''Clonk'' is a single player and multiplayer

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

series. The games feature a mix of the

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...

, and

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

genres. Developed between 1994 and 2014 by RedWolf Design, the games of the series were originally released as

shareware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer. ...

and became

freeware Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...

and later

open source software Open-source software (OSS) is Software, computer software that is released under a Open-source license, license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and Software distribution, distribute the software an ...

around 2008 and 2014. The game's community has since developed the series under the name '' OpenClonk''. The series was compared and described as a mixture of ''

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

'', ''

The Settlers ''The Settlers'' () is a City-building game, city-building and real-time strategy video game series created by Volker Wertich in 1993. The The Settlers (1993 video game), original game was released on the Amiga, with subsequent games released p ...

'', ''

Tetris ''Tetris'' () is a puzzle video game created in 1985 by Alexey Pajitnov, a Soviet software engineer. In ''Tetris'', falling tetromino shapes must be neatly sorted into a pile; once a horizontal line of the game board is filled in, it disa ...

'', ''

Lemmings A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also incl ...

'' and ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...

''.Matthes Bender packt aus (echt jetzt!)
on rebell.at by Sigfried Arnold (in German, February 26, 2007)5 open source remakes of classic PC games you won't want to miss
by Mike Williams on

betanews eFront was an affiliate marketing network which purchased successful websites, such as '' Penny Arcade,'' SquareGamer, and BetaNews, and pooled traffic to those sites to command higher prices for advertising during an industrywide ad revenue slo ...

.com ''"2. OpenClonk is a free, open-source multiplayer version of RedWolf Design’s "Clonk". ..(think Minecraft, Terraria, Worms or Settlers), it’s great fun if you’re a fan of those games, and OpenClonk’s powerful customization tools means it’s easy to extend the program with new maps and scenarios."'' (May 2015) The game was noted for the easy game "extension" mechanic with an integrated editor and developer mode, which allows experienced players to create their own modifications directly into the game.

Gameplay

Screenshot of ''Clonk Endeavour'' In ''Clonk'', the player controls small, humanoid beings - the so-called Clonks - within a

two-dimensional A two-dimensional space is a mathematical space with two dimensions, meaning points have two degrees of freedom: their locations can be locally described with two coordinates or they can move in two independent directions. Common two-dimension ...

, dynamically modifiable landscape using

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

mouse A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...

. Clonks interact with their surrounding landscape, animals, weather, buildings and objects. The game can be played alone or in

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

in split-screen or via

local network A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, campus, or building, and has its network equipment and interconnects locally managed. LANs facilitate the distribution of d ...

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

. Four different keyboard settings, combined with the option of using a mouse or

gamepad A gamepad is a type of video game controller held in two hands, where the fingers (especially thumbs) are used to provide input. They are typically the main input device for video game consoles. Features Some common additions to the standar ...

, result in allowing up to six players on one computer. The game goal depends on the scenario being played, varying between melees, in which players fight each other, strategical team siege scenarios and cooperative missions.

Extensions

The expandability of the games is a core gameplay aspect and feature of the ''Clonk'' series. Several extensions were made over the years. There are medieval (''Knights''), futuristic (''Hazard''), fantasy and "Cowboys and Indians" (''Western'') themed packs available. ''Far worlds'' features the

deep sea The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. Conditions within the deep sea are a combination of low tempe ...

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

and

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

. The ''Western'' is also an official extension.

Community made extensions

The Comprehensive Clonk Archive Network (CCAN) a hub for the ''Clonk'' community to share self-made extensions for the game. Extensions for older (freeware) versions of ''Clonk'' can be downloaded there.

Development

Between 1994 and 1996 RedWolf Design, with the German lead developer Matthes Bender, created four ''Clonk'' games for the

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

/ PC platform. In 1999 RedWolf released their first

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

Clonk game, ''Clonk 4'' (in retail release under the name ''Clonk World'').

Revival of the series

In 2003, RedWolf Design revived the series' 2D branch by collaborating with the GWE team and derived the next official ''Clonk'' title called ''Clonk Endeavour'' from the previous GWE 4. ''Clonk Endeavour'' received positive attention when it was presented on the

Games Convention The Games Convention (GC), sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention, was an annual video game event held in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides video games, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware, and Edutainment. Its concep ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, and won a newcomer contest held by

GIGA TV Giga- ( or ) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of a short-scale billion or long-scale milliard (109 or 1,000,000,000). It has the symbol G. ''Giga-'' is derived from the Greek word (''gígas''), meaning "giant". The ...

