About

Gorgon started life as a graphical extension to an earlier, text-only, parser-based adventure game engine. Developed initially to power an entry in the DOS Games Spring Jam 2021 hosted by Michael Klamerus, it was a sort of challenge to myself to try to extend my text-based engine to support an AGI-like aesthetic: 160x200 pixels, 16 colors, parser-driven interaction, etc.

In 2023, that very same game jam project (and the Gorgon engine along with it) saw a full retail release. As such, the supported functionality has expanded quite a bit, up to it's current incarnation: Gorgon 3. It still runs at the 160x200 resolution, but it now also supports CGA and VGA graphics as well as several music and sound devices beyond the original Tandy 3 Voice Sound and Roland MT-32 supported by the original version.

This engine is open source, though I do keep strict reigns on the repo where code submissions are concerned. If someone sees fit to extend a fork to add new functionality or even port it to a currently unsupported platform, I will always be happy to review the extensions. However, the primary repo will remain largely restricted to me and a small handful of folx I work closely with.

Licensing

Neither case (extending a fork or just using the engine as offered to make a game) requires royalties or payments of any kind. My only requirement is that credit for the original engine is not hidden or removed.

Anyone who wishes to sell their Gorgon Engine-based game is free to do so through any platform with no restrictions. I would love to see what others make with the engine and welcome any discussions.

Contact me!

Please put "Gorgon Engine" in the email subject so I know it isn't just spam though.

Download the latest build from here.