Kerkerkruip

Fantasy Under­ground RPG IF Comp 2011 8th of 38 XYZZY Awards 2011 Best Use of Innovation, Best Supplemental Materials

Kerkerkruip
Author(s)	Victor Gijsbers
Publisher(s)	n/a
Release date(s)	01-Oct-2011
Authoring system	Inform 7
Platform(s)	Glulx
Language(s)	English
License(s)	Freeware
Multimedia
Color effects	none
Graphics	none
Sound/Music	none
Ratings
Cruelty scale	Cruelty to be determined

How It Begins

When you claimed that you were tough enough to take on Malygris single-handedly, everyone knew you had been drinking much more than was good for you. And the prince is not one to let an opportunity pass. Before you could so much as protest, his court mage opened a portal and you were shoved through. Predictably, the portal immediately disappeared. You doubt they're going to open it up again -- but at least you can try to make good on your boast and kill Malygris, the Wizard of Kerkerkruip!

Notable Features

• This game is a hybrid of interactive fiction and a roguelike game.
• When the player begins a new game, the engine procedurally generates a random dungeon with a random list of enemies, weapons, and items.
• The game is heavily focused on a combat system that is based on the author's own Inform 7 library extension called ATTACK. The player can attack, parry, dodge, or concentrate. The decision of which action to take on any turn supports one of the author's principle design goals, that "success in combat should be the result of smart and daring tactical decisions, not just a matter of luck." [1]
• The commands undo and save are unavailable to the player. If the player quits a game or terminates the interpreter program in the middle of the game and then reloads Kerkerkruip at a later time, the game can be continued where the player left off. However, once the player character is killed, the only way to continue is to begin a new game. This is permanent death, another defining characteristic of roguelike games.

Trivia and Comments

• "Kerkerkruip" is Dutch and translates into English literally as "dungeon crawl." However, the author notes, this is "crawl" the verb, not "crawl" the noun. [2]
• In the tradition of most roguelikes, Kerkerkruip is a work in progress and the author plans to release many subsequent versions with new and upgraded features.

Versions

Release 1

• Kerkerkruip (Victor Gijsbers; 01-Oct-2011; Glulx).
  • Release 1 / Serial number 110929 / Inform 7 build 6G60 (I6/v6.32 lib 6/12N)
  • IFID: AC0DAF65-F40F-4A41-A4E4-50414F836E14
    IFID links: IFDB, IFDB cover
  • Beta-testing by Wasse Asmlash, Lance Camelot, Vyacheslav Dobranov, Michael Fransioli, Michiel Hermes, Erik Temple, and Matt Weiner.
  • IF Comp 2011: 8th place of 38 entries. Also tied for 3rd place for Miss Congeniality.
  • XYZZY Awards 2011: Winner, Best Use of Innovation and Best Supplemental Materials (PDF manual and screencast tutorials).
  • Download Kerkerkruip.gblorb from the IF Archive.

Most recent version

• Kerkerkruip (Victor Gijsbers; Glulx).
  • Kerkerkruip-latest.zip (Stable link to the most recent version.)

Links

General info

• Kerkerkruip - at IFDB.
• Kerkerkruip - at ifwizz interactive fiction (in German).
• GitHub source code repository
• Kerkerkruip programming tutorials
• Discussion topic at the intfiction.org forum for new ideas
• The author has an eight-part game design journal concerning his development of Kerkerkruip available at his website:
  • Part 1: Random Dungeon Generation.
  • Part 2: Further Dungeon Generation.
  • Part 3: Design Philosophy.
  • Part 4: Making a Monster.
  • Part 5: Regeneration.
  • Part 6: Silver Weapons.
  • Part 7: Heat System and Rust System.
  • Part 8: Cover Art.

Reviews

• Review by Sam Kabo Ashwell.
• Review by Wade Clarke.
• Review by Elizabeth (runnerchild).
• Review by David Fletcher.
• Review by Christopher Huang.
• Review by Joey Jones.
• XYZZY Review for "Best Use of Innovation" by Joey Jones.
• Review by Amanda Lange.
• Review by Yoon Ha Lee.
• Review by Michael Martin.
• Review by Carl Muckenhoupt.
• Review by Emily Short.
• Review by Adam Smith.
• Review (in Russian) by Sobol.
• XYZZY Review for "Best Supplemental Materials by J. Robinson Wheeler.
• Review by Matt Wigdahl.

Spoilers

• Five-part series of tutorial videos by the author. These are in the Ogg video format (.ogv) and best viewed in Firefox.
  • Part 1: Introduction.
  • Part 2: Exploring the Dungeon.
  • Part 3: Combat Basics.
  • Part 4: Advanced Combat.
  • Part 5: Finishing the Game.