Angband
/\ *
/\ / \ /\
/ \/ /\ \/ \
___/_____/__\_____\___
| MORGOTH |
| .---------. |
| | * * | |
| | W | |
| '---------' |
'------.------'
|
100
|
.-----+-----.
| @ ? / |
'-----------'
ASCII illustration
An expedition measured in depth and preparation.
1990: Angband 1.0 at Warwick.
By Alex Cutler, Andy Astrand and successive volunteer maintainers.
Angband began at the University of Warwick in 1990, built on Umoria 5.2.1. Alex Cutler and Andy Astrand expanded its Tolkien setting with more monsters and equipment, including unique opponents and artifacts. A succession of maintainers then carried it across machines and decades.
The town remained above a deep, repeatedly generated dungeon. Morgoth waited at the far end. Much of the game happens in the decision to descend, delay or retreat. Damage is only one concern: a missing resistance, an exhausted escape supply or an unexpectedly dangerous creature can end an otherwise promising character.
Angband’s history is also a history of variants. Its available source and editable game data made it a useful starting point for people who wanted a different setting, pace or set of rules. Some variants stayed close. Others became difficult to recognise as relatives.
Sil is one of the clearest contrasts. It inherited code through that family, then cut away much of the familiar progression to pursue a shorter, more tightly focused Tolkien game.
Sources
Angband manual: version history