You know, it’s sh-! like this, Trendy Entertainment…
that makes us love you.
The makers of Dungeon Defenders – a very popular multi-player tower defense / action game right out of the gate, have done something fiendishly clever in hopes of popularizing their title, identity and ideas even further (or maybe they are just crazy): with a purchase of Dungeon Defenders, you can now download the complete source code and art assets for the game, and their customized Unreal reference codebase which the claim to be one of the most definitive out there.
Users are actually encouraged to create their very own games with it which they can release, without restriction – the only limitation being that Trendy’s own executable files never be redistributed.
I have two feelings I want to share about this:
1. I probably won’t tinker with this for a while yet, because I am still enjoying playing Dungeon Defenders the game, and I know that once I crack open its shell, I will likely never go back to the game proper. This is why I never finished any Neverwinter Nights campaign; once I saw the engine, I couldn’t suspend my disbelief in someone else’s storyline in the same way.
2.This is very exciting. Can’t wait to see not only the mods but the kinds of games that are created with this engine. Add to which they feature an online automatic matchmaking tool for finding the best mods and Total conversions for you. Amazing.
Key Features:
- Create and edit maps for Dungeon Defenders: These maps can include new game code, assets, and more which will be automatically downloaded online to new players so they never have to leave the game. Create awesome new mods and become famous as their popularity spreads through the online Dungeon Defenders community!
- Access to all of Dungeon Defenders’ source assets: Build upon our vast library of Dungeon Defenders assets for your mod or total conversion using your art package of choice, so you can quickly create new content, animations, or characters without having to start from scratch.
- Access to Dungeon Defenders’ full source code: Change ANYTHING and create your own completely new game as a Total Conversion! You could make a brand new FPS, a team-versus-team online MOBA, or a third person Role Playing Game. The possibilities are endless and the existing Dungeon Defenders code base and content will give you a head start. This is one of the definitive Unreal Engine 3 reference codebases and one of the largest complete codebase to ever be publicly released!
- Utilize automatic online matchmaking for Mods and Total Conversions: Players automatically download new maps and content as needed when they connect to a previously un-played map or mod. Players can search online games for specific mods and Total Conversions will automatically connect, seamlessly matchmaking among themselves.
- Distribute your mods and total conversions: We give you the rights to distribute your creations anyway you wish, as long as you don’t include our EXE’s.
- Includes the pre-alpha source for a new, 16-Player PvP Capture the Flag mode, giving you a head-start on creating large-scale, competitive game types!
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As of this date: Friday, June 20th, 2014, Dungeon Defenders Development Kit is no longer available.
I hope that changes.