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Spelunky - A Roguelike Platformer! (New Version Out!)

GoffGoff Registered User regular
edited March 2010 in Games and Technology
Yeah, you read that right. It's also freeware. Spelunky is a platform game, but the levels are randomly generated. It's also got a nice old-school La-Mulana vibe. It's also lots of fun!

spelunky_screen.png

What really impresses me about this game is that it's got the feel of a rogue-like while playing like a platform game. Every time you die (and you will die a lot), you know the death was your fault. Most every run-through, you learn some new mechanic that will help you the next time. Bit by bit, you get further and further. It also has the random-ness of the encounters of roguelikes - you throw a pot at a spider, it triggers an arrow trap, the arrow shoots the girl you are trying to save....etc.

There's lots of wacky items to find, treasure to search for, and giant boulders to run from. Go at it! (** Now updated to version 0.99, with extra shortcut and other new material!)

SC2 id: quine.944 (North America)
Goff on
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Posts

  • SixSix Caches Tweets in the mainframe cyberhex Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    This sounds incredibly interesting, but it's blocked form work so I can't play it so now I hate you.*

    *I don't hate you.

    Six on
    can you feel the struggle within?
  • SueveSueve Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    sounds very cool, ill try it out in a bit

    if people it alot, you should make a post on the indie games thread so it gets saved

    Sueve on
  • GoffGoff Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Six wrote: »
    This sounds incredibly interesting, but it's blocked form work so I can't play it so now I hate you.*

    *I don't hate you.

    I can never understand how work places choose which sites to block. Perhaps independent games are close to independent films which are close to pornography?

    Goff on
    SC2 id: quine.944 (North America)
  • CrashmoCrashmo Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Downloading! Can't play until after work, though. Blargh!

    Crashmo on
    polar-bearsig.jpg
  • TaminTamin Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Goff wrote: »
    Six wrote: »
    This sounds incredibly interesting, but it's blocked form work so I can't play it so now I hate you.*

    *I don't hate you.

    I can never understand how work places choose which sites to block. Perhaps independent games are close to independent films which are close to pornography?

    Likely the filter is screwy. From what I understand of the one at the library, it 'reads' the page, looking for specific words, and if they are found, it blocks the site. Of course, it's broken all to hell, because it's let me see the word 'fuck', but not ... well, I don't know, because they'd've been blocked. Now I have the password, so all is good.

    Game looks fun, will try.

    Tamin on
  • SixSix Caches Tweets in the mainframe cyberhex Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Goff wrote: »
    Six wrote: »
    This sounds incredibly interesting, but it's blocked form work so I can't play it so now I hate you.*

    *I don't hate you.

    I can never understand how work places choose which sites to block. Perhaps independent games are close to independent films which are close to pornography?

    Many use software which is semi-automated for this kind of thing, using a combination of centralized block lists, keyword filtering in URLs, and manual entries.

    In any event, i can't get to wherever this game is hosted.

    Six on
    can you feel the struggle within?
  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2008
    Really enjoying this so far.

    One of the things I hate about Rogue-likes is coming across something and having no idea what to do with it.

    So far, I have no idea what to do with the women you find in the cave, nor any idea of what to do with locked chests.

    However, falling in a booby trap is fun.

    I picked up an Indiana Jones style golden skull and wait for the inevitable crushing boulder. I wait. I wait another second. Then I blow a hole in the ground figuring that will stop it if it comes.

    The boulder smashes out of a wall, clears the pit, and utterly destroys me.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5IRc9uPANo&fmt=18

    Sheep on
  • GoffGoff Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Sheep wrote: »
    Really enjoying this so far.

    One of the things I hate about Rogue-likes is coming across something and having no idea what to do with it.

    So far, I have no idea what to do with the women you find in the cave, nor any idea of what to do with locked chests.

    For the women:
    Just take them with you to the exit - if they're still alive, they'll kiss you, giving +1 heart.

    For the chests:
    Find a key :)

    Goff on
    SC2 id: quine.944 (North America)
  • MordrackMordrack Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Sheep wrote: »
    So far, I have no idea what to do with the women you find in the cave
    Bring her to the level exit door to save her. I think rescuing her either opens up or lowers the cost of the kissing shop.

