Another highlight from my contributing to Gamespew, this time I took a look back to the game that started a genre 40 years before it was cool. So, if you're a fan of gaming history you're in for a treat--read on!
These days any gamer can't go far without coming across the phrases 'roguelike' or 'roguelite', two genres of gaming that have exploded in their popularity in the past ten years. You might be scratching your head at why they're called 'rogue'. that's because the terms originate from a 40 year old title called 'Rogue'. Not quite so thrilling an origin, but the game itself has a pretty interesting story behind it.
Rogue was playing the long game.
Knowing Your Roguelikes From Your Roguelites
The roguelike genre is a subgenre of RPG, with its games typically revolving around procedural generation. Levels, items, and enemies are randomly generated, ensuring that each playthrough is unique and unpredictable. Another defining characteristic is permadeath, meaning that when a player’s character dies, it’s back to square one. No saves, no checkpoints, and no continues.
It’s a high-stakes, high-challenge genre and, if you haven’t noticed, it’s one that is massively popular.
Some roguelikes might use turn-based gameplay, where players and enemies alternate turns, requiring strategic planning and careful decision-making. Think Slay the Spire and its ilk. Others tend to be complex dungeon crawlers, featuring a wide array of items, abilities, and strategies that players must master. Think Hades and Neon Abyss.
Roguelite games, on the other hand, aren’t all that different from roguelikes: they just tend to have simpler mechanics (hence the term ‘lite’). They still use procedural generation, but might instead use persistent progression, allowing players to unlock new abilities, characters, or items and not lose them when they die.
Roguelites frequently feature real-time gameplay, offering a fast-paced and dynamic experience. They often borrow from other genres too, blending in puzzles, platforming, or shooting elements to stand out from the crowd.
In other words, roguelike and roguelite games can take many forms, but their core principles — permanent death and replayability — are always steadfast. And there’s a very good reason for that.
A genre 40 years in the making
Why are they called roguelikes and roguelites? Where does the term ‘Rogue’ come from?
‘Soulslike’ is a fairly new phrase coined to describe games that are like Dark Souls. But that term didn’t come from nowhere: it follows the template of roguelike. If you haven’t guessed it yet, Rogue is the game that roguelike comes from. Games like Rogue.
Now, there’s a good chance you might be scratching your head and wondering why you can’t recall it. That’s because it’s about Rogue is about as retro as retro can get. Released back in 1980, it was originally made for Unix-based systems but different versions eventually became available on numerous platforms, including Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 amongst others.
You'll find the rest of my article here. And if you want to see any of my other bits for Gamespew, follow this link.
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