NetHack - from ASCII to 3D

NetHack, a descendant of Rogue is one of the oldest games around, having just reached 21 years old and is still in development at version 3.4.3. It's a hack and slash game written in C, dating back over 20 years when it was first implemented using Ascii characters. It's very popular and even the BBC's H2G2 (Hitchikers Guide To) have a guide to it! There's a windows 2D gui version using tiles as well as a 3D isometric spinoff called Vulture's Eye.

Once a year in November, since 1999 there's been a NetHack tournament run on the /dev/null network throughout November and because the game is hard, and only about 1% of the players complete it by getting the Amulet of Yendor. The developers have tried to anticipate every situation so it's an excellent example of a very mature piece of software.

Link to
• C Games Code Library