''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space'' is a
roguelike
Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a subgenre of role-playing computer games traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player characte ...
video game created by the
indie developer
An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...
Digital Eel
Digital Eel is a self-funded independent video game development team located in the Seattle, Washington area. Digital Eel is best known for its ''Infinite Space'' series of space roguelikes.
History
The group was formed in 2001 by Rich Carlso ...
and released for
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Mac on March 15, 2002 by
boardgame
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a comp ...
developer-publisher,
Cheapass Games
Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, and other common board game ...
. Releases for
Pocket PC
A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile or Windows Embedded Compact operating system that has some of the abilities of modern desktop PCs. The name was introduced by Microsoft in 2000 ...
and
Palm
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
by British developer-publisher Astraware followed. In 2020, the game was updated to run on current computer operating systems of the day. It remains free to download and share.
''Strange Adventures'' is considered one of the first
rogue-lite games, a hybrid of roguelikes and other types of games.
Gameplay
In ''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space'' the game players explore a "plausibly implausible" fictional region of the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...
galaxy
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...
called ''The Purple Void''.
The game is non-linear, with turn-based movement and real-time combat.
''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space'' sets itself up differently each time it is played. Stars,
black holes
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can def ...
, planets,
nebulae
A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming region ...
, artifacts, alien patrols, gadgets, lifeforms and dozens of events and encounters are randomized for each game session. Unlike conventional roguelikes, ''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space'' features graphics, music and sound, and game sessions typically last from 3 to 20 minutes, hence the game's tagline "Explore the galaxy in 20 minutes or less!"
Development
''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space'' was created by
Digital Eel
Digital Eel is a self-funded independent video game development team located in the Seattle, Washington area. Digital Eel is best known for its ''Infinite Space'' series of space roguelikes.
History
The group was formed in 2001 by Rich Carlso ...
, a studio that included Richard Carlson, Iikka Keranen, and Bill Sears (creating under the name Phosphorous). The team had previously made a game called ''Plasmaworm'', after abandoning six months of work on
4X space game. As they began work on ''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space,'' they wanted to make
roguelike
Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a subgenre of role-playing computer games traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player characte ...
game with a randomized world, similar to board games such as ''
Source of the Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
,
Tales of the Arabian Nights,'' and ''
Voyage of the BSM Pandora.'' The studio realized they could re-use some of the assets from their previously abandoned space game, with the goal of creating a
space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...
experience that could be completed in less than 20 minutes.
In addition to inspiration from board games, the studio was inspired ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' creator
Gene Roddenbury, and ''
Star Control'' creators
Fred Ford and
Paul Reiche III
Paul Reiche III ( ) is an American game designer, particularly known for his work on video games. Reiche is best known for being the co-creator, together with Fred Ford, of the '' Star Control'' universe.
Career
Pen and paper RPGs
Reiche was ...
.
With game mechanics and graphics from their old project, the team quickly established the style of the game's ships, combat, and interface. Designer Iikka Keranen was keen to minimize the number of clicks required to complete any action, and the team decided to hide most numbers to keep players immersed in the fictional experience. The team also strived to create a consistent science-fiction universe, with environments, abilities, and technologies based on current scientific theories. Bill Sears was given freedom to create the game's graphics, and its humor and mystery led the game's fiction to follow the artwork.
Although the game's development had no deadline, it was completed with part-time work from three people over six months, or the equivalent of two full-time months. Designer Rich Carlson credits the team's efficiency to their small size, which also allowed them to listen closely to feedback from testers.
Release
''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space'' was released on March 15, 2002 by
boardgame
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a comp ...
developer-publisher
Cheapass Games
Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, and other common board game ...
.
Sequels
Digital Eel followed ''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space'' with a self-funded sequel, working on the game for one and a half years part-time.
Designer Rich Carlson described the game as "a hybrid, part
strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game (e.g. a board game) in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decisio ...
, part
adventure game
An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...
and part starship combat game, similar in some ways to games like ''
Pirates!'' and ''
Star Control II
''Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters'' is a 1992 video game, the sequel to '' Star Control''. It was developed by Toys for Bob ( Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III) and originally published by Accolade in 1992 for MS-DOS. This game features exoplan ...
."''
Their goal for the game's development was to add features that had previously been left out of their previous game, and to improve the game's depth and graphical quality.
''Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space'' was released for the PC and
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
in 2005.
By 2013, the crowd-funded ''Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars'' was developed using crowdfunding. The game was later released in 2015.
Re-Releases
On November 11, 2005, the
source code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...
became freely available under the
GNU GPL
The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general us ...
, though without the other game content. Since September 28, 2009, ''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space'' was made available as
freeware
Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...
, including the game content. Due to the source code availability
ports
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
to
alternative platforms emerged, for instance for the
ARM
In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between the ...
and
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
based
OpenPandora
The Pandora is an operating system, handheld game console and mobile personal computer originally released in 2010. It is designed to take advantage of existing free and open-source software and to be a target for homebrew development. It inclu ...
. It was also released for
Pocket PC
A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile or Windows Embedded Compact operating system that has some of the abilities of modern desktop PCs. The name was introduced by Microsoft in 2000 ...
and
Palm
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
by British developer/publisher, Astraware. License
changed
Change or Changing may refer to:
Alteration
* Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time
* Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period
* Metamorphosis, or change, ...
to GPLv3 and assets to
CC-BY-NC
A Creative Commons NonCommercial license (CC NC, CC BY-NC or NC license) is a Creative Commons license which a copyright holder can apply to their media to give public permission for anyone to reuse that media only for noncommercial activities. C ...
