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Spelunky is a platformer-roguelike hybrid by Derek Yu. Spelunky is a Roguelike is a modified version made by me! I lay no claim to the things present in this game. I am only responsible for its alterations.

Which, in this case, are particularly few. This version plays exactly the same as the original Spelunky, save for one glaring difference.

The graphics! All the game's graphics have been replaced by ASCII characters, turning Spelunky into a true roguelike!

And before you all jump down my throat about how '@' is traditionally always the player character of roguelikes, allow me to explain how the various letters, numbers, and symbols were chosen.

2222222222222222000000000000001111111XI%
22000(F&22222200000000000000000111111B11
20000222222200000000000@000000001111BBB1
400022222220000000000I111Io00000111B1B1B
4000222220000222220001111110000011111B11
2000000000002222200000111111100001111B11
2000000I00222222000000011111110000011111
2200004222222I04000000040I111111000000I`
222222222220BW0400000004k=11111111111B11
+++++++40B00111100000001111000001111+++1
44444444040011110000000110000000001+1+1+
0000000BI4001111000000010000000000011+11
000000440+4010000^^0^^000I00000000g11+11
00000004++++10333333333333lllllll333++44
00000004B44410330&00S000R3lllllll333+4I?
Ak0j00j4B0001033&0&&0000&3lllllll333+4P4
4444k044B01010I00&30&00003lllllll333+]0]
++++4444B0101033300&&0&0033333333333+[00]
++++444400101030Vy/3333333300000000~4[00]
1.00I00001100000003dd0000044000000004[0444000000004404
1000IffffI0011111I022000[444llllllll4000
00011PPPP1100111110220002444444444444000
00010ffffG10011111022^^^224440^^^^^^^^^^
0011pppppp11001110M222222222201111111111
0011pppppp110011102220I00000000000000000
011pppppppp1101110222010000000000000IJ00
0-4pppppppp1100000I00}100000000000004440
1111111111111111111111100000000000044444
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll44444

The previous block of text is what you'll see if you open one of Spelunky's custom level files as a text document. The editor is designed to create Spelunky's various objects based on the symbols in the file. The symbols used in this mod are the same as those the game uses to read custom level files. Or, at least, most of them are. So this is why you play as § instead of @, as well as why many symbol decisions might seem strange or arbitrary.{/justification}

Although the game is technically no different than the original, I did make some design decisions with the graphics to keep things fair. Most notably the fact that everything is color-coordinated. All solid objects are white against black, and the backgrounds you can move through are a lighter shade of gray. All enemies and objects that can harm you are red. All treasures are yellow and all items are green. Purple denotes objects that can be moved through or interacted with (climbing, swimming, etc). Brown are things you can't touch at all. Finally, blue is for all the game's characters, including the shopkeeper.

The game has a unique save, so it won't affect the records of regular Spelunky. It also won't have any shortcuts from the original. If you've played Spelunky before and don't want to unlock it all again, just download and run the SiaR Unlocker.

Happy Spelunkying!

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  • Completed
  • halibabica
  • Game Maker Studio
  • Platformer
  • 03/12/2011 04:33 PM
  • 06/01/2013 05:07 PM
  • 03/13/2011
  • 30224
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Posts

Pages: 1
Craze
why would i heal when i could equip a morningstar
15150
This is... really ugly. Roguelikes with ASCII text tend to look clean, albeit confusing to a newcomer. The layering of the symbols is harsh and difficult to understand. Also, roguelikes are usually turn-based, especially when they have ASCII graphics.

Sorry. I understand why you'd do this, but it looks to make a hard game almost unplayable.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
I wouldn't go so far as to say it makes it unplayable. It's still difficult, yes, but the coloring of the different objects does help somewhat. Everything dangerous stands out distinctly, so the player's unlikely to wander into something they didn't at least see coming.

But no, it isn't particularly elegant.

EDIT: Crap, now I can't stop thinking of ways to make this into a turn-based roguelike. It might happen, it might not. We'll see!
Pages: 1