Editing Roguelike

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'''Roguelike''' is a term used to describe randomly generated dungeon crawler type video game [[RPG]]s, which often use simplified ASCII-like graphics. The name was coined from the eponymous 1980 computer game ''Rogue''. [[Neckbeard]]s have an inveterate fondness for this genre, and they are one of the few types of [[/v/|vidya]] one can mention on [[/tg/]] without triggering massive [[skub|nerd]] [[rage]].
[[File:rogue.jpg|200px|thumb|Right| ''Rogue''! It's the epic tale of some guy who needs to find some amulet. Why? Because ''fuck you!'']]
== Typical definitions for Roguelikes ==
Roguelikes generally have minimalistic graphics, most often just using ASCII and colors to represent everything with a surprising amount of detail once you get used to it. Although the games differ greatly in scope and approach they generally have a few things in common. Levels and items are procedurally generated, usually starting unidentified so the player is forced to expend valuable resources IDing them or risk drinking poison like a retard. Combat is turn based, tactical and brutal. Death is swift and irrevocable, and just to add insult to injury the game may even delete your save file for good measure.

Whether the definition of "Roguelike" ''absolutely requires'' that it be turn-based is a source of much [[Skub]]. For the purposes of this article, we'll call them "Realtime Roguelikes", although some people call such games "Roguelites" (note the 't' in place of the 'k'); but since nobody seems to agree on what "Roguelite" ''actually'' means (as there are quite a lot of games nowadays that are "not quite Roguelike"), we can't use it to classify anything with.

''[[Diablo]]'' was inspired by ''NetHack'' and is a borderline Roguelike, but most noobs misuse Roguelike as a synonym for "Diablo-clone", not knowing what they are missing.

==Notable Roguelikes==
*''[http://www.hexatron.com/rogue/ Rogue]''
:The great gran'pappy of all roguelikes. Looks like chewed-over ass and plays about as well but you'd better have some motherfucking respect, this thing basically created the gaming industry.

*''[http://www.nethack.org Nethack]''
:Arguably the most balanced traditional roguelike. Doesn't take itself too seriously. It's known for creating a subgenre called "hacklikes", which put a greater focus on resource management, improvisation, secret knowledge and [[Just As Planned|spectacular, brilliantly bullshit zany schemes]].

*''[http://rephial.org/ Angband]''
:Massively expanded roguelike.  The quintessential randomized [[D&D]] solo adventure in a [[Tolkien]]esque world.  Brutal, though. Has also inspired a subgenre of variants; these are called "bands."

*''[[Dungeon Crawl]]''
:Severely fun roguelike, occasionally quite imbalanced, with an insane set of classes, races, and gods. Also has one of the most diverse dungeon environments. The ''Stone Soup'' version has a kickass tileset, an improved mouse-optional interface, more classes, more races, more gods, and more of generally everything. /tg/'s preferred roguelike. Sadly, in recent years it has been on the decline, gutting itself with each successive update.

*''[http://drl.chaosforge.org/ DoomRL]''
:It's ''Doom'', as a roguelike. /tg/'s current second favorite behind ''Stone Soup''. Wickedly difficult, prepare to have your anus [[rip and tear|ripped and torn]]. Is sadly dead, killed first by the author's attempts to make money off of a sequel called ''Jupiter Hell,'' then buried and the earth salted by a trademark claim from Bethesda.

*''[http://www.adom.de Ancient Domains of Mystery]''
:A German roguelike set in a large mountain chain with many dark caverns where the forces of law and chaos do battle for the fate of the universe. [[3e|A gazillion different skills to upgrade and feats to take.]] The biggest flaw of the game is that many elements are not randomized, requiring you to trudge through them over and over every time you die. [[4e|And you can't be Lawful Evil, but simply Chaotic Evil or Lawful Good.]]

*''[http://lkbm.ecritters.biz/cotw/ Castle of the Winds]''
:Old-skool roguelike made in the glory days of Windows 3.1 shareware. Has a tileset. 

*''[http://www.incursion-roguelike.net/ Incursion: Halls of the Goblin King]''
:In the words of the author "Incursion is a traditional roguelike", and it is very influenced by D&D. You have to descend through multiple floors of caverns to reach the Goblin King and slay him. Plans include an outside world but that's for future releases.

*''[http://te4.org/ Tales of Maj’Eyal]''
:A solid, graphical roguelike (with a side option for ASCII players), with relatively deep lore and a heavy "quest" focus (in other words, multiple dungeons and a few puzzles). [[4e|A heavily tactical focus, with lots of class skills limited by cooldowns]]. Available in a free version, and a purchasable Steam version; the latter is only required if you want to play the expansions, of which there are two so far: A mini-expansion that brings a lot more Demons, and some demon-related classes, and a full new campaign about attacking what you achieved in the original campaign.

*''[http://en.cataclysmdda.com/ CATACLYSM: Dark Days Ahead]''
:''Cataclysm: DDA'' is what happens when you take people from the [[Dwarf Fortress|Bay12]] forums with a sizable knowlege of C++, and have them create a sci-fi equivalent of ''Dwarf Fortress''' Adventure Mode. This game starts you off at Day-0 of '''every apocalypse imaginable''' happening at the same time. Its key features include a crafting system with ''literally thousands'' of unique items, a highly robust combat system reminiscent of ''Dwarf Fortress'', and a vehicle creation system so meticulous you can make a life-sized [[Land Raider|LAND RAIDER]] in it. (Don't believe me about the Land Raider? [[Media:Ss%2B(2015-06-19%2Bat%2B06.54.17).png|Here it is!]]) Oh, and tilesets are also available with a menu option to disable the graphics if you still prefer the feel of ASCII.

