Indie Dev Cellar Door Games Releases Rogue Legacy Source Code for Educational Purposes

Cellar Door Games, the developer behind the popular 2013 roguelike, Rogue Legacy, has made a generous contribution to the gaming community by releasing the game's source code to the public. This decision, driven by a desire to foster knowledge sharing, allows anyone to download and study the code for personal use. The code is available on GitHub under a non-commercial license.

The initiative has been lauded by many, offering a valuable learning opportunity for aspiring game developers. The project is managed by Ethan Lee, a developer also known for his contributions to other indie game source code releases.

This release also serves as a valuable preservation effort, ensuring the game's accessibility even if it were to be removed from digital storefronts. The move has even attracted the attention of the Rochester Museum of Play's Director of Digital Preservation, who expressed interest in collaborating with Cellar Door Games.

It's important to note that while the source code is freely available, the game's assets—including art, graphics, music, and icons—remain under a proprietary license and are not included. Cellar Door Games encourages those wishing to use assets outside the license terms or incorporate elements not included in the released code to contact them directly. The developers emphasize that the primary goal is to encourage learning, inspire new projects, and enable the creation of tools and modifications for Rogue Legacy 1.