In 1980, computers were instruments of science and mathematics, military secrets and academia. Stern administrators lorded over sterile university laboratories and stressed one point to the wide-eyed students privileged enough to set foot within them: Computers were not toys.

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of over a dozen nonfiction books about videogame development and culture, including the bestselling Stay Awhile and Listen series, Arcade Perfect: How Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat, and Other Coin-Op Classics Invaded the Living Room, and fiction for young adults including The Dumpster Club and Heritage: Book One of the Gairden Chronicles. Find him online @davidlcraddock on Twitter.

About This Book. Introduction: Rodney and Friends. Acknowledgments. About the Author. 1 The BAM-Like: Exploring Beneath Apple Manor. 2 Procedural Dungeons of Doom: Building Rogue, Part 1. 3 Rodney and the Free Market: Building Rogue, Part 2. 4 There and Back Again: Retrieving the Sword of Fargoal. 5 When the Inmates Run the Asylum: Hack-ing at Lincoln-Sudbury High School. 6 It Takes a Village: Raising NetHack. 7 None Shall Pass: Braving the Mines of Moria. 8 Neapolitan Roguelike: The Many Flavors of Angband. 9 Wish You Were Here! Questing for Postcards in Ancient Domains of Mystery. 10 The Future of Play. Rogue's Gallery. Bonus Round: Reading, Writing, and Programming-An Interview with Brian Harvey. Bonus Round: Work and @Play-An Interview with John Harris. Index.