Rogue Legacy Dev Open-Sources Code for Education

Indie developer Cellar Door Games has generously released the source code for its acclaimed 2013 roguelike, Rogue Legacy, to foster knowledge sharing within the game development community.

Cellar Door Games Open-Sources Rogue Legacy

Game Assets Remain Proprietary, But Collaboration is Encouraged

Cellar Door Games took to Twitter (now X) to announce the free availability of Rogue Legacy 1's source code, hosted on GitHub under a specialized, non-commercial license. This allows for personal use and study of the game's mechanics. The initiative has been lauded by developers and gamers alike, providing a valuable learning resource and contributing to game preservation efforts.

The GitHub repository is managed by Ethan Lee, a developer known for his work porting indie games to Linux. The release safeguards the game's accessibility, mitigating the risk of it becoming lost or unavailable through platform changes or delistings. This proactive approach to digital preservation has even attracted the attention of Andrew Borman, Director of Digital Preservation at the Rochester Museum of Play, who expressed interest in collaborating with Cellar Door Games.

It's important to note that while the source code is freely available, the game's art, graphics, music, and icons remain under proprietary license and are not included. Cellar Door Games encourages contact for inquiries regarding the use of these assets or for projects extending beyond the scope of the provided license. Their GitHub page clearly states the intention is to facilitate learning, inspire new projects, and enable the creation of tools and modifications for Rogue Legacy 1.