Online role-playing game developed since 2003.
"Stupid, ridiculous game"
— Jick, the developer.
Think of a free-to-play computer game, run in your browser. Think of a game drawn by Randall Munroe (of xkcd fame), scripted by the Monty Python crew. Now throw in a generous scattering of the surreal, pop culture, obscure cultural references, somewhat politically incorrect and irreverent humour, terrible puns, and quirky inside jokes. The mobs are absurd (the Knob Goblins and Frat Orcs come to mind here) and the quests given by the lunatical Council of Loathing are equally hare-brained.
It's been going since February 2003, and its success has been put down to all the oddness already mentioned. It's primarily a single-player game, in that for the most part you don't see other player characters fighting along side you. That said, there has always been a strong social presence. There are clans to join, a thriving economy and a lot of discussion. Players can equip various of the items dropped by monsters in the game, or created from scratch. You can find and employ familiars that help you in various ways (from finding items, the in-game "meat" currency or assisting in other mechanics). It's a game that looks very simple, but is in fact, complex and rich; every playthrough is different and challenging, and with even a basic understanding of the mechanics, speed-running the game is also fun.
The player classes include magic users, rogues, tanks and more. Randomino has touched on this, but it's one of the quirky aspects of the game that keeps bringing me back time after time. It's marvellous fun to fight using a spaghetti spear or a sauce geyser, whilst protecting yourself with a white satin shield (obtained from a Knight in White Satin, of course).
The game was developed more or less as a joke, after Zack Johnson ("Jick") decided that "he was taking the games he created too seriously", and set himself the task of writing a game from scratch in a week. Once it had proven to be well received, he teamed up with an old friend, Josh Nite ("Mr Skullhead") and the game was a runaway success.
Amazingly, after almost twenty years, it's still being supported, both by the devs and the playerbase. Of course, like so many things on the internet from that time, it's past its heyday, but there is still money going to support Jick and his team, new material and items continue to be launched on a regular basis. One of the greatest features of the game is the "New Game Plus". As you complete the various quests, gathering materiel and gaining levels and skills, you are finally ready to kill the end boss, the aforementioned Naughty Sorceress. That done, you get to "ascend", gain permanent skills and powers and then…start again. Rinse, laugh, repeat. Much of the value in the game is the writing; even after playing for years, I can still get laughs out of the base game.
Most of the game is unchanged since Randomino wrote the above eighteen years ago. The classes are still there, the quests and bosses are largely the same, but the game has expanded enormously. Whilst the game is free to play, every month a new powerful item is made available for purchase. Spending $10 (US) gets you a thing that will not only help you in playing the game, but will entertain you, puzzle you and grant you the satisfaction of supporting a classic nearly twenty years in the making.
Three times a year, there's a new challenge path that remakes the standard game in some way. There have been world events that change some of the basic mechanics, there have been avatars of characters within the game, and all accompanied by good fun and (generally) great writing. Each Christmas ("Crimbo") there's a special world event that brings back many players year after year. The story arc is compelling and part of the gamelore, discussed and criticised continually.
It's hard to talk about the game in brief, simply due to the scale of it. Suffice to say that after playing for most of eighteen years, I still find it compelling enough to play almost daily. Addicted? Maybe, but it's great escapism for an hour or so and I am still thankful for it.
Addendum I'm reminded (thanks, Zephronias!) that there's a follow-up to the game, West of Loathing, released in 2017. I've never played it, but did follow the occasionally painful story of its development.
https://kingdomofloathing.com
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