{{Short description|1997 video game}} {{Multiple issues| {{More citations needed|date=May 2025}} {{Notability|date=May 2025}} }} {{Lowercase title|italic=yes}} {{Infobox software |name=''robotfindskitten'' |logo= |screenshot=robotfindskitten.png |screenshot size=200px |caption= |collapsible= |author=Leonard Richardson |developer= |released=1997 | latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|P348|P548=Q2804309}} | latest release date = {{Start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}|df=yes}} |latest preview version= |latest preview date= |programming language=Assembly language, C/C++, Flash, Gambas, Inform, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Scratch |operating system= |platform=Amiga, Android, Apple II, Arduboy, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atmel AVR, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, Lego Mindstorms NXT, OS X, Maemo, Nintendo DS, Wii, Palm OS, PlayStation Portable, POSIX, QNX, Rockbox, TI-83 Plus, TI-99/4A, Z-machine, ZX Spectrum |size= |language=English |status= |genre=Game |license=GPL v2 or later |website=http://robotfindskitten.org/ }} {{Portal|Free and open-source software|Video games}}
'''''robotfindskitten''''' is a free video game originally written by Leonard Richardson for MS-DOS. The game uses ASCII interface in which the player, as the eponymous robot and represented by a number sign "{{mono|#}}", must find a kitten (represented by a random character) on a field of other random characters.
==Gameplay== Walking up to items allows robot to identify them as either kitten, or any of a variety of "non-kitten items" with whimsical, strange, or random text descriptions. It is not possible to lose (though there is a [https://web.archive.org/web/20120301000000*/http://www.finnie.org/software/rfk-megahyperdeath-1.0.patch patch] that adds a 1 in 10 probability of the item killing the robot). Simon Carless has characterized ''robotfindskitten'' as "less a game and more a way of life ... It's fun to wander around until you find a kitten, at which point you feel happy and can start again".<ref>{{Cite book|title = Gaming Hacks|url = {{GBurl|id=zrqz84QUuSEC|q=robotfindskitten}}|publisher = O'Reilly Media, Inc.|date = 2004-01-01|isbn = 9780596007140|language = en|first = Simon|last = Carless|pages=219-220}}</ref>
==Ports== The game has been ported to and/or implemented on over 30 platforms, including POSIX, the Dreamcast, Palm OS, TI-99/4A, the Z-machine, the Sony PSP, Android, and many more.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://robotfindskitten.org/aw.cgi?main=software.rfk |title=The Many Ports |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= |website=robotfindskitten.org |publisher= |access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref> Graphical versions, such as an OpenGL version with {{mono|#}} emblazoned on an otherwise featureless cube, also exist. Remakes are also used as programming tutorials, such as for Gambas.
In a 2023 study on automated translation of C programs into Rust, ''robotfindskitten'' was used as a benchmark program for the translation tools C2Rust and Crown. The study reported that the game's source code contains one raw pointer declaration but no raw pointer uses.<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Zhang |first1=Hanliang |last2=David |first2=Cristina |last3=Yu |first3=Yijun |last4=Wang |first4=Meng |title=Ownership guided C to Rust translation |book-title=Computer Aided Verification |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science |year=2023 |pages=475–477 |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-37709-9_22 |isbn=978-3-031-37708-2 |issn=0302-9743 |hdl=1983/6e9283eb-66d7-4756-8968-26fba8799955 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{cite web|url=http://robotfindskitten.org/|title=''robotfindskitten''... helping robots find kittens since 1997|publisher=robotfindskitten.org|accessdate=2014-06-09}} *[http://netninja.com/files/robotfindskitten/ ''robotfindskitten'' in a Java applet] *[http://robotfindskitten.org/aw.cgi?main=thought.rfk Fictional Back-story to the game, detailing robot's creation] *[http://www.crummy.com/software/robotfindskitten/ "The Ultimate ''robotfindskitten'' Fan Site"] on the original author's web site *[https://codegolf.stackexchange.com/q/586 A robotfindskitten-inspired challenge] in code golf at Stack Exchange
Category:1997 video games Category:Amiga games Category:Android (operating system) games Category:Apple II games Category:Commodore 64 games Category:DOS games Category:Dreamcast homebrew games Category:Game Boy Advance games Category:Free and open-source Android software Category:Java platform games Category:Linux games Category:Open-source video games Category:Palm OS games Category:Unix games Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Video games with textual graphics Category:ZX Spectrum games