Dungeon Hacks
How NetHack, Angband, and Other Roguelikes Changed the Course of Video Games
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Narrated by:
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Mike Rylander
About this listen
In 1980, computers were instruments of science and mathematics, military secrets and academia. Stern administrators lorded over sterile university laboratories and stressed one point to the wide-eyed students privileged enough to set foot within them: Computers were not toys.
Defying authority, hackers seized control of monolithic mainframes to create a new breed of computer game: the roguelike, cryptic, and tough-as-nails adventures drawn from text-based symbols instead of state-of-the-art 3-D graphics.
Despite their visual simplicity, roguelike games captivate thousands of players around the world. From the author of the best-selling Stay Awhile and Listen series, Dungeon Hacks introduces you to the visionaries behind some of the most popular roguelikes of all time and shows how their creations paved the way for the blockbuster video games of today - and beyond.
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In 10 chapters, composed of 10 "commands", Rushkoff provides cyber enthusiasts and technophobes alike with the guidelines to navigate the digital new universe. In this spirited, accessible poetics of new media, Rushkoff picks up where Marshall McLuhan left off, helping listeners to recognize programming as the new literacy of the digital age - and as a template through which to see beyond social conventions and power structures that have vexed us for centuries.
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Good book, but with some crazy ranting
- By Bjarne on 02-05-15
By: Douglas Rushkoff
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Now You See It
- How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn
- By: Cathy N. Davidson
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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When Duke University gave free iPods to the freshman class in 2003, critics said they were wasting their money. Yet when the students in practically every discipline invented academic uses for the music players, suddenly the idea could be seen in a new light - as an innovative way to turn learning on its head. Using cutting-edge research on the brain, Cathy N. Davidson show how attention blindness has produced one of our society's greatest challenges.
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3 Reasons to Read
- By Joshua Kim on 05-06-12
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Thinking Machines
- The Quest for Artificial Intelligence - and Where It's Taking Us Next
- By: Luke Dormehl
- Narrated by: Gus Brown
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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When most of us think about artificial intelligence, our minds go straight to cyborgs, robots, and sci-fi thrillers where machines take over the world. But the truth is that artificial intelligence is already among us. It exists in our smartphones, fitness trackers, and refrigerators that tell us when the milk will expire. In some ways the future people dreamed of at the World's Fair in the 1960s is already here. We're teaching our machines how to think like humans, and they're learning at an incredible rate.
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Mostly platitudes with no depth
- By Gary on 03-24-17
By: Luke Dormehl
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Dave Barry in Cyberspace
- By: Dave Barry
- Narrated by: Shadoe Stevens
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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When Dave Barry goes mano a mano with the Information Superhighway, it's guaranteed to be a rip-roaring adventure. This self-proclaimed computer geek and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist starts with the motto, "Never read the instructions," and slides from there into the world of hardware, software, Windows 95, and the critical issue of RAM ("the bottom line is, if you're a guy, you cannot have enough RAM").
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Disappointing and Dated
- By Alan Rither on 09-13-04
By: Dave Barry
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This Is Esports (And How to Spell It)
- An Insider’s Guide to the World of Pro Gaming
- By: Paul Chaloner
- Narrated by: Paul Chaloner, Sarah Ovens
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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What is competitive gaming, and where did it come from? What makes it so exciting? The bitter esports team and country rivalries, the scandals, the money, the last-minute Hail Mary plays; it’s all here, brought to you with the trademark wit - and access - of the industry’s most respected and experienced broadcaster. He’ll even tell you how to spell it. This is the world of esports according to its most famous presenter.
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Very interesting content with great narration
- By Tsouth2 on 06-03-20
By: Paul Chaloner
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Whiplash
- How to Survive Our Faster Future
- By: Joi Ito, Jeff Howe
- Narrated by: James Foster
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Today, not only is everything digital getting faster, cheaper, and smaller at an exponential rate, we also have the Internet. When these two revolutions - one in technology and the other in communications - joined, an explosive force was unleashed that changed the very nature of innovation. And with any change, we have seen many strategic blunders and extraordinary learning curves along the way.
