Necropolis (Timothy Pruett)

Necropolis
Defunct Game
Developer	Timothy Pruett
Theme	Fantasy
Influences
Released	Not yet ({{{relver}}})
Updated	Not yet ({{{updver}}})
Licensing
P. Language	C, Lua, SDL
Platforms
Interface
Game Length	Short
[There is no Official site of Necropolis]

Necropolis is a roguelike game currently being developed by Timothy Pruett. The game will differ greatly from most roguelikes, focusing on a much shorter gameplay experience, with a strong emphasis on story.

Graphics

Visually, in its current development stage, it is quite attractive. It uses simulated ASCII graphics, drawn using SDL, allowing a wide range of colors and other graphical features, such as partial transparency and multi-tiled ASCII characters.

Story

The game begins with the main character returning to his hometown after a service in the royal army. He finds his hometown rundown and beaten, with many of the townsfolk missing, and the rest downtrodden and morose. He soon discovers that a Necromancer erected a tower north of the town, a few years ago, and has since then attacked and captured both the town and its inhabitants. Many of the townsfolk are dead, some are rumored to still be alive in the tower, awaiting the Necromancer's sinister experiments.

Among the captured are the hero's mother and brother. There can only be one course of action: attack the tower.

Gameplay

The player character starts the game in the generic Soldier class, but, due to the game's intricate job class system, the player can explore new class options, including Thief, Archer, Medic, and more.

Magic in the game is both very rare and very powerful. As such, magical weapons are among the game's most coveted items. The Necromancer is himself a wizard. At least one other wizard is known to exist, and he happens to be the Necromancer's enemy. There are also ancient legends concerning a dragon that lived far to the south, long ago. Other magical creatures are also rumored to exist, although no sightings have been verified for centuries.

The player's hometown is one of the most interesting locations in the game. Unlike most RL towns, it was carefully crafted to look and feel like a believable town. Populated with interesting unique characters, and full of secrets, the town provides a wealth of information to explore.

Secrets

Necropolis boasts more secrets than any other roguelike made to this day. As of its current point in development, it features over 350 secret job classes, locations, skills, characters, items, and more. And more keep getting added in every day. By the time the first release is ready, it should feature well over 500 secrets waiting to be uncovered.

Content

After the first release, the creator plans to continue releasing new content to expand the game. A simplistic plug-in system allows the users to easily download and seamlessly add-on the new content, helping to keep the game fresh and interesting.

Also, Necropolis allows for relatively simplistic mod-making. Using Lua scripting and a handful of custom-built tools, users are free to create new areas, classes, items, etc. Or they can create a whole new game out of it.

Development state

Reached alpha before development apparently ceased.