    Edit: Beat'n like a redheaded stepchild.

    Mordrack on
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  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2008
    Goff wrote: »
    Sheep wrote: »
    Really enjoying this so far.

    One of the things I hate about Rogue-likes is coming across something and having no idea what to do with it.

    So far, I have no idea what to do with the women you find in the cave, nor any idea of what to do with locked chests.

    For the women:
    Just take them with you to the exit - if they're still alive, they'll kiss you, giving +1 heart.

    For the chests:
    Find a key :)

    *slaps forehead*

    I knew that was a stupid question.

    Sheep on
  • GoffGoff Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Woot! Completed my first shortcut.

    Goff on
    SC2 id: quine.944 (North America)
  • DrezDrez Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    I guess it's based on Spelunker by Broderbund, which is one of the hardest, most unforgiving platformers of my youth.

    Drez on
    Switch: SW-7690-2320-9238Steam/PSN/Xbox: Drezdar
  • FoodFood Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    This game is awesome. I still haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet, but I did clear one cave before falling off a cliff and landing on top of a giant spider.

    Food on
  • 4rch3nemy4rch3nemy Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    I'd love to play it but it crashes immediately as I try to open it. I don't get anything, just an error message. Oh well.. you guys can iron out the bugs and I'll reap the rewards. MUAHAH

    4rch3nemy on
  • KlorgnumKlorgnum Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but the creator of Spelunky, Derek Yu, is one of the guys behind Aquaria and Eternal Daughter, both of which are fantastic games.

    Klorgnum on
  • BlueBlueBlueBlue Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Drez wrote: »
    I guess it's based on Spelunker by Broderbund, which is one of the hardest, most unforgiving platformers of my youth.

    A game whose defining characteristic was "you die a lot" was just begging to be made more rogue-y.

    BlueBlue on
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  • Brainiac 8Brainiac 8 Don't call me Shirley... Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    This looks great, I'll need to download this later and give it a shot.

    Brainiac 8 on
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  • GoffGoff Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    The first four levels aren't too bad, difficulty-wise. If there's a difficult jump or enemy you don't want to deal with, you can usually find a way around using the bombs or ropes; this is part of the reason I like the game so much.

    Goff on
    SC2 id: quine.944 (North America)
  • BehemothBehemoth Compulsive Seashell Collector Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    This is pretty awesome.

    Very happy it actually lets you reconfigure the keys! Too many indy games don't let you do that and stick you with some unusable or uncomfortable configuration.

    Behemoth on
    iQbUbQsZXyt8I.png
  • BlueDestinyBlueDestiny Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    This is like a late Christmas gift. Two great tastes that taste great together!

    BlueDestiny on
  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2008
    YOU GOT ROGUE LIKE IN MY PLATFORMER!

    Sheep on
  • BehemothBehemoth Compulsive Seashell Collector Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Sheep wrote: »
    YOU GOT ROGUE LIKE IN MY PLATFORMER!

    YOU GOT PLATFORMER IN MY ROGUELIKE!

    Behemoth on
    iQbUbQsZXyt8I.png
  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    This here is pretty sweet.

    Burtletoy on
  • redraptorredraptor Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Shopkeeper is a motherfucker.
    Walked into the store dropped my flare, and accidentally stole something. He whips out a shotgun and chases me, trips over the flare and dies. Shotgun is awesome, and I get pretty far by throwing it to trip dart traps and blasting enemies.
    The shopkeeper is WAITING for you at the end of the next level. With a new gun. Shoots me in the face.

    I've died like 30 times in maybe an hour. It's definately a roguelike.

    redraptor on
  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Climbing Gloves are the shit for $15000.

    Edit: FUCK!

    Burtletoy on
  • GoffGoff Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    redraptor wrote: »
    Shopkeeper is a motherfucker.

    It definitely wouldn't be a roguelike without bastard cheating shopkeepers :)

    Goff on
    SC2 id: quine.944 (North America)
  • redraptorredraptor Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    What happens if you stay on a level too long?

