Update #1
First things first: characters on screen, moving, with a virtual camera displaying a tile map behind it. The character sprite isn’t in yet (a red circle for now), but it’s shaping up to be a zelda-like game. The current to-do list includes adding support for dialogue, rudimentary AI, shaped static tiles (currently you can walk over houses etc.), a simple menu system, and fireballs.
Also, because I didn’t have a chance yesterday, here’s my desk! (just to note: I don’t actually use Red Hat linux)

My desk
