Din's Curse
Encyclopedia
Din's Curse is an action role-playing game by independent developer Soldak Entertainment
. It was officially released March 31, 2010, for the Windows
and Mac OS X
platforms. The retail game was published October 3, 2010, by Masque Publishing. This game evolved from the Depths of Peril
game engine and story universe.
with a point-and-click hack-and-slash style, but contains additional dynamic elements and events: Real Time rendering
3D computer graphics
, 141 possible class combinations, an infinite number of dynamically generated towns, plot consequences in the game that are directly dependent on the player's actions, and a dynamic, evolving game world.
In the game, the player is required to explore randomly generated undergrounds of varying sizes and layouts, killing monsters and solving quests, while improving the character by gaining experience points and acquiring better equipment. The game world keeps on changing in the background, both according to and independently of the player's actions, resulting in events such as monster uprisings in the dungeons, sudden plagues, or invasions of the town.
Players have an option to set the difficulty of the game worlds that get created. Options include slowing or quickening the pace by which events unfold, adjusting the starting level of the monsters, and playing at various modes of difficulty from Easy (low experience gain) to Hardcore (character's death is permanent).
If the player fails to accomplish quests on time, a few things can happen: Someone else (a game engine generated NPC) could attempt and succeed, or attempt and fail (in which case a rescue quest might be spawned), or the monsters could advance their goals towards destroying the town. With many quests to juggle, plus the need to ward off the occasional foray into town by monster raiding parties or assassins, the player is kept on their toes.
When too many things go wrong, the inevitable tide of monsters will surge into town. Once too many of the townsfolk get slaughtered, the player fails the overall quest of saving the town. On the other hand, if the player is able to keep things under control and with enough key quests solved, the town gets saved and the player gets rewarded with loot and the option of continuing onto the next town (the next world level), a step in the direction towards gaining Din's favor and winning redemption (i.e. winning the game).
To connect to a server, one can create a server on a LAN
, or the Internet
. Like in the singleplayer game, the game world is generated randomly and events unfold as time passes, except players can help each other accomplish the tasks at hand.
has also released a modding SDK
for Din's Curse. The mod allows players to directly impact the way the game is played, from basic things such as raising or lowering the game difficulty to changing game dynamics (e.g. lowering or increasing damage done/taken, removing spiders from the game for those with arachnophobia
).
Soldak Entertainment
Soldak Entertainment is a small independent company that was founded by Steven Peeler on November 22, 2004. The company released Windows Depths of Peril on September 5, 2007, followed by a Mac version of the game on June 6, 2008...
. It was officially released March 31, 2010, for the Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
platforms. The retail game was published October 3, 2010, by Masque Publishing. This game evolved from the Depths of Peril
Depths of Peril
Depths of Peril is a fantasy, single player action RPG computer game. It was developed by Soldak Entertainment and was released on September 5, 2007. Depths of Peril is set in the fictional lands of Aleria. In the game, the protagonist is a faction leader in the barbarian city of Jorvik...
game engine and story universe.
Gameplay
Din's Curse is a singleplayer and co-op multiplayer action RPG. It is a game in the mold of classics like DiabloDiablo (video game)
Diablo is a dark fantasy-themed action role-playing game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment on December 31, 1996....
with a point-and-click hack-and-slash style, but contains additional dynamic elements and events: Real Time rendering
Real Time rendering
Real-time rendering is one of the interactive areas of computer graphics, it means creating synthetic images fast enough on the computer so that the viewer can interact with a virtual environment. The most common place to find real-time rendering is in video games. The rate at which images are...
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
, 141 possible class combinations, an infinite number of dynamically generated towns, plot consequences in the game that are directly dependent on the player's actions, and a dynamic, evolving game world.
In the game, the player is required to explore randomly generated undergrounds of varying sizes and layouts, killing monsters and solving quests, while improving the character by gaining experience points and acquiring better equipment. The game world keeps on changing in the background, both according to and independently of the player's actions, resulting in events such as monster uprisings in the dungeons, sudden plagues, or invasions of the town.
Players have an option to set the difficulty of the game worlds that get created. Options include slowing or quickening the pace by which events unfold, adjusting the starting level of the monsters, and playing at various modes of difficulty from Easy (low experience gain) to Hardcore (character's death is permanent).
Singleplayer
The game world (the town and dungeons in which the mayhem is occurring) is always randomly generated before each new world level begins. Once into the world (which is really a town sitting on top of labyrinthine dungeon levels), the player must quickly go about his business killing monsters and solving quests before the monsters begin to gather their forces to attack the town.If the player fails to accomplish quests on time, a few things can happen: Someone else (a game engine generated NPC) could attempt and succeed, or attempt and fail (in which case a rescue quest might be spawned), or the monsters could advance their goals towards destroying the town. With many quests to juggle, plus the need to ward off the occasional foray into town by monster raiding parties or assassins, the player is kept on their toes.
When too many things go wrong, the inevitable tide of monsters will surge into town. Once too many of the townsfolk get slaughtered, the player fails the overall quest of saving the town. On the other hand, if the player is able to keep things under control and with enough key quests solved, the town gets saved and the player gets rewarded with loot and the option of continuing onto the next town (the next world level), a step in the direction towards gaining Din's favor and winning redemption (i.e. winning the game).
Multiplayer
The multiplayer feature allows players to play cooperatively on the same server, hosted by one of the players. What is unique to about this feature is that there is no limit to the number of multiplayer connections that can be made; that is, any number of people can play cooperatively.To connect to a server, one can create a server on a LAN
Län
Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....
, or the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Like in the singleplayer game, the game world is generated randomly and events unfold as time passes, except players can help each other accomplish the tasks at hand.
Plot
Players take on the role of an anti-hero, seeking redemption. Din, champion of the gods, has cursed the player's character into a second life of service because of having selfishly squandered the first life causing misfortune to everyone else. To gain redemption, the character must impress Din by building a reputation for helping others. The character must travel in the world of Aleria from town to desperate town to save them from the brink of annihilation by monsters welling up from the deep. Until then, the character is doomed to wander alone for all eternity.Modding
Along with the game, Soldak EntertainmentSoldak Entertainment
Soldak Entertainment is a small independent company that was founded by Steven Peeler on November 22, 2004. The company released Windows Depths of Peril on September 5, 2007, followed by a Mac version of the game on June 6, 2008...
has also released a modding SDK
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
for Din's Curse. The mod allows players to directly impact the way the game is played, from basic things such as raising or lowering the game difficulty to changing game dynamics (e.g. lowering or increasing damage done/taken, removing spiders from the game for those with arachnophobia
Arachnophobia
Arachnophobia or arachnephobia is a specific phobia, the fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions. It is a manifestation of zoophobia, among the most common of all phobias. The reactions of arachnophobics often seem irrational to others...
).