README

		       The Cave of the Rat King
			   By Dave LeCompte
	    A Turn Based Party Oriented Role Playing Game
			Developed in June 2012
	  For National Game Development Month (NaGaDeMo2012)


National Game Development Month, like National Novel Writing Month, is
an opportunity for people that have had a project haunting them for a
while to focus on getting something done in one month's time. That's a
long enough timeframe to get something impressive completed, but it's
short enough to make a commitment and follow through on it. I've heard
that it takes around 6 weeks to form a habit, so if you can make a
game in a month, you can make a habit of making games in your spare
time.

I've wanted to make a throwback RPG for a while, and NaGaDeMo2012
kicked me into action. What you see here is the product of that
month. A bare-bones, minimal UI game, but a playable game with a
structure that encourages adding more complex systems to really come
into its own.

This game is also a demonstration of the capabilities of PlayN, a game
framework that targets Java, Android, HTML5/JavaScript, Flash, and
iOS. During development, I focused on the Java build, as that's the
easiest to iterate on. I periodically tested the HTML and Android
builds. I have not seen the game running on iOS or Flash, so I cannot
report if it works, but I would not be surprised that it does.

Gameplay: 
Explore the island, exterminating ratmen that have infested your
home. If you get injured, go to the healer to treat your wounds. As
you accumulate cash and loot, you can trade them for better gear at
the Weapon Shoppe. Venture into the Ratskellar and down into the
dungeon to face the Rat King.