. The game was sold in the CD version for €25 and as digital download for €15. The development continued, and several extensions such as a new network architecture for faster internet games and a fullscreen menu system were being developed. The development led to a new sequel, ''Clonk Rage'', which became the officially current version on May 5, 2008. Its predecessor, ''Clonk Endeavour'', was released as freeware a couple of days later. The other 3D development branch, ''Clonk Extreme'', progressed slowly, and in 2008 only early

alpha version The software release life cycle is the process of developing, testing, and distributing a software product (e.g., an operating system). It typically consists of several stages, such as pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and release candidate, before the fi ...

s, some screenshots and one preview video of the game were available. ''Clonk Extreme'' was announced with a release date in 2050, but this was later found to be an

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...

joke. However, in 2009 RedWolf Design's leader Matthes Bender announced he would be working on other projects, and the ''Clonk Extreme'' development was frozen without probable continuing development.Stellungnahme von Matthes Bender zur CX-Entwicklung
im clonk.de-Forum (in German) Development of ''Clonk Rage'' continued until May 2014. In 2014 the forums of ''Clonk'' were closed, and on

end-of-support In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its inception through the engineering, design, and manufacture, as well as the service and disposal of manufactured products. P ...

of all available ''Clonk'' versions, their engine source and game content have been released under

open-source license Open-source licenses are software licenses that allow content to be used, modified, and shared. They facilitate free and open-source software (FOSS) development. Intellectual property (IP) laws restrict the modification and sharing of creative ...

s to the community. Specifically, ''Clonk 1'' to ''3'' Borland Turbo C++ code, ''Clonk Planet'' v4.65 and ''Clonk Endeavour'' v4.95.5 (engines only) VC6 code and ''Clonk Rage''s current development prototype were released under the Clonk Source Code License ( ISC License). The content of all the games in the series was released under the

CC BY-NC A Creative Commons NonCommercial license (CC NC, CC BY-NC or NC license) is a Creative Commons license which a copyright holder can apply to their media to give public permission for anyone to reuse that media only for noncommercial activities. C ...

Creative Commons license A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work". A CC license is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and bu ...

, making them freely shareable and downloadable freeware.

OpenClonk Community continuation

''OpenClonk'' is an

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

continuation In computer science, a continuation is an abstract representation of the control state of a computer program. A continuation implements ( reifies) the program control state, i.e. the continuation is a data structure that represents the computat ...

based on ''Clonk Rage'' by a community of ''Clonk'' enthusiasts and former ''Clonk'' developers. It is not officially developed by RedWolf Design. ''OpenClonk'' is licensed under the ISC license with the content under

CC BY-SA A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work". A CC license is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and bui ...

(or more

permissive Permissiveness may refer to: * Permissiveness (endocrinology), between hormones and cells. * Permissiveness (virology), between viruses and cells. Permissive may refer to: * Permissive society, a liberalization of social norms in a society. * ...

). Development happens on a

git Git () is a distributed version control system that tracks versions of files. It is often used to control source code by programmers who are developing software collaboratively. Design goals of Git include speed, data integrity, and suppor ...

repository.

Reception

In 2004 ''Clonk Endeavour'' attracted some attention when it was presented on the

and won a newcomer contest held by

.Indigo (GC) 2004: Games Convention Tag Sechs
on Developia by Mathias Kanitz and Alexander Krug (in German, August 24, 2006, archived) In 2007 German

computer magazine Computer magazines are about computers and related subjects, such as networking and the Internet. Most computer magazines offer (or offered) advice, some offer programming tutorials, reviews of the latest technologies, and advertisements. ...

Computer Bild ''Computer Bild'' is a German fortnightly computer magazine published by Axel Springer SE Axel Springer SE () is a European multinational corporation, multinational mass media, mass and online media company, based in Berlin, Germany. The com ...

'' lists ''Clonk Planet'' with 4/5 stars. German gaming website ''gbase.de'' reviewed ''Clonk Rage'' in 2009 and gave it 7.5/10 points. A Russian game magazine's review called ''Clonk Planet'' "a plotless masterpiece" comparable with ''

'' and ''

''.САЙТ GAMELAND ONLINE (www.gameland.ru) Журналы : CD №17 (98)
''"This game has no plot! ..It would be appropriate in this respect to compare with "Tetris", "Lemmings" and other "plotless" masterpieces. But the game has a name - "Clonk"."'' (archived) The game was reviewed by several other German game magazines.PC GAMES 9/2003 ClonkPlanet4.65
on

PC Games ''PC Games'' is a monthly-released PC gaming magazine published by the Computec Media GmbH in Germany. History ''PC Games'' was founded in 1992 and included a 3½-in floppy disk, which was changed to a CD-ROM in 1995. By 1999 it became the ...

magazine (in September 2003)

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

* http://www.clonk.de/?lng=en - official English site (Redwolf Design) * http://www.openclonk.org/ - official website of ''OpenClonk'' * https://github.com/openclonk/openclonk - ''OpenClonk''

GitHub GitHub () is a Proprietary software, proprietary developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage, and share their code. It uses Git to provide distributed version control and GitHub itself provides access control, bug trackin ...

code mirror * http://www.ccan.de/ - database of game extensions created by players * https://archive.today/20121231073608/http://www.clonkforge.net/ -sSite used to organize development teams for ''Clonk'' extensions 1994 video games Strategy video games Platformers DOS games Windows games Linux games Multiplayer and single-player video games Open-source video games Freeware games Commercial video games with freely available source code Creative Commons-licensed video games Video games developed in Germany

Gameplay

Extensions

Community made extensions

Development

Revival of the series

OpenClonk Community continuation

Reception

See also

References

External links