Software:Robotfindskitten
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| Original author(s) | Leonard Richardson |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1997 |
| Written in | Assembly language, C/C++, Flash, Gambas, Inform, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Scratch |
| Platform | Amiga, Android, Apple II, Arduboy, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atmel AVR, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, Lego Mindstorms NXT, OS X, Maemo, Nintendo DS, Wii, Palm OS, PlayStation Portable, POSIX, QNX, Rockbox, TI-83 Plus, TI-99/4A, Z-machine, ZX Spectrum |
| Available in | English |
| Type | Game |
| License | GPL v2 or later |
| Website | http://robotfindskitten.org/ |
robotfindskitten is a free video game originally written by Leonard Richardson for MS-DOS. The game uses ASCII interface in which the player, as the eponymous robot and represented by a number sign "#", must find a kitten (represented by a random character) on a field of other random characters.
Gameplay
Walking up to items allows robot to identify them as either kitten, or any of a variety of "non-kitten items" with whimsical, strange, or random text descriptions. It is not possible to lose (though there is a patch that adds a 1 in 10 probability of the item killing the robot). Simon Carless has characterized robotfindskitten as "less a game and more a way of life ... It's fun to wander around until you find a kitten, at which point you feel happy and can start again".[1]
Ports
The game has been ported to and/or implemented on over 30 platforms, including POSIX, the Dreamcast, Palm OS, TI-99/4A, the Z-machine, the Sony PSP, Android, and many more.[2] Graphical versions, such as an OpenGL version with # emblazoned on an otherwise featureless cube, also exist. Remakes are also used as programming tutorials, such as for Gambas.
In a 2023 study on automated translation of C programs into Rust, robotfindskitten was used as a benchmark program for the translation tools C2Rust and Crown. The study reported that the game's source code contains one raw pointer declaration but no raw pointer uses.[3]
References
- ↑ Carless, Simon (2004-01-01) (in en). Gaming Hacks. O'Reilly Media, Inc.. pp. 219-220. ISBN 9780596007140. https://books.google.com/books?id=zrqz84QUuSEC&q=robotfindskitten.
- ↑ "The Many Ports". http://robotfindskitten.org/aw.cgi?main=software.rfk.
- ↑ Zhang, Hanliang; David, Cristina; Yu, Yijun; Wang, Meng (2023). "Ownership guided C to Rust translation". pp. 475–477. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-37709-9_22. ISBN 978-3-031-37708-2.
External links
- "robotfindskitten... helping robots find kittens since 1997". robotfindskitten.org. http://robotfindskitten.org/. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
- robotfindskitten in a Java applet
- Fictional Back-story to the game, detailing robot's creation
- "The Ultimate robotfindskitten Fan Site" on the original author's web site
- A robotfindskitten-inspired challenge in code golf at Stack Exchange
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