While the merchants’ wares are not of a regular kind. There’s a stairway, though, somewhere in this town – leading deep underground. Not the kind of place where one would expect to find battles and glory. A number of merchants here and there selling their wares.
We now find ourselves in a poor and lonely town. It was innovative enough for the time, but it required no elaborate ornamentation to make it a true classic. This game is THE ROGUELIKE, as much as Doom is THE SHOOTER. It feels almost like a game of cards, with clear rules one can learn after a first try. It has a procedurally generated dungeon – but there is no complex algorithm – no lakes or special levels. Its mechanics are simple and elegant – it’s turn-based, with movement done on a grid. Its gameplay is as straightforward as its basic ASCII interface. It achieved some degree of purity that made it stand out from other games of the time. Many would call Rogue the first Roguelike and not without reason. An enchanted blade, a potion of healing, a scroll with a spell written on it – these will be the lone hero’s companions on a quest through the dark depths. Strange and terrible creatures guard its magical secrets – goblins and trolls, vampires and wraiths and other things that made their lair in the shadowed halls. Rogue: Exploring the Dungeons of Doom (around 1980s)Īt the lowest level of the Dungeons of Doom a mysterious item lies, known as the Amulet of Yendor. It has a fully graphical interface and a 3D-like perspective – one of the first uses of such in computer games’ history. It even has a hunger mechanic! Although, it looks different from those other masterpieces that came to define the genre. The combat is turn-based and movement takes place on a grid. Its world was procedurally generated, before the concept was popularized by Rogue and Hack. As Akalabeth is, by its mechanics – if nothing else, a true roguelike. I hope the reader will forgive me my, somewhat unexpected, choice. It’s now the player’s job to take up the sword and finish that which was started by Lord British himself – to cleanse the realm of evil, paving a road towards a new age of light. They hide amidst the shadows of the dark places, biding their time. The enemies, although defeated, are not all dead. The old heroes take a step back – but heroes are still in demand. The time of glory has passed – whether in battle or in peace. What better place to start than here! – amidst the ruins of a once great and prosperous kingdom, during the first days after the end of a long war. Without further ado, let’s leave our mundane world behind and set forth on a journey across the realms of Roguelikes. Let’s not waste any more time on terminology, now that I have criteria, by which to make my choice. I’ll follow this definition, as far as possible. Their guiding stars are: Procedural Generation, Single Hero, Turn-Based Combat and Grid-Based Movement. There were many, recently, who’ve taken up the old banner, bringing back the traditional roguelike. The original features may seem almost lost among such startling variety, but not yet. The genre had no navigator to straighten its course, leading to an incredible multitude of inspirations and a fantastic array of unique ideas. When their light fell upon those masters of code, who were the first to bring to life the enchanted worlds, found before only upon the pages of fantasy books. To the times when phosphorous displays glowed weirdly in the darkness with their arcane letters of forgotten programming languages. How do I choose from the vast library those works that best represent the genre? The shelves stretch far into the shadows. Many games so called look nothing similar. Unless that genre is a Roguelike, of course. To assemble a list of the greatest works of a genre may seem a straightforward enough goal for a writer. I have a task set before me – one that’s as clear as imprecise. The only thing you need is a computer.” – Ivan Čukić, Functional Programming in C++ Introduction You can create whole worlds that behave exactly as you want them to behave.
“Programming is one of the rare disciplines in which you can create something from absolutely nothing.
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