Home » Technology » Designing New Games » ASCII your Question, and I will ANSWR

ASCII your Question, and I will ANSWR

© Joe Jeskiewicz

Let me open your eyes, gamers, to a type of game that begs to be exploited, in my opinion. The Rogue Type Games. If you don't know what a Rogue type game is then you should find out. They've been around for a good while, they are small, simple to play, difficult to conquer.

Rogue, NetHack, AngBand, Moria, and many others with a variety of names are all Role Playing Games that use simple ASCII code to lead us through an adventure. Along the way we gather treasure, experience, and a few hours of fun before we die. And if you are like me, you die often an much sooner than a few hours. (Sometimes in a few minutes).

"But these games are already made!" you shout defiantly.

Yes, they are but they are sometimes accompanied with some source code to make modifications and add more to the games, so that in this way you can begin to make a game your own. If you don't know programming, then perhaps you should find another type of game to make.

But if you are up to the task of figuring out the language and code and want to develop an existing game into something unique to you then go for it. If your like me, then you are a below average programming interested in making a fun game for at least yourself.

I have been trying hard and I've realized a few things. The first thing I realized is that I need to know more about programming. I keep running out of Stack space and memory. I need to learn how to use either multiple files or learn commands to alter my system while the program is running (I'm only using BASIC).

Another thing I've realized is that you have to figure out a lot of things before you get into the process of making the game. Such as: How does one get a character to move around the screen and leave behind an empty space instead of a ghost. I have in part figured this out but not to perfection. How does one make a random maze where the character is closed into a little hole in the corner with no where to go. I'm still working on this one.

You see I have never looked at the source code to Rogue or other game. I figure things out on my own to help myself learn better. But however you learn is good for you.

The copyright of the article ASCII your Question, and I will ANSWR in Designing New Games is owned by Joe Jeskiewicz. Permission to republish ASCII your Question, and I will ANSWR in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.