The Dungeonmans Legacy

I’m Jim Shepard, the developer behind Dungeonmans.

For many years, the two weeks of Christmas break was a time to relax from making big budget video games and focus on hobby coding. I have always loved roguelikes and so I’d usually take that chance to work on my own, which became the very beginnings of Dungeonmans. For the most part, it was a project I used to learn skills outside of those I’d practice daily at the office. It was also really fun to crush monsters.

Back in winter 2009, I shared the fledgling game with some comrades at the studio I was working at, and there was some excitement. Through a series of art and development jams and a whole lot of food from Taco C, a plethora of new art and content was created for Dungeonmans. It was an exciting time for the independent roguelike scene all around, and I was excited to be a part of it.

Around summer 2010, a build was completed and released to the internet at large. It was well received by many, and I was able to gather excellent feedback and combat telemetry to improve the game. Even though I continued working full time, Dungeonmans simmered along, waiting for the time to be right.

As of this year, Dungeonmans is my full time job, and I’m proud to be able to show off the work that has gone into the game so far. Development is cruising along and regular updates will be available here on the site.

The other main contributor to Dungeonmans is Bobby Frye.

Bobby teaches game design at the UT Dallas and is the co-curator of Tiny Thumbs, a traveling pop-up arcade that showcases some of the best talent in the indie game scene. He’s been a part of Dungeonmans since 2010 and has helped nuture the heroic but still light hearted style of Dungeonmans, both through actual art creation as well as lending his expertise and advice. His continuing support is a big part of why Dungeonmans made the conversion from fun side project to actual marketable project.

Many other developers have contributed to Dungeonmans and are part of what makes the game so great. As Dungeonmans development continues, look forward to showcases and special updates on their work.

Music
Andrew Aversa

Art and Style
Jeff Ward
Jeramy Cooke
Lorraine Herrera
Martin Sawkins
Wes Parker
Westly LaFleur

Code and Development Support
Don Eubanks
Patrick Lipo