What is a Roguelike?

A Roguelike is usually described as a free turn-based computer game with a strong focus on intricate gameplay and replayability, and an abstract world representation using ASCII-based display, as opposed to 3D graphics. Of course, as with any genre, there are deviations from the norm.

Roguelikes allow the player an indefinite amount of time in which to make a move, making gameplay comparable more to chess than to reflex-based games like first-person shooters. Since graphics are limited (if not completely shunned), the player's imagination must come into play - gameplay is more like reading a book than watching a movie.

Of course, the best way to understand what Roguelikes are is to download and play one.
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Roguelikes

Many Roguelikes are freely available online. The most influential are:

Since the control systems of these Roguelikes are geared towards "expert" players, the novice player may be interested in trying a 'lighter' game like some of the coffeebreak roguelikes or just dive in at the deep end and find a roguelike game to suit you.

Roguelike Community

There are several other important places in the roguelike community that you should consider visiting:

• Temple of the Roguelike Forum - The main forum for the roguelike community.
• r.g.r.d Newsgroup - The very old and very active R.G.R.D newsgroup.
• Other roguelike newsgroups - A list of all roguelike newsgroups.
• R.G.R.D IRC Chatroom - The "official" IRC chatroom of the roguelike community.
• Angband.oook.cz A very active website about Angband and variants.

Featured Roguelike: Lost Labyrinth

Lost Labyrinth is a coffeebreak roguelike, designed to be played in 10 to 20 minutes.

Some of its features are:

• immense number of character options/traits/skills.
• game focus on exploration instead of killing monsters; experience is gained by reaching a new dungeon level and consists of an increase in a character attribute chosen by the player.
• labyrinthine structure of dungeon levels; only one "special" room per dungeon level, the rest consists of twisted mazes and hallways filled with monsters, traps and treasure.
• recharge of hit points and mana is achieved by reaching special parts of the dungeon instead of resting.
• multiplayer mode with up to 4 players on the same machine.
  

Update featured roguelike

New Roguelike Releases

Announce new release

• 06 Aug 2010 - Triangle Wizard R 9.02 released
• 05 Sep 2010 - ToME 4.0.0 Beta10 released
• 04 Sep 2010 - UnNetHack 3.5.3 released
• 31 Aug 2010 - Rogue Survivor Alpha 4.11 released
• 31 Aug 2010 - Lost Labyrinth 4.1.0 released
• 30 Aug 2010 - Frozen Depths 1.04 released
• 30 Aug 2010 - SilverQuest OPL 081610 released
• 29 Aug 2010 - Triangle Wizard R 9.01 released

Roguelike Development

If you have some ideas for a new Roguelike and would like to give development a go (or are already a seasoned developer) the RogueBasin is here to help you expand the Roguelike genre. A complete list of articles is available, but here are some to get you started:

• rec.games.roguelike.development Newsgroup
• Roguelike Dev FAQ
• How to Write a Roguelike in 15 Steps
• All Roguelike development articles

Contribute

If you'd like to contribute to RogueBasin, simply create an account and log in. Feel very free to edit! We especially need more information added to the games pages and the lists - if you're a developer, consider updating your game's page, and making sure that it (and you) are included in the relevant lists.

If you're an experienced developer, consider writing articles about creating Roguelikes. There are many people new to Roguelike development, and they often need help. It's especially helpful to write articles about problems you have experienced yourself. Also you can add your name to the RGRD Wiki Project (directly, or by posting a message on rgrd saying how you want to participate). If someone sees a relevant post by you, they'll upload it to this wiki as an article.