7DRL 2011 Reviews - Lord Bistian Unnamed

LordBistian has a 7DRL challenge entry for us. It's name? Well... in his own words:

It has no name but whatever. 

Indeed Lord Bistian. Indeed.

So, this is a first-time 7DRL entry and for that it is a great entry. I really dig the graphics. It has a few nice touches such as "brodollars" (best currency name ever?) and a really great intro screen. How much do I love a simple and uncluttered intro screen? SO MUCH.

I really liked this water effect!

BroQuest (there, I just gave it a name) is a minimalist dungeon diver. You have four (three really, one is reserved for weapons which I later found out) inventory slots to fill up with as much treasure as possible. One thing that confused me... I am supposed to leave the dungeon with $15,000 brodollars, but I only have 3 slots. I guess this means I need to optimize and carry the most valuable items available? This is a bit odd since things like a single "diamond" or "gold coin" do not stack. Why would I carry these around? I think related treasure should pile up in one inventory slot. (e.g. one giant pile o' gold, one giant pile o' diamonds)

The gameplay is somewhat limited. It's not obvious which monsters are easily handled and which aren't. I was butchered over and over again by an Arch-Lich, but smote Asmodeus in about 6 turns without taking any damage. From someone who plays a lot of nethack (e.g. a lot of the people who participate in/play 7DRL challenge games), this is a bit odd to me.

Also, I would kill for some dungeon memory. The dungeons (mazes really) are nicely generated, but I can't tell which sections I have already visited. With the levels being so huge, this is tough to deal with.

I got this screen a lot.

That being said, there is something to be said for BroQuest's simple interface and cartoon-ey, hand-drawn graphics, and no-nonsense inventory system. It's something I could one day see growing into a lovely android or iPhone game. Lord Bistian... do you accept this challenge??

As a first-time 7DRL entry, it is a great accomplishment.

PS: There is something to be said about the roguelike community in that I will download and run a random .exe file from a mysterious dropbox location with no questions asked! That is some brotherhood right there, my friends.

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You can find a list of all 7DR L2011 finishers on roguebasin or temple of the roguelike.