Dungeons of Dredmor
Encyclopedia
Dungeons of Dredmor is a roguelike
indie game
by Gaslamp Games
. The game features tile-based
graphics.
entering a hostile dungeon crawl
er environment. The player enters a dungeon at the top floor and gradually progresses down through levels of increasing difficulty. Each level is a randomly generated
maze of interconnected rooms, filled with monsters, traps, loot
, and various objects. The game world is laid out in a tile-based
square grid viewed from a top-down perspective, where the player, enemies, and various items and objects occupy discrete squares. The game is turn-based, and both the player and numerous enemies take turns performing actions. Each turn the player may move to or attack monsters in adjacent squares, pick up, drop, and use items, and interact with various in-game objects.
As a role-playing game
, the player has several character statistics
that determine their effectiveness in various aspects of gameplay. The player begins the game with 7 chosen skills, which may be further improved as the player gains experience levels. The combat focuses on melee, ranged, and magic attacks, as well as use of items and skills. Weapons and equipment can be worn to improve player's defences and abilities. The player carries an inventory of items, which can include various foods, drinks, potions, crafting materials, etc.
.
and 80.50% at GameRankings.
Alec Meer of Rock, Paper, Shotgun
notes how the game's complexity and heavy reliance on the random aspect makes it unbalanced and unpredictable. He notes that careful strategy has to be employed; and ends that Dungeons of Dredmor is "genuinely, a fantastic game" albeit with minor interface
issues. Jordan Baughman of GamesRadar
calls the game a "competent roguelike" and points out that the game requires careful strategy. He notes the game's humor sets it apart other roguelikes, but criticizes inventory management. Adam Biessener of Game Informer
calls the game a "fun, accessible, lighthearted dungeon crawl". He notes that the game does not innovate outside the bounds of the genre, but manages to excel at certain aspects. He also remarks on the game's humor and level of detail. Nathan Meunier of IGN
calls the game challenging, but also notes it is easy to get into with adjusted difficulty settings. He also praises its game's humor and replayability. Jason Wilson of GamePro
praises the game's simple starting setup and calls the game's combat "simple yet deep". While he sees the game's difficulty as a good feature, he also comments on balance issues. Josh McIllwain of Ars Technica
notes that the game's "wicked sense of humor" sets it apart from other roguelike games. He also points out the difficulty and calls the game "brutal and unforgiving". Alicia Ashby of Gamezebo
notes that the game's humor distinguishes it from other roguelike games.
Roguelike
The roguelike is a sub-genre of role-playing video games, characterized by randomization for replayability, permanent death, and turn-based movement. Most roguelikes feature ASCII graphics, with newer ones increasingly offering tile-based graphics. Games are typically dungeon crawls, with many...
indie game
Indie game
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...
by Gaslamp Games
Gaslamp Games
Gaslamp Games, Inc. is a small, independent software development company based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada currently designing video games for the Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems....
. The game features tile-based
Tile-based video game
A tile-based video game is a type of video or computer game where the playing area consists of small rectangular, square, or hexagonal graphic images, referred to as tiles. The complete set of tiles available for use in a playing area is called a tileset...
graphics.
Gameplay
The game starts as the player assumes the role of the game's main characterPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
entering a hostile dungeon crawl
Dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment, battling various monsters, and looting any treasure they may find...
er environment. The player enters a dungeon at the top floor and gradually progresses down through levels of increasing difficulty. Each level is a randomly generated
Procedural generation
Procedural generation is a widely used term in the production of media; it refers to content generated algorithmically rather than manually. Often, this means creating content on the fly rather than prior to distribution...
maze of interconnected rooms, filled with monsters, traps, loot
Looting (gaming)
Looting in a gaming context, specifically in massively multiplayer online games and MUDs, is the process by which a player character obtains items such as in-game currency, spells, equipment, or weapons, often from the corpse of a creature or possibly the corpse of another player in a PVP situation...
, and various objects. The game world is laid out in a tile-based
Tile-based video game
A tile-based video game is a type of video or computer game where the playing area consists of small rectangular, square, or hexagonal graphic images, referred to as tiles. The complete set of tiles available for use in a playing area is called a tileset...
square grid viewed from a top-down perspective, where the player, enemies, and various items and objects occupy discrete squares. The game is turn-based, and both the player and numerous enemies take turns performing actions. Each turn the player may move to or attack monsters in adjacent squares, pick up, drop, and use items, and interact with various in-game objects.
As a role-playing game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
, the player has several character statistics
Statistic (role-playing games)
A statistic in role-playing games is a piece of data which represents a particular aspect of a fictional character. That piece of data is usually a integer or, in some cases, a set of dice....
that determine their effectiveness in various aspects of gameplay. The player begins the game with 7 chosen skills, which may be further improved as the player gains experience levels. The combat focuses on melee, ranged, and magic attacks, as well as use of items and skills. Weapons and equipment can be worn to improve player's defences and abilities. The player carries an inventory of items, which can include various foods, drinks, potions, crafting materials, etc.
Development
In an interview with RPGWatch, game's artist David Baumgart explains that the game is based on a "immature build of a humorous roguelike game" that the game's programmer Nicholas Vining had been working on since 2006. He also notes that the game's art sets the game apart from traditional roguelikes that feature ASCII graphicsASCII art
ASCII art is a graphic design technique that uses computers for presentation and consists of pictures pieced together from the 95 printable characters defined by the ASCII Standard from 1963 and ASCII compliant character sets with proprietary extended characters...
.
Reception
Critics have generally given the game high scores, and as of August 7, 2011 it holds a 80/100 score at MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and 80.50% at GameRankings.
Alec Meer of Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Rock, Paper, Shotgun is a UK-based PC gaming blog written by Alec Meer, Jim Rossignol, John Walker, and previously Kieron Gillen and Quintin Smith. Rock, Paper, Shotgun launched in July 2007. In 2010 the website partnered with Eurogamer...
notes how the game's complexity and heavy reliance on the random aspect makes it unbalanced and unpredictable. He notes that careful strategy has to be employed; and ends that Dungeons of Dredmor is "genuinely, a fantastic game" albeit with minor interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
issues. Jordan Baughman of GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
calls the game a "competent roguelike" and points out that the game requires careful strategy. He notes the game's humor sets it apart other roguelikes, but criticizes inventory management. Adam Biessener of Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
calls the game a "fun, accessible, lighthearted dungeon crawl". He notes that the game does not innovate outside the bounds of the genre, but manages to excel at certain aspects. He also remarks on the game's humor and level of detail. Nathan Meunier of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
calls the game challenging, but also notes it is easy to get into with adjusted difficulty settings. He also praises its game's humor and replayability. Jason Wilson of GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
praises the game's simple starting setup and calls the game's combat "simple yet deep". While he sees the game's difficulty as a good feature, he also comments on balance issues. Josh McIllwain of Ars Technica
Ars Technica
Ars Technica is a technology news and information website created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, science, technology policy, and video games. Ars Technica is known for its features, long articles that go...
notes that the game's "wicked sense of humor" sets it apart from other roguelike games. He also points out the difficulty and calls the game "brutal and unforgiving". Alicia Ashby of Gamezebo
Gamezebo
Gamezebo is a website that focuses on editorial coverage of the casual games industry, offering interviews, features, reviews, previews, strategy guides, news and podcasts....
notes that the game's humor distinguishes it from other roguelike games.