About McRogueFace

A Python game engine for roguelikes and tile-based games - C++ performance, Python simplicity.

Why McRogueFace?

McRogueFace is designed specifically for roguelikes and tile-based games. Write your game logic in Python while the C++ engine handles rendering, pathfinding, and field-of-view calculations. No game loop to manage, no low-level graphics code - just import mcrfpy and start building your dungeon.

vs Pygame

Pygame gives you a blank canvas and event loop. McRogueFace gives you Grid, Entity, and FOV systems purpose-built for roguelikes - plus a turn manager, A* and Dijkstra pathfinding, and procedural generation tools (HeightMap, BSP, noise). No need to implement your own tile rendering, camera system, or pathfinding.

vs libtcod/python-tcod

libtcod is console-based with character cells. McRogueFace is sprite-based with full graphical rendering, while providing the same FOV and pathfinding algorithms under the hood - it embeds libtcod itself.

vs Godot/Unity

Full engines require learning editors, scene formats, and scripting integration. McRogueFace is a single executable - your entire game is Python scripts. No project files, no asset pipeline, no compile step.

Core Philosophy

  1. C++ every frame, Python every tick: Rendering, animation interpolation, and pathfinding run in native code. Your Python sets up the scene and responds to events; the engine draws it without touching the interpreter.

  2. Batteries Included: Grid systems, pathfinding, FOV, animations, procedural generation, audio, and UI components are all built-in. Focus on your game, not infrastructure.

  3. Roguelike-Native: Tile-based rendering, a turn-based entity manager (grid.step()), entity behaviors, and dungeon generation are first-class features.

  4. Zip and Ship: One executable, your Python scripts, and your assets. The runtime is a full Python environment - distribute your game by zipping a folder.

The Story So Far

McRogueFace began in February 2023 as an experiment: could SFML graphics, an embedded Python interpreter, and libtcod’s roguelike algorithms live in one binary? The 7-Day Roguelike Challenge turned that experiment into an engine - McRogueFace has been developed through four consecutive 7DRLs (2023-2026), each jam stress-testing the engine against a real deadline.

Crypt of Sokoban, a boulder-pushing dungeon crawler built in a single 7DRL week, became the engine’s proving ground - and still ships as the demo game you see when you first run McRogueFace.

Since then the project has shifted from jam-driven features to foundation-first engineering:

  • Alpha 0.1 (2024) delivered the first complete release with all core datatypes stable.
  • The 0.2 series (2026) added multi-layer grids, the Behavior/Trigger turn manager, procedural generation (HeightMap, BSP, noise), Tiled and LDtk import, animation callbacks, Windows cross-compilation, and WebAssembly builds - the same engine that powers the in-browser Playground.
  • The road to 1.0 (current, version 0.2.8): the public API is being audited and frozen, locked behind a snapshot regression test, while a fuzzing campaign sweeps the engine for memory-safety bugs. The 1.0 criteria are performance, stability, and documentation - not feature count.

For the blow-by-blow, see the Project History page and the development roadmap.

Target Audience

  • Game Jam Participants: Get a roguelike up and running in hours, not days
  • Python Developers: Use the language you know without learning a new engine
  • Roguelike Enthusiasts: Purpose-built tools for the genre you love

License

McRogueFace is open source under the MIT license.

Credits

  • Created by John McCardle. (Blame his wife for the name.)
  • Built with SFML, libtcod, and Python
  • Inspired by David Churchill’s COMP4300 game engine lectures
  • Demo assets include Kenney’s Tiny Dungeon tileset

Contributions are welcome - see the GitHub repository for source, issues, and releases.