Of all the various types of computers games out there, my favorite is the computer role-playing game, or CRPG for short. Almost everyone has heard of classic CRPGs like Ultima, Baldur’s Gate, and Fall Out, but what about free software CRPGs? In this article, I take a peek at what’s out there.

Introduction

Do you ever get tired of listening to gamers who insist that all the best games are for consoles or Windows, so why bother with GNU/Linux? Do you have colleagues who maintain that GNU/Linux is suitable only for serious work, and that games are frivolous and unimportant? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people go on about how expensive games are to produce, and how they just couldn’t possibly work under a GNU license. Even Richard Stallman once told me that games shouldn’t be treated the same way as other programs, and that he had no problem with separately licensing the creative material (story, characters, graphics, music) and the engine it ran on: “A game scenario can be considered art/fiction rather than software. So it is okay to split the game into engine and scenario, then treat the engine as software and the scenario as art/fiction”. Many free software advocates agree with this view, but others wonder whether we should really view writing fiction any differently than writing code. After all, everyone knows that fiction isn’t always read purely for pleasure, but rather to learn something or experience a new perspective. Stallman himself wrote a great short story called The Right to Read, which you should read if you haven’t already. If that doesn’t prove the point, I don’t know what will!

But wait, you say, games don’t have anything to teach. They’re just simple diversions; just amusements to wile way the idle hours. This may be true for some people—I’m thinking of those whose idea of “gaming” means booting up solitaire, Tetris, or a Mahjong and literally killing time. There are many of these simplistic games available under the GNU license, and several are highly polished and as good, if not better, as many of the proprietary “casual games” being sold in stores. I have nothing against this kind of gaming, but it’s not what people like me are interested in. My two favorite genres of computer game are graphical adventure games (GAGs) and computer role-playing games (CRPGs). These games provide a much more intense experience—they’re addictive and really get you emotionally invested in the outcome.

For this article, I’ve chosen to focus on free software CRPGs currently available for GNU/Linux. Sadly, there aren’t many worthwhile GNU-licensed CRPGs available, and it’s clear that there is a great deal of work left to be done. Nevertheless, a few ambitious developers are moving forward, and I want to tell you about a few of the more interesting projects.

Figure 1: NetHack is a cult classic CRPG and is quite fun, even with character set graphics

Roguelikes

By far the most popular CRPGs for GNU/Linux are “roguelikes”. Put quite simply, a “roguelike” is one of the many games that follow in the footsteps of a very popular UNIX classic called Rogue, which was itself based on older and lesser-known CRPGs for mainframes and the PLATO learning system. There are a few things you should know about Rogue. For one thing, it doesn’t have the kind of graphics you see in most videogames. Instead, it uses Ken Arnold’s “curses” library to make a sort of graphical interface using a terminal’s character set (i.e., the different symbols you can make with your keyboard or with special codes). To put it simply, instead of a graphical image of a wall, you’ll see rows of pound signs and slashes. The main character is represented by the @ symbol, and monsters are usually represented by the first letter of their name (Z for zombie). This may sound primitive, but remember that the alternative was to have no graphics at all, and rely purely on textual descriptions (think of games like Zork and Colossal Cave). One very nice thing about Rogue’s “graphics” is that you don’t need to make a map on your own—the computer does it for you!

Besides the innovative “graphics”, Rogue also offers some pretty compelling gameplay. It’s a very intuitive game that’s easy to learn, but hard to master. The basic mission is to descend down to the 26th level of a dungeon, fetch the Amulet of Yendor, and get back to the top. Of course, achieving this goal will mean fighting plenty of monsters along the way. Thankfully, relatively lightweight monsters roam the top—the deeper you go, the bigger and badder the monsters. Thankfully, your character will learn how to fight better as he gains experience, and he’ll find better weapons and magical items to help vanquish his foes. Another nice touch is that the dungeons are randomized, so that it’s virtually a new game every time you sit down to play it. Many people really enjoyed and continue to enjoy the original Rogue, but of course hackers wanted to find ways to explore further possibilities. A series of forks developed, and eventually enough of these games were available to warrant coming up with a name for the genre—“Roguelike” seem to fit.

Nethack and Angband

There are many Roguelikes, but two of the most popular are NetHack and Angband. NetHack is famous for being one of the first games to be developed using the internet (that’s where it gets its name). It’s actually based on an older Roguelike named “Hack”. Hack added some neat features to the mix, such as pets that would follow the character and help him out, and shops where you could buy items (rather than just finding stuff lying around). NetHack adds even more features, making it a very sophisticated and well-loved Roguelike. An even more feature-rich version of the game is Slash’em, which stands for “Super Lotsa Added Stuff Hack Extended Magic.” Angband is based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. Instead of fetching an amulet, the mission is to gain enough power to take on the evil Morgoth, Lord of Darkness. Both NetHack and Angband were and still are quite popular.