Rogue Touch

Ok, as I admitted last April, I'm a sucker for role playing computer games. And if there's some type of fungi in the game, well... you can bet that my cloak-wearing, mace-swinging, scroll-carrying dungeon explorer is going to check it out. Unfortunately, there are rarely any decent ID guides to check before you confront one of these menacing mushrooms.

My latest find is a game for my iPhone - Rogue Touch. To say this game is old-school is an understatement. The original Rogue is considered the grandaddy of these types of games. (Note that characters and monsters were actually represented by letters and numbers, hallways and rooms by number signs and dashes in classic ASCII fashion.)

Well the game has been updated for release on the iPhone with ChronoSoft's Rogue Touch. The ASCII commands and movement have been replaced with easier to grasp (and visualize) characters, colors, and icons, but it still maintains the spirit of the original. You begin on level 1 and descend a monster-inhabited dungeon in search of the fabled Amulet of Yendor. Along the way are the usual (and sometimes unusual) assortment of weapons, spells, equipment and food.

It didn't take me long to find evil slimes roaming the halls, waiting for me to round the corner. Bright pink, they sort of look like Dumb Donald's head from the Fat Albert comics. As you can see from the screenshot I'm surrounded by 4 of them... and that Orc with the sword isn't helping. Fortunately I've jammed myself into a doorway so only one can attack me at a time. Unfortunately when you attack one it has a nasty habit of dividing, so as you can see I'm now battling four of them. My best attempt at identifying them would be this.

In another game, I came across a mushroom. You don't come across too many yellow and orange spotted mushrooms so I thought it might possibly, well a magic one. I mean there IS a lot of magic in this game. But alas, I grabbed it and nothing too special happened. I kept it in my backpack for awhile. Actually I kept it until I ran out of food, before finally eating it. It provided a little nourishment but not enough to keep me from starving a few floors later.

There are however a lot of surprises around every corner in this game, so I have a feeling that the next mushroom I come across might have a different effect. I'll keep you updated. Meanwhile you can get the game on the iTunes store for $2.99.

(Actually if you narrow the slightly bulbous bolete-like base, you could make an argument that it's an orange version of Amanita flavoconia.