The Dink Network

Checkpoint Mini #136: Dink Smallwood

December 6th 2020, 05:03 AM
peasantmb.gif
yeoldetoast
Peasant They/Them Australia
LOOK UPON MY DEFORMED FACE! 
I stumbled across a Hungarian podcast series which recently seems to have done an episode about Dink. As I don't know a single word of Hungarian, I can't understand at all what they actually have to say about it.
December 6th 2020, 11:09 AM
spike.gif
SlipDink
Peasant He/Him United States bloop rumble
2nd generation. No easy way to be free. 
As I don't know a single word of Hungarian, I can't understand at all what they actually have to say about it.

Good news! You don't have to know Hungarian to learn what they talked about.

As the article (translated to English) says... "Checkpoint Mini, which is both an article and a podcast, depending on who consumes it." This means if you use a web browser that translates for you (such as Google's Chromium or Google Chrome), you can read about it in whatever your language of preference may be (like I did).

I'd say it is definitely worth reading too as it covers the game's development & early user history. Clearly the author likes the charm of this game too.

Now if we could just get him to include a link to the DN in his article!
December 7th 2020, 08:55 AM
death.gif
RangerLord
Peasant He/Him Hungary bloop
The nation above all 
I made an attempt to translate it. Sorry for being long.
Ranger Lord's recap about the podcast (also, can't really verify the historical data, too lazy to check):
How did it show up on their radar: one of them once played a demo version from a disk that came with a magazine. He introduced his co-host to the game.
They found the game to be flawed, but really charming. In the end, they basically conclude that the game has a soul.
They talked about the background of the game, like Seth's first computer being a Commodore 16, the Legend of the Red Dragon bbs game.
They credit the game to two people: Seth and the graphic designer, Justin Martin (they don't say his name), seems they missed Greg Smith.
They claim the game had to be released half-finished because of preorders. And mention Seth using his picture as a boss.
I found it kind of amusing that they only get Milder's name right later. "Malder"
They mention the interesting mix of tragedy and comedy. One of them presed the wrong button and accidentally killed Quackers in the front of Ethel.
They compare the story to Monty Python and The Secret of Monkey Island.
They also say the gameplay might look like Diablo first, but it isn't. They say the ability to interact reminds them of Ultima. And that the scrolling scenes idea was taken from Zelda.
They mention how unvaried the graphics are (kind of like me beginning sentences), but it keeps you curious what will happen next.
The infamous Warcraft soundtrack story is covered too. And apparently Iridon, the European publisher didn't pay Seth's cut after the first share. Also, there are different measurements of how well Dink sold.
The Dink Network is mentioned as the community around the game. Also, the modding capabilities are touched upon. And one of them found the map of the game in the files section.
They talk about how Seth was reluctant to release the source code for thinking it was poorly written.
The Baldur's Gate refrence to Dink is said too.
Apperently, they did not finish the game. One of them managed to pass the bridge guy, the other got to the Goblin Sanctuary. But it's said they might finish it.
Dink HD is mentoined.
December 7th 2020, 10:55 AM
spike.gif
Thanks for the translation. It's amazing how many people first played Dink on a demo CD (myself included). Makes you wonder if the game would even have a fandom without those things.
December 22nd 2020, 07:38 AM
peasantmb.gif
yeoldetoast
Peasant They/Them Australia
LOOK UPON MY DEFORMED FACE! 
Thanks RangerLord! Also a note for any Hungarian lurkers who've come here, Freedink includes a full translation of all game text.
December 23rd 2020, 01:10 AM
pq_knight.gif
ExDeathevn
Peasant He/Him New Zealand rumble
"Skinny Legend" 
I can't remember how I stumbled across Dink, may have been a freeware CD as well.

Wonder if they ever did finish their own playthrough? Thanks for the translation notes, Ranger.
December 26th 2020, 10:37 PM
custom_robj.png
Robj
Jester He/Him Australia
You feed the madness, and it feeds on you. 
I stumbled upon Dink in a free CD in one of those gaming magazines, early 2000's.

I remember beating the original game. At the time we had a really bad dial up connection that hardly ever worked, so I use to walk down to the local internet cafe', download as many mods as I could fit on my 256mb usb(lol, how times have changed), and go home and finish them all.

I remember trying to make a Dmod, and it turned out terrible because I was horrible at scripting back then. That is where TGKA spawned from.

The nostalgia.
December 27th 2020, 10:52 AM
death.gif
RangerLord
Peasant He/Him Hungary bloop
The nation above all 
The first time I played Dink was as a kid. I can't remember how old I was (8 maybe?). My aunt used to download me games, mostly demos from a software collection website. It's crazy, but that website still exists. This is where I played obscure late 90-s, early 2000-s titles. I played mostly strategy games, but this was where I discovered my first JPRPG. My other sources for video games a as child were: a Commodore 64 (sadly sold by my parents - can you belive that the original German manual somehow survived? I keep it as a memento.), flash game sites, and old copied shareware CDs with MS-DOS games. I think I played Dink version 1.06. It didn't have the save machine in Stonebrook. Later I discorvered this site and D-Mods. Played both good and bad. With my minimal English skills I only knew how to download and install, never understood their story. Man, was that nostalgic.
December 28th 2020, 01:06 PM
spike.gif
SlipDink
Peasant He/Him United States bloop rumble
2nd generation. No easy way to be free. 
The 1st time I played Dink, it was with my new RedHat Linux distro, back near the year 2000.

It "changed my life".

Well, okay, I'm exaggerating a little. But it certainly made my life a bit more interesting and fun.

When I was laid off at the end of 2015, forced into early retirement while my job was outsourced(*), I started working on dmods.

(*)I WAS LAID OFF AFTER HELPING TRAIN MY REPLACEMENTS! BUT HEH, I'M NOT BITTER ABOUT IT!
December 28th 2020, 07:36 PM
knights.gif
Silberfarben
Peasant She/Her
Lady Silberfarben, mighty ruler of the Silbershire 
I found it while browsing Software Manager, or Discover, or one of those, I don't remember which distro I was using. probably ubuntu mate back then.
It was in 2016 which to me seems a long time ago. I played the original game and then proceeded to play most dmods...
in alphabetical order...

until I, fortunately, found out about the rating system, which prevented me from playing more of the lower score dmods
which I went back and played anyway.

later on, I recalled this game and played dmods again, which led me to join the community
and here I am.