The Kingdom of Loathing

I’ve recently been introduced to a new game that has me hooked. It is called the Kingdom of Loathing. I learned about it through an article in Games Magazine. Here’s the lowdown: this guy wanted to make a game one week, so, he did. He used sketches, and the magic of the internet, to create a MMORPG. At the end of the week, he showed it off on a few message boards, and before long had over 60,000 registered users. The game is simple, yet complex (as I’ve found most great games to be). You won’t find flash animations (you’ll hardly find any animations), there aren’t lush 3D worlds to explore, and yet, as I said in my opening sentence, this game “has me hooked.” Did I mention that it’s free?

Now, on to the real reason for this post. The game is super-saturated with the kind of humor that appeals to me on so many levels. Object discriptions, character classes, items, locations, etc. are all woven together to form a thick Meat Blanket of hysteria which envelops the entire game (BTW, Meat is the official currency of KoL, and is also used to create things during the MeatSmithing Process).

I’d like to share a few of my favorite quotes from this game so far (I’ll be adding more as I get deeper into the game).

You’re attacked by a fiendish can of asparagus. Cans of asparagus aren’t normally all that scary, but this one’s got a knife!

This is a linoleum sword. It’s easy to clean, and with proper care, will last a lifetime.

You have contributed 2 Meat to the Council’s “Buy a Pair of Yetis” fund.

In the Sleazy Back Alley, you are attacked by a completely different spider than the big creepy spider that you may or may not have already been attacked by.

This is a fairly straightforward slingshot. You can use it to shoot rocks at things, or presumably to shoot things at rocks, provided that the things are relatively small.

I’ll be posting more of my favorites when I come across them. In the mean time, click on the link up there, and give the game a spin (the game isn’t a life sucker either, it only gives you 40 turns a day).