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A roguelike is a member of the role-playing video game genre that borrows its name and gameplay elements from the 1980 computer game Rogue. Superficially, a roguelike is a two-dimensional dungeon crawl with a high degree of randomness and an emphasis on statistical character development. Though traditionally featuring a text user interface, many such games utilize graphic tiles to overcome character set limitations.[1]
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History
Some features of Rogue existed in earlier games, notably: Adventure (1975), Dungeon (1975), and several written for the PLATO system, such as the multi-user games dnd (1975) and Moria (1975). Both dnd and Moria utilized limited graphics. Moria offered a primitive first-person, three-dimensional view,[2] while dnd presented a top-down map view similar to Rogue. Most of these earlier games scripted scenarios in advance that varied little from one play session to the next. In Rogue and Moria, the dungeon is randomly regenerated when the player begins, creating a new challenge each time.
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This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the for details. (October 2007) |
Roguelikes branched in three main directions:
- Hacklikes, where levels persist after being left. Notable examples include NetHack, Slash'EM, and Linley's Dungeon Crawl.
- *Bands, based on the game Moria, where levels are regenerated after being left. Contemporary examples are Angband and its variants.
- Overworld games, where more than one dungeon exists. Notable examples are Omega (dungeons regenerated upon exit), ADOM (all dungeons but one preserved when left), later versions of ZAngband, ToME, and Castle of the Winds.
Note that there are other attributes that distinguish branches; for example, starvation is a major threat in Hacklikes, while in other branches starvation is rare.
Gameplay
These games present a plan view. Traditionally, an "@" sign represents the player character. Letters of the alphabet represent other characters (usually opposing monsters). Rogue itself only made use of capital letters, but present-day roguelikes vary capitalization to supply additional visual cues. A dog, for example, may be represented by the letter "d", and a dragon by a "D". Coloration may signal further distinction between creatures. For example, a Red Dragon might be represented by a red "D" and a Blue Dragon by a blue "D", each of differing abilities significant to player strategy. Additional dungeon features are represented by other ASCII (or ANSI) symbols. A traditional sampling follows.
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Graphical adaptations are available for most early roguelikes, and it is not uncommon for new development projects to adopt a graphical user interface. Players issue game commands with at most a few keystrokes, rather than with simple sentences interpreted by a parser or by means of a pointing device such as a mouse. For example, in NetHack one would press "r" to read a scroll, "d" to drop an item, and "q" to quaff (drink) a potion.
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This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the for details. (October 2007) |
Features
- Roguelike games randomly generate dungeon levels, though may include static levels as well. Generated layouts typically incorporate rooms connected by corridors, some of which may be preset to a degree (e.g., monster lairs or treasuries). Open areas or natural features, like rivers, may also occur.
- The identity of magical items varies across games. Newly discovered objects only offer a vague physical description, with purposes and capabilities left unstated. For example, a "bubbly" potion might heal wounds one game, then poison the player character in the next. Items are often subject to alteration, acquiring specific traits, such as a curse, or direct player modification.
- The combat system is turn-based instead of a real-time.
- Most are single-player games. On multi-user systems, scoreboards are often "shared" between players. Some roguelikes allow traces of former player characters to appear in later game sessions in form of ghosts or grave markings. Multi-player derivatives such as TomeNET, MAngband, and Crossfire do exist and are playable online.
- Roguelikes traditionally implement permanent death ("permadeath"). Once a character dies, the player must begin a new game. A "save game" feature will only provide suspension of gameplay and not a limitlessly recoverable state; the stored session is deleted upon resumption or character death. Players can circumvent this by manipulating stored game data ("save scumming"), an act that may be considered cheating.
Notable examples
- See also: List of roguelikes
Modern roguelikes
- Ancient Domains of Mystery, also called ADOM
- Angband and its several variants
- Linley's Dungeon Crawl, also called Dungeon Crawl or Crawl
- NetHack, a descendant of Hack
- Tales of Middle Earth, also called ToME
Classic roguelikes
Popularity
Many online communities dedicate themselves to roguelike games, most notably the rec.games.roguelike Usenet hierarchy.
Legacy
The graphical action role-playing game Diablo bears a premise similar to that of Rogue: players slash their way through increasingly difficult monsters and attain treasure while traversing deeper into randomly-generated dungeons to complete quests. As such, some refer to Diablo as a roguelike despite wide differences in actual gameplay. There exist a few paper-and-pencil adaptations; one is in fact called Roguelike. Adom the RPG is another.
See also
References
- ^ Damjan Jovanovic (2005-01-13). Roguelike Development FAQ. Retrieved on 2006-11-29.
- ^ Fun with PLATO
Sources
- Roguelike Roundup at Kuro5hin
- Introduction to Roguelike Games
- The Essential 50: Rogue at 1UP.com details the history of Rogue and its impact on later games
External links
- rec.games.roguelike Usenet hierarchy at Google Groups
- Guide to Roguelike Games
- Roguelikes at the Open Directory Project
- List of Actively Developing Roguelikes
- RogueBasin: a MediaWiki-based wiki devoted to roguelikes.
- Temple of the Roguelike: a web-based roguelikes community
