also that I was not using the term in terms of compatibility or techinical definition but rather visual look, you are clearly just being obtuse/obnoxious on purpose / for your own purposes.

      I’ll gladly replace the term with whatever is correct, if someone would actually supply a common-ground-for-all-applicable definition and terminology. The fact that YOU weren’t able to simply supply the term yourself, either, seems to suggest there isn’t as shining clear a term for it as you suggest with your “you don’t do research”.
      Googling “dwarf fortress” “graphics engine” does not exactly yield tagged and titled results, just mentions of it as graphics engine, and that’s it.
      Nor have I particularly come across outspoken coined terms or franchise names for it yet.
      So yes, I did look this up, and I have been to the DF forums before even, but as I said, since it seems you’re just being a jacka** on purpose there’s likely little point to all this.

      Other than that, my point stands.

    • 28/08/2010 at 13:06 Warg says:

      Two PRIOR mentions of ASCII before this one’s, I mean. Not two including mine, but before mine already.

    • 28/08/2010 at 13:22 Warg says:

      Looked some more into this.
      Fullwiki actually refers to this as:
      “Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress is a freeware fantasy game combining the ASCII graphics of a Roguelike with the gameplay elements of a real-time strategy game”

      So. You were saying?

  34. 28/08/2010 at 10:50 Antlia says:

    A muscular killer who shoots his victims with oversized minigun.

    No wait, that’s serious killer.

  35. 28/08/2010 at 12:07 Longrat says:

    While I’m a roguelike fan and I highly enjoy the goretastic adventure mode which mostly involves sending off limbs in flying bloody arcs, this game seems a bit too malicious for me. It’s one thing murdering goblins, it’s quite another going after fat guys just sitting at home and watching tv

    • 28/08/2010 at 13:08 Warg says:

      Having watched “Gamer”, that should be / for me is exactly the type of person I would love to see dead.

      Several layers of self-referential irony included. :D

  36. 28/08/2010 at 15:42 CrimsonKing says:

    Sorry if I came across as rude in my last comment, but I never claimed that this was going to be a point for point simulation of serial murder, or that the psychological traits would (or should) accurately mirror their real life counterparts in my game. It seems to me, based on the feedback I’ve received thus far, that most people want a degree of dark humor in the game. That’s what I’m going for. Apologies if you are expecting a hard core psychological simulation, but that simply won’t be the case. I should have clarified that fact in my last post.

    In addition to the gruesome things that you can do, I want people, in game, to be doing all sorts of insanely campy things. I want them to cut off their own arms and attach hooks to them. I want them to see LP’s where they stalk and attack the same guy with a spoon countless times over (and at the worst of times) without being caught.

    And keep in mind that it’s a project that began with no clear design goals (and I, initially, was not going to release it anyway), that I’m (obviously) not a professional game designer and that this is the first complex game that I have worked on! And yes, you are correct in that my initial focus has been on the combat. All I really wanted to do from the start was have a game with similar (but more descriptive) combat mechanics than DF, and that evolved into using the system for a game based on Dexter.

    All that said, I do appreciate that you guys posted an article about my little game on your website.

    • 28/08/2010 at 15:49 Kieron Gillen says:

      Don’t worry man – I’d just keep your head down and carry on working on it in your own way. You should definitely get used to people saying stuff like that though – because if you end up releasing it, you’ll almost certainly be getting a lot of it. Good luck.

      KG

    • 28/08/2010 at 19:08 Five says:

      I wasn’t even sure it was real, but now i’m sold on the hooks for hands…

  37. 28/08/2010 at 16:35 Wrongshui says:

    At first I thought this was atrocious.

    Then I remembered that time I left an axe in a human childs head and looted its mothers corpse while it ran around and bled to death.

    I need to try the latest version of dwarf fortress…

  38. 28/08/2010 at 17:36 Jack the Rapper says:

    I will play this game to death.

  39. 28/08/2010 at 17:52 Redd says:

    “I’ve decided to cut back some of the features I was going to add to the alpha (mostly to do with the NPC’s and their reactions) due to the overwhelming response that I’ve had. The game is a hot topic at the moment and it would be folly not to seize on that by getting it out there ASAP.”

    http://www.roguetemple.com/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=17dd6f3203b9b3820756909aa9a83026&topic=1298.msg8865#msg8865

  40. 28/08/2010 at 18:29 geldonyetich says:

    It’s nice looking engine and I like the meticulousness of the detail. It is, however, a little dicey as to whether the genre of simulated serial killing is a healthy or productive genre to develop for.

  41. 28/08/2010 at 18:52 psyk says:

    So an ascii game where you can piss/shit on/in people so far with a lot more violence to come is better than postal how exactly? seems a lot less anger/hate in this thread.

  42. 28/08/2010 at 19:54 Tilla says:

    I don’t remember anyone non-retarded hating on Postal that much, except when it became a bad game (dear god the load times in Postal 2)

  43. 28/08/2010 at 22:25 The Walker says:

    This game needs adversarial multiplayer.

  44. 28/08/2010 at 23:51 Tilla says:

    Holy crap check the YouTube profile of the dude: The entire thing was a hoax! Comments have been disabled on the videos and a big comment left. Damn.

    Now someone has to get the balls together to make it real!

    • 29/08/2010 at 01:01 Redd says:

      I don’t believe for a second that this new story is true. Beating a retreat into safety under a shield of lies is more like it.

  45. 29/08/2010 at 01:14 Martin Kingsley says:

    So. Latest news over at the Bay12 forums indicates this was, in fact, one huge troll. http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=64522.msg1521281#msg1521281

  46. 29/08/2010 at 04:22 Al3xand3r says:

    That sucks if it’s true Martin. Perhaps it will at least inspire someone to develop one such roguelike for real. Or even something more mainstream, using an engine similar to Introversion’s new thing…

    • 29/08/2010 at 05:56 Martin Kingsley says:

      Aye, Alex, that it does. Was it a twisted concept, at heart? Absolutely. Was I entirely intrigued? Definitely. Which begs the question: are there other modern-setting, modern-thinking roguelikes in existence that combine the system-overlapping-system style of Dwarf Fortress with alternate settings or narrative frameworks? Anybody? I can only recall the Doom RL, which is pretty great. Maybe it’s time for an RPS best-of-RL round-up?

  47. 29/08/2010 at 06:13 Molik says:

    I’ve been watching this unfold since he first announced the game. I think that he didn’t expect the huge response and controversy that his game set off. He said this is his first game. I think the pressure got to him. The things he posted on Youtube account are also highly strange. He claims that it was an experiment then quickly changes his story to say he is actually a troll.

    And others have pointed out that if he wanted to generate controversy why didn’t he just make a video with really, REALLY disturbing things in it like rape and full blown torture.

  48. 29/08/2010 at 08:43 panther says:

    Weird he went from being quite genuine, to then saying it was all for an assignment, then to finally just saying it was a troll.

    This is an interesting quote from the “creator” Crimson/SK maker

    “Quote from: SKRoguelike
    Or maybe, just maybe, I had an idea for a game that I didn’t have the skills to make. Maybe I figured I’d pretend to make it. Give a bunch of idea’s cloaked as features. Then maybe I figured I’d piss everyone off by telling them it’s all bullshit.

    Then maybe someone would actually make the game just to spite me.”

  49. 10/10/2010 at 10:52 Tei says:

    We got trolled by … Good Old Games!.

    Wait.. wrong thread.

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