    I've gotten the message that you should hurry up, but nothing has happened yet.

    redraptor on
  • NerdtendoNerdtendo Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    I honestly believe that just about every video game genre can be improved by encorporating the roguelike genre into it. I've seen the classic, RTS (Dwarf Fortress), a sort of space game, and now this platformer (which I'm trying out over the next two days, Elona's keeping me busy too).

    I want an FPS so friggin bad. Randomly generated levels with loads of enemies for you to blow away, skills to level, and money and weapons to obtain.

    Next: A text based platformer, that relies on reflexes. Imagine Super Mario Brothers played as a text based game.

    >stomp goobma
    Stomp what?
    The goomba touches you, you die.
    >stomp goFUCK

    Nerdtendo on
    IHZR47b.png
  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    redraptor wrote: »
    What happens if you stay on a level too long?

    I've gotten the message that you should hurry up, but nothing has happened yet.

    Ghosts appear and home after you through walls and you can't whip them and they are insta kills.

    Burtletoy on
  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Alright, I got springy feet and some eye thing that lets me see jewels through walls, give me 5 min and I bet I'm dead.


    ...fucking spider.

    Burtletoy on
  • VerrVerr Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Fuck you monkies! Fuck you! :x

    Verr on
  • redraptorredraptor Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    It's pretty crazy that with all the randomly generated stuff mixed with a platformer I've only been trapped with no escape once, and it was completely my fault.

    redraptor on
  • TheCrumblyCrackerTheCrumblyCracker Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    I got the eye of ulak? Then I died!

    TheCrumblyCracker on
  • GoffGoff Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    redraptor wrote: »
    It's pretty crazy that with all the randomly generated stuff mixed with a platformer I've only been trapped with no escape once, and it was completely my fault.

    Yeah, when I first read about this, I was worried that there would be lots of levels which would be impossible to finish, but that certainly isn't the case. What did you do to get trapped?

    Goff on
    SC2 id: quine.944 (North America)
  • redraptorredraptor Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Goff wrote: »
    redraptor wrote: »
    It's pretty crazy that with all the randomly generated stuff mixed with a platformer I've only been trapped with no escape once, and it was completely my fault.

    Yeah, when I first read about this, I was worried that there would be lots of levels which would be impossible to finish, but that certainly isn't the case. What did you do to get trapped?

    A boulder rolled over the one exit to the subarea I was in (just a hole I needed to drop through to get to the door) and I botched my bomb tosses to blow my way out.

    Kind of cruel for the boulder to stop there but the way to fix it was clearly in my hands. I probably could have worked around it if I had ropes left too.

    Also I've killed the girls your supposed to rescue roughly 15 different times. Dart traps, barbarians, spikes, grabbing the golden idol in panic and letting them get crushed by boulders etc.

    redraptor on
  • The CheeseThe Cheese Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    This game is awesome. I finally got my hands on a key and found the chest I had to open and then a skeleton came to life and destroyed me. Can I turn off the sound?

    The Cheese on
  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited December 2008
    M turns off the music.

    Sheep on
  • jothkijothki Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Goff wrote: »
    redraptor wrote: »
    Shopkeeper is a motherfucker.

    It definitely wouldn't be a roguelike without bastard cheating shopkeepers :)

    I just managed to get a boulder to roll directly into a shop, killing the shopkeeper but leaving most of his merchandise intact, including a pickaxe and springy boots.
    It then bounced back and killed me.

    jothki on
  • TheCrumblyCrackerTheCrumblyCracker Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    redraptor wrote: »
    Also I've killed the girls your supposed to rescue roughly 15 different times. Dart traps, barbarians, spikes, grabbing the golden idol in panic and letting them get crushed by boulders etc.

    You can toss the girls at the exit, then go back for the idol. They will run/ be thrown into the doorway.

    TheCrumblyCracker on
  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Aw Hell yeah!

    I went into a shop, picked up a shotgun, accidentally let it off and killed the shopkeeper. I cruised through four more levels and died to a pack of frogs and a giant tarantula over a snake pit.

    I like this game. :D

    Endless_Serpents on
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