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Just general advice on how to survive
- By A. Yoshida on 09-01-17
By: Joi Ito, and others
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Group Genius
- The Creative Power of Collaboration
- By: Keith Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In this authoritative and fascinating new audiobook, Keith Sawyer, a psychologist at Washington University, tears down some of the most popular myths about creativity and erects new principles in their place. He reveals that creativity is always collaborative: even when you're alone. Sawyer's audiobook is filled with compelling stories about the inventions that changed our world.
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Worth reading
- By Glenn on 12-29-10
By: Keith Sawyer
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Explore/Create
- My Life in Pursuit of New Frontiers, Hidden Worlds, and the Creative Spark
- By: Richard Garriott, David Fisher
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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An inventor, adventurer, entrepreneur, collector, and entertainer, and son of legendary scientist-astronaut Owen Garriott, Richard Garriott de Cayeux has been behind some of the most exciting undertakings of our time. A legendary pioneer of the online gaming industry - and a member of every gaming Hall of Fame - Garriott invented the multi-player online game, and coined the term "Avatar" to describe an individual's online character. In this fascinating memoir, Garriott invites listeners on the great adventure that is his life.
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The Modern Day Explorer
- By Elijah on 04-17-17
By: Richard Garriott, and others
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Automate This
- How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World
- By: Christopher Steiner
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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It used to be that to diagnose an illness, interpret legal documents, analyze foreign policy, or write a newspaper article you needed a human being with specific skills - and maybe an advanced degree or two. These days, high-level tasks are increasingly being handled by algorithms that can do precise work not only with speed but also with nuance. These "bots" started with human programming and logic, but now their reach extends beyond what their creators ever expected.
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good start, book runs out of sustenace
- By RealTruth on 02-15-13
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The Laws of Simplicity
- Design, Technology, Business, Life
- By: John Maeda
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We’re rebelling against technology that’s too complicated, DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte “read me” manuals. The iPod’s clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: we want something that’s simple and easy to use, but also does all the complex things we might ever want it to do.
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Get past the start and be impressed
- By Alex Z on 12-11-17
By: John Maeda
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The Filter Bubble
- What the Internet Is Hiding from You
- By: Eli Pariser
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In December 2009, Google began customizing its search results for each user. Instead of giving you the most broadly popular result, Google now tries to predict what you are most likely to click on. According to MoveOn.org board president Eli Pariser, Google's change in policy is symptomatic of the most significant shift to take place on the Web in recent years: the rise of personalization.
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Now in the top 3 best books I've ever read
- By Brian Esserlieu on 05-26-11
By: Eli Pariser
What listeners say about Dungeon Hacks
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nickolas Landry
- 12-20-22
Interesting history of Rogue and other roguelikes
There's good research in this book, though the chapters feel inconsistent. I often felt like I was reading filler, and other areas felt underdeveloped. When Craddock got good anecdotes from his interviews with the original developers, he included them. The rest of the time, he filled the pages with descriptions of how the games played. Some of it was interesting, other parts felt unnecessary.
I would have loved to read more about what became of these developers. Where did they work after that? Did their formative years working on Rogue, Hack, NetHack, Moria, Angband, and such have much influence on their professional careers? I think the book could have explored more of the modern Roguelike games beyond ADOM, not from listing games after games, but how Rogue and its successors influenced more titles beyond just Diablo or FTL.
Overall I still enjoyed the book. It's an interesting account of a niche segment of computer and gamedev history and definitely a recommended read for anyone involved in RPG or Roguelike/lite game development.
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- E H
- 10-28-16
awesome!
great topic, well narrated. love Angband and this book reminded me why! definitely worth a listen.
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3 people found this helpful
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- David Molay
- 07-01-16
A nostalgic look at an accidental classic
Simply amazing. I've loved these games for many years, but had no idea how interesting the history of their creation would be. Any person calling themselves a gamer should listen to this book and try these games.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jesse
- 02-12-16
Excellent
I enjoyed it. I'm a big NetHack, FTL, Rogue Legacy fan and if you know what those things are you'll probably enjoy it too.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Michael Whitt
- 01-13-19
Awesome insight into the history of Roguelikes.
I still have a few chapters left but loving this book and the narration is very well done. Will update with full review once done.
Avid Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, Nethack and Angband player.
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