Cogmind
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power / parts
ASCII illustration
Everything you are carrying is also part of you.
2012: 7DRL prototype; 2015: commercial alpha.
By Josh Ge / Grid Sage Games.
Cogmind began as a Seven Day Roguelike project in March 2012. Josh Ge returned to it for full-time development in 2013, released a commercial alpha in May 2015, and brought it to Steam Early Access in 2017.
Its central idea is a robot assembled from replaceable parts. Propulsion, weapons, power and utilities are not just bonuses collected around a permanent body. They determine how the current machine moves, fights and survives. Losing equipment can force a practical change of plan rather than simply lowering a number.
That makes salvage unusually immediate. The dungeon’s wreckage may contain the next workable version of the player character. A successful run is partly a willingness to stop defending a build that no longer exists.
The presentation gives this process an unusually rich character-based interface, alongside a tile option. Animation and information can coexist without giving up the turn structure.
The preserved 7DRL prototype is useful historical evidence. It allows the compact original idea to be compared with the larger game that grew around it.
Sources
Cogmind FAQ: prototype and release milestones