Dink Smallwood
A pig farmer-turned-hero in a satirical, Diablo-like world.
Dink Smallwood is an action role-playing game created by Robinson Technologies, whose team at the time included Seth Robinson, Justin Martin, and Greg Smith. Originally launched in 1998, it became freeware on October 17, 1999. The game is known for its funny dialogue, surreal moments, and a dedicated fan base that has kept making new content for it for over twenty years.
**Gameplay** Players control Dink, a pig farmer who becomes a hero and takes on quests across his world. The game uses isometric, Diablo-style mechanics, with weapons, items, and magic. It has a satirical, sometimes crude tone—featuring an abusive uncle and a town that worships ducks. Dink never escapes reminders of his pig-farming past, especially from his rival, Milder Flatstomp.
**Storyline** Dink begins as a pig farmer in the village of Stonebrook. His father vanished, leaving him with his mother. While outside, his house burns down, killing his mother. He is sent away to find his aunt and start over. On his journey, he learns about a dangerous group called the Cast, which threatens the kingdom. Dink sets out to defeat them, and later ventures into the Darklands to kill the great evil, Seth.
**History**
**Development** Robinson Technologies built Dink Smallwood in the mid-1990s with Seth Robinson, Justin Martin, and Greg Smith. Mitch Brink composed several music tracks, while others are MIDI versions of classical pieces like Debussy's "Reverie." The game first sold in 1997 in the United States and Europe. In Europe, Iridon Interactive handled retail distribution; in the U.S., it was sold by mail order for $25 (shipping included) because no American publisher was found. Development took one year on a budget of about $16,000.
**Freeware release** By summer 1999, all copies had sold out, and Robinson Technologies said no more would be printed. Soon after, they announced the game would become freeware, and the free version came out on October 17, 1999.
**Source code release** Fans often asked Seth Robinson to release the source code, but he usually refused, citing messy and embarrassing code. After years of requests, he finally released it on July 17, 2003 under a Zlib-inspired license (without the proprietary content, which stayed freeware). In 2008, the artwork (minus some sounds) was released under a Zlib license.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Dink Smallwood
- Developer
- Robinson Technologies
- Publisher
- EUR · Iridon Interactive
- Designer
- Seth Robinson
- Released
- 1998
- Genre
- Action role-playing game
- Modes
- Single player
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux, OS X, PlayStation Portable, iOS, Android
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game centers on Dink, a pig farmer-turned-hero who embarks on various quests throughout his world. The game features isometric, Diablo-like gameplay, including weapons, items, and magic. It has a satirical off-color slant, including everything from a fiercely abusive uncle to a town that worships ducks. Dink is never freed from the grievances of being a pig farmer, a fact he is far too often reminded of by his nemesis, Milder Flatstomp.
Dink starts out as a pig farmer in Stonebrook. His father is said to have disappeared, leaving him with his mother. After his house burns down and his mother is killed, he is told to find his aunt. Along the way, he hears of a powerful and sinister group known as the Cast, and eventually makes it his quest to defeat them. After that, he goes into the Darklands to kill the mighty evil, Seth.
The game was developed in one year with a budget of around $16,000. It was initially released in 1997 for purchase in the United States and Europe, sold via mail order in the US for $25. After selling out, it was released as freeware on October 17, 1999. The source code was released on July 17, 2003 under a Zlib-inspired license, and the artwork was published in 2008 under a Zlib license.
Reader's Guide
Dink Smallwood's significance lies in its early embrace of freeware distribution and its enduring modding community. After its commercial run ended, the freeware release on October 17, 1999 allowed the game to reach a wider audience. The release of the source code in 2003 under a Zlib-inspired license enabled fan projects, most notably GNU FreeDink, a GPL-licensed port that runs on multiple platforms including Linux, Mac OS X, and PlayStation Portable. The community also produced Dink Smallwood 1.08, a patch fixing longstanding bugs, released on March 10, 2006. In 2011, Seth Robinson released Dink Smallwood HD for mobile and desktop platforms, which became fully free and open source in October 2017. The game's legacy includes references in other titles: in Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast, a character says 'I am Dinkamus Littlelog and I come in search of the holy groundhog,' and in Borderlands' first DLC, an adventurer named Dirk Smallwood appears. The game's editing tools, DinkEdit and WinDinkEdit, and the DinkC scripting language have fostered a library of user-generated D-Mods, some longer than the original game.
Did You Know?
- Mitch Brink composed several of the game's music tracks; others are MIDI forms of classical music such as Debussy's 'Reverie'.
- The source code was released on July 17, 2003 under a Zlib-inspired license, but the content remained proprietary freeware until 2008 when the artwork was published under a Zlib license.
- In 2005, Seth Robinson asked Dan 'redink1' Walma to create a new patch, leading to the community-fixed Dink Smallwood 1.08 released on March 10, 2006.
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