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Deadly Rooms of Death (commonly abbreviated to DROD) is a computer puzzle game. It was invented by Erik Hermansen in 1997 and has been regularly extended since then.

History

It was originally released by Webfoot Technologies in 1997 as version 1.03 of the game, followed shortly after with versions 1.04 and 1.11 to fix some bugs with unsolvable rooms and levels. This early version is commonly known as Webfoot DROD.

In 2000, the original author of the game, Erik Hermansen, got permission from Webfoot to release the game as open source. With the help of several volunteers, he recreated the game from scratch, rewriting the entire game engine and creating improved music and graphics for it. The main game screen, however, remained mostly the same as the original Webfoot version. This version, version 1.5, is commonly known as Caravel DROD, and was first released in late October 2002.

Version 1.6, also called Architect's Edition, included improvements to some of the graphics, but most importantly a level editor, and was released in October 2003 after a long round of open beta testing. It was followed some time after by several patches to fix bugs that were found in the game. With the inclusion of a new level editor, a whole new ability for users to create their own dungeons and levels, collectively known as "Holds", was created, extending DROD's total puzzle content far beyond the original game itself. In fact, so many new holds were built that a new system of categorising and rating them had to be set up on the website.

The sequel to 1.6, DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold, was released on April 1st, 2005 for Windows. The Linux port was developed simultaneously with the Windows port and was released on April 2nd. Also called DROD 2.0, the game includes many new additions and improvements, such as an expanded plot complete with in-game cutscenes and dialogue, higher resolution graphics; better user interfaces in both the editor and in game; new monsters and puzzle elements; additional customisability for holds, such as including custom images and sound; a new scripting system; and connectivity to an online DROD database. The library which handles connections to the online database (CaravelNet) is closed-source, although the rest of the game remains open-source under the Mozilla Public License and a fully functional executable (minus the CaravelNet connectivity features) can be made with the released source.

Additionally, the artwork and levels composing the new content of Journey to Rooted Hold are sold commercially with rights reserved. Most of the game is still free. The source code, engine and level editor are still open source, a complete set of artwork is distributed with the demo version, and users can still download and build user holds without having to buy the full game.

A third game in the series, DROD: The City Beneath, is currently in production. While the game is being made, fans click madly on TCB's progess bar ("The Bar") to obtain Bar Goodies and solve The Riddle Of The Bar.

Gameplay and Features

The game is entirely tile based and takes place on a 38*32 rectangular grid. Each element or monster must occupy a positive whole number of squares, and so no two monsters or objects of the same type can occupy the same square or several squares at once. The player controls the movement of Beethro Budkin, a dungeon exterminator equipped with a Really Big Sword. In the fictional world where the game takes place (the Eighth), his job as a smitemaster is to clear dungeons of invading monsters. Most gameplay stems from, or elaborates on, this concept.

Since this game is also turn based, monsters or objects will only move once per turn. In almost all cases, monster movement depends exclusively upon where it is in relation to the player. As a result, Deadly Rooms of Death requires logical problem solving rather than reflexes. Each turn, the player can wait, move into any of the eight bordering squares to his current one (if not already occupied), or rotate his sword 45 degrees. Since the game is turn based and tile based, using your sword to block advancing monsters or to manipulate them is an essential strategy, as is counting square distances to objects, since this will determine how many moves you or a monster requires to reach an object or square.

The list of original monsters and elements (from version 1.x) includes:

• Dungeon Roaches - Roaches move directly towards the player with a beelining behaviour.
• Roach Queen - These flee directly from you (the exact inverse of Roach behaviour) but spawn new roaches in most unoccupied adjacent squares around it every 30 moves. These roach eggs take five moves to hatch and block the Queen's movement while it is laying them.
• Spiders - These move in the same way as roaches, but are harder to spot. The exact manner spiders are hidden depends on the version - in 1.x, they are the same color as the floors except for their eyes. In 2.0, they are truly invisible, but become visible for a turn if they moved last turn or if you get close.
• Wraithwings - They can fly over pits, and will only attack if there is a significant number of them. In small numbers (approximately 1-3), wraithwings tend to be wary of the player and flee.
• Evil Eyes - These are normally stationary and harmless monsters until you step into their line of sight. At this point, they "wake up" and attack like roaches.
• The Living Tar - This is a viscous blue substance with a very high surface tension that can only be found as blobs with a minimum width of 2 squares at any point inside a mass. Cutting tar to make any part of it 1 square wide will create tar babies (roach-like monsters), but only edges are vulnerable; corners cannot be cut. If it contains a Tar Mother, it will grow outwards every 30 moves, creating tar babies if, at any point, tar would be grown into a narrow spot.
• Goblins - These creatures are intelligent and cowardly. Afraid of Beethro's sword, they will try to circle around the player (and simple obstacles) to attack him. Goblins do this finding the quickest way to his person, vigorously avioding any square adjacent to his sword.
• Serpents - These are long monsters that are invulnerable to your sword, but can only move horizontally or vertically, and must constantly move each turn. They can be killed if led into a dead end where their heads cannot move, so shortening themselves to death.
• Brains - These are stationary but insidious monsters that cause all other monsters in the room to behave more intelligently, by improving the monster's ability to navigate around obstacles. Sometimes, however, this is exploitable to the player's advantage.
• Mimics - These are created from mimic potions, and are clones of Beethro that mimic his movements. They are inedible and do not attract monsters, so are useful for wiping out enemies remotely, protecting Beethro, or navigating normally inaccessible areas.
• The 'Neather - The boss enemy on the final level of the official dungeon, he is intelligent and orchestrates monsters in a room by manipulating doors.

New monsters in the sequel DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold include, among others:

• The Awakened Mud - A material similar to tar except that its edges are invulnerable and its corners cuttable.
• Rattlesnakes - Blue versions of serpents that will not shrink when they are trapped. Instead, their tail is vulnerable, shrinking down every time it is hit by a sword swipe.
• Rock Golems - Monsters too stupid to traverse corners, they leave behind piles of rubble when they die (thereby blocking the player's movement into that square).
• Wubbas - Incapable of directly harming Beethro, but also immune to his sword, they can block his movement.
• Seep - Monsters that live in the walls. They move as roaches, but can only move through walls (and similar elements, like doors). When Beethro is next to them they can jump out and kill him.
• Decoys - Clones of Beethro that do not move but attract nearby monsters.
• Halph - As Beethro's young nephew and sidekick, he can be given simple tasks like opening doors or blocking corridors.
• Slayer - Intelligent boss enemy that tracks Beethro and wields a hook which is just as deadly as Beethro's sword. He tracks Beethro by sending a visible wisp into the room that moves towards Beethro as efficiently as possible. If it reaches Beethro, the slayer will follow the steps that the wisp laid out. The Slayer was coded to be mostly unaccostable.

External links

• Caravel Games
• CaravelNet Forum
• DROD Community Site
• Confessions of a Hopeless DROD Addict (blog)
• HoTU review of Architect Edition
• HoTU review of Journey to Rooted Hold
• The 132nd Archivist (fan site)

• Windows games
• Linux games
• Puzzle computer and video games