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Sharing One's Game's Code: Rogue Legacy Dev Goes Open-Source

by Liam Nov 09,2024

Rogue Legacy Dev Shares Game Source Code in Pursuit of Sharing Knowledge

“In the pursuit of sharing knowledge,” as indie developer Cellar Door Games put it, the source code of acclaimed 2013 roguelike “Rogue Legacy” has been uploaded to be and downloaded and used for free.

Cellar Door Games Shares Source Code of Rogue LegacyGame Art and Music Aren't Free to Use But Cellar Says Contact Them If Need Be

Taking to Twitter (X), developer Cellar Door Games announced that it has uploaded the source code of its acclaimed 2013 roguelike title, Rogue Legacy, on the internet, completely for free. "It's been over 10 years since we released Rogue Legacy 1, and in the pursuit of sharing knowledge, we are officially releasing the source code to the public," the dev wrote, linking fans to a GitHub page that contains all the scripting for Rogue Legacy 1 under a specialized, non-commercial-use license. This means that the game's source code is free to be downloaded for personal use.

The code repository on GitHub is managed by developer and Linux porter Ethan Lee, who has also been credited in the source code releases of other indie games such as Blendo Games' strategy adventure title, Flotilla. Releasing the game's source code received praises and thanks from social media users, especially considering that Cellar Door Games gift opens opportunities for interested individuals and gamers to learn more about game development.

Rogue Legacy Dev Shares Game Source Code in Pursuit of Sharing Knowledge

Moreover, releasing the game's source code to the public also ensures that it remains accessible in the event that a storefront delists it, or makes it entirely unavailable to play otherwise—which also helps in the efforts of game preservation in the digital age. The announcement caught the attention of the Rochester Museum of Play's Director of Digital Preservation, Andrew Borman, who proposed a partnership to the developer. "Would love to work with you on an official donation to the museum," Borman said to the Rogue Legacy developer.

The Rogue Legacy 1 Source Code file contains all localized text from the game, however, it does not have the icons, art, graphics or music used in the game as these remain under a proprietary license—things you would need to still pay for. "The purpose of making the contents of this repo available is for others to learn from, to inspire new work, and to allow the creation of new tools and modifications for Rogue Legacy 1," Cellar Door Games further said on GitHub. "If you are interested in distributing work that falls outside the terms in the license below, or if you are interested in distributing work that includes using any part of Rogue Legacy not included in this repo then please get in touch."

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