‘Poppy the Austere Hobbit Security Guard‘ fought bravely, dispatching (among others) a professional dinosaur, a Demented Pool Cue and a Ruinous Mother-In-Law before falling foul to a Deformed Bishop on level 6. Rest in piece Poppy, you faught well! No this isn’t the start of a mental break down, it’s just a normal play-through of the wonderfully bizarre ASCII-styled procedurally generated FPS Roguelike – Illuminascii.
Thanks to procedurally generated enemies, levels, weapons and characters, every play though of Illuminascii is as strange and surprising as the last. The ASCII visual style is fantastic, with nice little touches everywhere – such as kicking over trash cans and watching lots of ASCII characters (and the occasional cat) spill out. The enemies are a particular highlight, taking the form of large colorful letters with a randomly generated description above them – you’ll never forget the first time you round a corner and come face to face with a 6-foot tall glowing letter ‘J’ calling itself a ‘Moist Bearded Cat’.
To make it through each procedurally generated level of Illuminascii, you have to find 5 pieces of ‘evidence’ (hidden in drawers throughout the levels) then make it to the exit. As you progress, you fight enemies, collect loot, equip new weaponry and level up your character. In typical rouguelike fashion, you only get one life, but when you die you’re treated to a eulogy – a nice little touch that allows you to recap your ridiculous adventure.
We first covered Illuminascii way back in January, and it’s come a long way since then, with the latest build featuring better visuals and even more ASCII-randomness. The Greenlight campaign started in July, but unfortunately it’s still not Greenlit, so if you like the game please vote for it, at least ‘Poppy the Austere Hobbit Security Guard‘ won’t of died in vain!
Some Useful Keys to Remember:
Q: Kick – can be used to kick down locked doors
V: Drop Weapon – If You Have 3 Weapons You Need To Drop One To Pick Up A Fourth
I: Inventory – Equip Clothing, Eat Food & Use Health
G: Urinate – Just Because!
Watch Poppy the Austere Hobbit Security Guard in action HERE
UPDATE: This Alpha Is No Longer Available