robotfindskitten
{{Short description|1997 video game}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=May 2025}}
{{Notability|date=May 2025}}
}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:robotfindskitten}}
{{Infobox software
|name=robotfindskitten
|logo=
|screenshot=robotfindskitten.png
|screenshot size=200px
|caption=
|collapsible=
|author=Leonard Richardson
|developer=
|released=1997
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}|df=yes}}
|latest preview version=
|latest preview date=
|programming language=Assembly language, C/C++, Flash, Gambas, Inform, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Scratch
|operating system=
|platform=Amiga, Android, Apple II, Arduboy, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atmel AVR, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, Lego Mindstorms NXT, Mac Classic, Maemo, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Palm OS, PlayStation Portable, POSIX, QNX, Rockbox, TI-83 Plus, TI-99/4A, Z-machine, ZX Spectrum
|size=
|language=English
|status=
|genre=Game
|license=GPL v2 or later
|website=http://robotfindskitten.org/
}}
{{Portal|Free and open-source software|Video games}}
robotfindskitten (rfk) is a "Zen simulation", originally written by Leonard Richardson for MS-DOS.
Game
robotfindskitten is a free video game with an ASCII interface in which the user (playing the eponymous robot and represented by a number sign "{{mono|#}}") must find kitten (represented by a random character) on a field of other random characters. Walking up to items allows robot to identify them as either kitten, or any of a variety of "Non-kitten Items" (NKIs) with whimsical, strange or simply random text descriptions. It is not possible to lose (though there is a [https://web.archive.org/web/20120301000000*/http://www.finnie.org/software/rfk-megahyperdeath-1.0.patch patch] that adds a 1 in 10 probability of the NKI killing 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".{{Cite book|title = Gaming Hacks|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zrqz84QUuSEC|publisher = "O'Reilly Media, Inc."|date = 2004-01-01|isbn = 9780596007140|language = en|first = Simon|last = Carless}}
The original robotfindskitten program was the sole entrant to a contest in 1997 at the now-defunct webzine Nerth Pork — the object: create a depiction of "robotfindskitten". The concept was originally created by Jacob Berendes, but the only submission he received depicted kittens meeting an untimely end at the hands of malevolent robots.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
When the author rewrote the program for Linux in 1999, it gained popularity and now has its own website and mailing lists. Since then, it 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.{{cite web |url=http://robotfindskitten.org/aw.cgi?main=software.rfk |title=The Many Ports |author= |date= |website=robotfindskitten.org |publisher= |access-date=18 March 2015}} Graphical versions, such as an OpenGL version with {{mono|#}} emblazoned on an otherwise featureless cube, also exist. Remakes of it are also used as programming tutorials, such as for Gambas.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web|url=http://robotfindskitten.org/|title=robotfindskitten... helping robots find kittens since 1997|publisher=robotfindskitten.org|accessdate=2014-06-09}}
- [http://netninja.com/files/robotfindskitten/ robotfindskitten in a Java applet]
- [http://robotfindskitten.org/aw.cgi?main=thought.rfk Fictional Back-story to the game, detailing robot's creation]
- [http://www.crummy.com/software/robotfindskitten/ "The Ultimate robotfindskitten Fan Site"] on the original author's web site
Category:Android (operating system) games
Category:Dreamcast homebrew games
Category:Game Boy Advance games
Category:Free and open-source Android software
Category:Open-source video games
Category:Video games developed in the United States