-4.0 on May 18, 2020.
In 2020, ''Strange Adventures in Infinite Space'' was reissued by Digital Eel and Chris Collins with support for contemporary Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. Digital Eel opted to make the release for free, and included community mods that were developed to expand the game on its original release.
Reception
''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space''
''Strange Adventures in Infinite Space'' received a 77 score on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Computer Games Magazine
''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...
praised it as a "light but oddly entertaining gaming hors d'oeuvre".
Writing for GameSpot, Bruce Geryk felt that "the game's short length is what makes it so engaging."
Tom Chick
Tom W. Chick (born August 14, 1966) is an American actor and independent journalist. His most prominent TV roles were as Oscar's boyfriend Gil in the U.S. version of ''The Office'', and the hard-hitting reporter Gordon in ''The West Wing''.
Ear ...
of
GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
called it "a clever and engaging take on strategy and adventure gaming", while noting that players will see most of the game's content after a dozen play-throughs. Scot Krol of PC Game World recommended the game for providing "more enjoyment in fifteen minutes than most games have in fifteen hours of play
nda perfect example of what good gameplay means in a game".
Ernest Adams, writing for
Gamasutra
''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...
in 2005, described ''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space'' as "the perfect short game". Upon the game's free re-release,
Kotaku
''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier.
History
...
praised it as "an excellent mix of
''Master Of Orion''-lite strategy and ''
Star Control''-inspired arcade combat".
''Strange Adventures In Infinite Space'' was a 2003
Independent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...
finalist for the
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
The Seumas McNally Grand Prize is the main award given at the Independent Games Festival (IGF), an annual event that takes place during the Game Developers Conference, one of the largest gatherings of the indie video game industry. The award is na ...
.
''Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space''
The sequel, ''Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space'', has received a 79 score on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Finnish gaming publication
Pelit
''Pelit'' ("Games") is a Finnish video games magazine published in Helsinki, Finland.
History
''Pelit'' dates back to 1987, as an annual extra games-only issue of '' MikroBitti'' and '' C-lehti''. Another annual issue was published in 1988, and in ...
felt that the game captured the feeling of space exploration, but was in need of more content.
GameZilla called it "a worthy sequel to the original excellent title", and recommended the game "for those who miss the simplicity, yet complex nature of the old ''Star Control'' titles". Tyler Sager of Gaming Nexus praised the game its short experience of exploration. Computer Games Magazine was critical of the game's randomness and lack of adventure, calling it a "
CliffsNotes
CliffsNotes are a series of student study guides. The guides present and create literary and other works in pamphlet form or online. Detractors of the study guides claim they let students bypass reading the assigned literature. The company cl ...
version of ''
Star Control''".
Kieron Gillen
Kieron Michael Gillen (; born 30 September 1975) is a British comic book writer and former video game and music journalist. In comics, Gillen is known for ''Phonogram'' and ''The Wicked + The Divine'', both co-created with artist Jamie McKelvie ...
from
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
praised the game for its "variety, excitement, thought and pace all in tiny bundle you can wolf down in a sandwich break". Writing for Gamasutra, Ernest Adams praised the game for the balance between its different layers.
''Weird Worlds'' won the award for Innovation In Audio at the 2006 Independent Games Festival, and was nominated for the
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
The Seumas McNally Grand Prize is the main award given at the Independent Games Festival (IGF), an annual event that takes place during the Game Developers Conference, one of the largest gatherings of the indie video game industry. The award is na ...
that same year.
Legacy
The game has been considered to be one of the first "rogue-lite" games, games that took core
roguelike
Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a subgenre of role-playing computer games traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player characte ...
such as permadeath and procedural generation but adopted them to different gameplay styles that forwent the tile-based and hack-and-slash gameplay.
Writing for
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
, Jody McGregor called it the "original spaceship roguelike", tracing its lineage from the ''
Star Control'' series to ''
FTL: Faster than Light.''
''FTL'' developer Justin Ma has cited
''Weird Worlds'' as an influence on the game's development. Journalists have since made favorable comparisons between ''FTL'' and ''Weird Worlds''.
Rock Paper Shotgun also noted the influence of ''Weird Worlds'' on
''The Long Journey Home'', another procedurally generated space game influenced by ''FTL''.
Reviews
*''
Pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
''
See also
*
List of roguelikes
This is a selected list of roguelike video games. Roguelike games are those that incorporate elements of role-playing games with procedural generation, following the formula of the genre's namesake, '' Rogue''. Due to the large number of variat ...
* ''
Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space'' (sequel)
References
External links
*
Digital Eel Games homepage Official site for all "Infinite Space" electronic and table game updates
TV tropes video games page Strange Adventures in Infinite Space details and references deep dive
*{{moby game, id=/strange-adventures-in-infinite-space
Roguelike video games
Freeware games
2002 video games
MacOS games
Classic Mac OS games
Windows games
Cheapass Games games
Open-source video games
Video games developed in the United States
Commercial video games with freely available source code
Creative Commons-licensed video games
Indie video games
Single-player video games