NetHack

In the early 1980s, a popular dungeon crawl called Rogue surfaced. From Rogue, other offshoots appeared, called Rogue-like games, one of which was NetHack. Released in 1987, this cross-platform adventure game used ACSII code instead of graphics. In this way, the game could use all of its resources on the actual gameplay, rather than cumbersome visuals.

Searching for the Amulet of Yendor, players would set out on a massive dungeon quest which would take them down approximately 50 levels. The dungeon levels were mostly randomly-generated, but would have set features and characteristics. As in Dungeons and Dragons, a player would employ weapons, armor and magic items while adventuring through the dungeon. The player could choose from traditional characters, such as Wizard, Rogue and Knight, but also less traditional ones like the Archaeologist or Tourist. Each character started out the game with a pet cat, dog or pony, which followed them around, hopefully getting stronger and more useful in the process.

While many other games have shied away from the use of gods or deities, worshipping the appropriate higher power was an integral part of NetHack. Altars of worship could be commonly found, and provided players an opportunity to appease or infuriate their character’s deity. In fact, completing the game’s main quest would turn your character into a demigod, ascribing immortal status to the character.

At its core, Nethack was like other hack-and-slash games, but offered depth rarely seen in dungeon crawls. For instance, items would have to be identified somehow, normally without helpful identification scrolls. You might figure out the nature of an item by using it (dangerous) or having your pet pick it up. Pets can pick up just about any moveable item in the game. One tactic is to send the pet into a shop full of items and have the pet pick up an item and drop it outside the shop. If this is done correctly, the shopkeeper would never know, and the player could gain a free item.

Food is an absolute necessity in Nethack, and both player and pet must eat regularly to avoid starvation. Pets could make powerful followers if trained properly, but could also get lost chasing after wandering monsters. In fact, it was quite easy to lose a pet on a dungeon level, and not realize it until two or three more levels had been descended. One frustrating thing about Nethack was that secret doors could be very difficult to find, even if standing right next to them. This would make it seem like there were no more exits out of a certain area, prompting the player to quit their game or have their character commit suicide.

Due to the great amount of depth and challenge, Nethack remains a dungeon-delving favorite, and is still maintained and improved by gamers today. A graphical interface for Nethack called Falcon’s Eye exists, making the Nethack experience much more visually stimulating.