The engine I'm using is a game creation program (MegaZeux) that dates back to the early 90's, where it ran in MS-DOS. It's still got a small internet community going (vault.digitalmzx.net) and every few months or so, a new updated version comes out for modern Windows. It's open source.

It's a limited engine in many, many ways, but it's fun to work in and requires no compiling. I can press ALT+T inside the editor and test my current screen right then and there. It's super nice to work with. There's absolutely no commercial prospects for a game made in this engine, probably, but it's a really fun hobby, since it really takes away the need for tedious debugging and such. I mean, I'm still coding stuff inside the engine in an engine-specific language called Robotic, but it's simple and pretty much something anyone who has the interest could learn.

I'm hoping to upload a version with some more actual gameplay in December somewhere. But it's very much a playable game at this point. It even runs pretty bug-free as far as I know.

I cut a lot of teeth with MS-DOS and AutoCAD, manipulating config.sys on a 386 and all that malarkey. They've understandably come a LONG way, but someone like me just loves the nostalgia (I just used this word), since it brings me back to the days of some of the first RPG's like Leisure Suit Larry, Pool of Radiance (D&D), and a few others. Looking forward to you putting it out there.

Maybe I'll try it someday. If it's as simple as you say, maybe I could get somewhere with it. Are there any limitations with what games you can make with it?

There's a **** ton of limitations! Keep in mind it's based on an engine from 1991. You work with a modifiable ASCII character set for graphics. It can play .ogg and .wav for sound at least, so that's something. It's a super fun engine to work in if you wanna make some really old school looking stuff, but forget all about 3D and sophisticated 16 bit style 2d artwork. Good programmers have pushed the boundaries of what the engine can do, but you have to be realistic about what you feel like is fun to make.

I'm making a very retro looking turn based RPG game with some top-down dungeon exploration. That's well within the capabilities of the engine.

I've seen people make basic platformers, action games, tetris clones...

BTW: Coming up shortly, I've recorded playthroughs of your two Doom maps.

I figured that it was only that 80's-style graphics, but I know some engines and game creation tools cater to certain kinds of games.

Nice! Can't wait to see them.

Uploaded in the "what game are you playing" thread for maximum relevance. Kinda funny that I'm trying to avoid spamming the spam thread.

The age old battle of the green army men vs the tan army men....in a dance off.

Did you have some kind of formal training/education in working in DOS and AutoCAD?

I had a DOS computer as a teen and basically used it from 1995 to around 2003. There's a lot of nostalgia for me in not just the games, but also the DOS operating system itself.

I used to play games like Realms of Arkania 2 and 3, Dungeon Master II, Eye of the Beholder, Thunderscape, Might & Magic 5, Daggerfall... The older titles from the early 90's and 80's are games that I've tried wrestling with in much more recent times. It can be hard to go back to PC games that are that ancient.