A couple of reasons, really.

1. I needed an interesting project to experiment with architecture and paradigms.
2. A strong personal portfolio is great leverage when negotiating professional pay.
3. I've seen the diku source, and all due respect to the godparents, but it's not a codebase I want to work in. I also want to create a new engine that makes it easier to create extensions that tap into more modern technological advances, like story telling AI.

Totally unrelated, but very cool!

My desktop theme is named similarly, because it's earthy like light coffee grounds.