*''[http://www.roguebasin.com/index.php?title=Caves_of_Qud Caves of Qud] ''
:''Caves of Qud'' is set in a place not unlike most of the human [[Death World|death worlds]] during the [[Age of Strife]] in [[Warhammer 40k]], such as pre-explosion [[Caliban]]. It looks like a straight-up fantasy roguelike at first, but then you realize that it's more of a post-apocalyptic sci-fi world when you find a bunch of artifacts around like modern-day guns, lasers, grenades, anti-matter power cells, handheld nukes and [[Rape|some weird crap that crushes you with the force of 10,000 suns if you drop it on the ground.]] Similarly, you'll find ancient ruins full of said artifacts, as well as murderous robots, some of which are [[Monolith|huge, flying, teleporting pyramids covered in shields and missile launchers]]. Player characters may choose to start as either mutants or pure humans. Mutants have access to a variety of powerful mutations such as flamethrower hands, wings, a scorpion stinger, four arms (and/or legs), teleportation, mind control, [[Culexus Assassins|shooting lasers with your mind]] and a mutation that allows you to screw with the space-time continuum (essentially resulting in lore-sanctioned savescumming). [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|Pure humans get none of the above, but instead have much higher stats.]]

=== Roguelites ===
"Roguelite" is a highly subjective term, much like [[Retroclone|"OSR"]] or pretty much any other /tg/ category. As a rule of thumb, the further the gameplay is from "randomly generated deathtrap labyrinth with turn-based combat, collectible piles of unidentified loot and no persistence between games," the more likely it will be considered a roguelite instead of a roguelike.

*''[http://redrogue.net/ Red Rogue]''
:Action roguelike written in Flash, intended as a sequel to the original ''Rogue''.  The flash file is small and you can save it locally to play without a net connection.  Open-source, and dude writes articles about his design decisions.

*''[http://www.ftlgame.com/ FTL: Faster Than Light]''
:Babby's first roguelite. Currently popular due to regularly being on special offer on Steam, this multiple award winning game describes itself as "a real time roguelike-like IN SPESS". A good way to ease into the genre.

*''[http://bindingofisaac.com/ The Binding Of Isaac]''
:A roguelite shooter available on Steam. You play a naked toddler who escapes into the basement beneath his home to escape his murderous mother. What it lacks in any fantasy or sci-fi ambience, it more than makes up for in sheer biblical WTFery.

*''[http://www.spelunkyworld.com/ Spelunky]''
:Indiana Jones, the roguelite. A platformer where you take the role of an explorer braving the depths of a mysterious and deadly temple looking for ancient treasures to <s>donate to a museum</s> hawk at a pawn shop.

*''[http://nuclearthrone.com/ Nuclear Throne]''
:A post-apocalyptic shooter roguelite, where humanity is extinct and Earth is a toxic wasteland infested with irradiated mutants. As a mutant, you can mutate further as you get more radiation, and by using each character's unique mutations, and whatever weapons you find along the way, you must fight your way to the fabled Nuclear Throne.

*''[http://dodgeroll.com/gungeon/ Enter the Gungeon]''
:A bullet hell shooter roguelite where you play an adventurer infiltrating the remains of a [[Fortress-monastery|fortress-monastery]] belonging to a cult of firearms enthusiasts so zealous it would make the NRA cringe. There you hope to find a gun so powerful that it can kill the past.

*''[http://necrodancer.com/ Crypt of the NecroDancer]''
:A quirky roguelite rhythm game. You play a meddling girl who was cursed by the NecroDancer, a fabulous [[necromancer]] with a flair for the performing arts. Burdened by the curse, you must dance your way through the NecroDancer's symphonic labyrinth matching the tempo of the game's awesome soundtrack and slaying his musical-themed bestiary.

*''[http://www.failbettergames.com/sunless/ Sunless Sea]''
:A maritime roguelite available on Steam.  Should appeal to fans of the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft]].

=== Not quite Roguelikes ===

Roguelike-like games that have the player playing more than one "character" (a single ship is allowed to count as a "character" here), or are fundamentally strategy games rather than RPGs (but are still procedural death labyrinths) go here.

*''[[Dwarf Fortress]]''
:If you don't know what this is how did you even get here? It's got motherfucking [[dwarf|dwarves]], mining, goblin sieges, every other goddamn thing you could imagine, and a bunch you couldn't. Not strictly speaking a roguelike as much as a strategy sim but we can't stay mad at it. The Adventure mode is much closer to the roguelike archetype, but it's not really the main focus.

*''[http://www.darkestdungeon.com/ Darkest Dungeon]''
:What would happen to the people who went into a dungeon, fought monsters and (if they were lucky) came back? The answer: bad things. A solid game with an incredible visual design and audio, you have to manage a platoon of "heroes" by sending them into dungeons, where they can become sickened and scarred, physically and mentally, in order to get loot to build your family's dilapidated (and also horribly cursed) estate up. In its own way it's more [[grimdark]] than 40k is. As a bonus it also contains a healthy amount of [[Lovecraft]]ian abominations.

[[Category: Video Games]]
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