Roguelikes have become such an integral part of the gaming world that we almost take them for granted. But we would go as far as to say that no genre has impacted the world of gaming quite as much as roguelikes. But what exactly constitutes a roguelike? How did it get that name? And just how exactly did the creation of this genre change the gaming industry?
Origins Of The Roguelike
Nearly everyone in the gaming community knows what a Roguelike is. But few know of the origins of the genre. The name comes from the 1980 title ‘Rogue.’ The game was a singleplayer dungeon crawler that was notable for featuring permadeath and randomised elements. Meaning that every run of the game was unique and different.
At the time this was a complete departure from the gaming norms. The replay factor of most games of the era was hindered by the fact that the content was the same every time. The randomised nature of Rogue offered nearly infinite replayability.
As we know it didn’t take long for this style of game design to be adopted by other developers. The genre remains one of the most popular. With titles like FTL, Bastion, Hades, and Balatro standing out as not only amazing examples of Roguelikes but as some of the most popular games ever made.
The Influence Of The Roguelike
Rogue didn’t just create a new genre of gaming. The gameplay ideals of the Roguelike very quickly started to influence many other genres. Procedural generation very quickly became one of gaming’s hottest trends. The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall was iconic for its massive procedurally generated map. To this day there are few games that have matched Daggerfall in scale.
The Souls series, which has also inspired its own genre, took a lot of inspiration from Rogue. While the Souls games don’t feature procedural generation they do put a large emphasis on death being an integral part of the gameplay loop. One of the key elements of a Roguelike is your own skills improving through repeated attempts. Some even provide you with upgrades that consist between runs. The Souls series leans into this idea heavily.
The Roguelike genre is also typified by quick gameplay sessions. It is one of the aspects that appeals to a lot of gamers with a busier schedule. The ability to do a complete gameplay loop in a condensed amount of time. Not all Roguelikes adhere to this. But it is the norm. Balatro is a prime example of this. Each run can be played in sessions as short as 15 to 30 minutes.
Roguelikes didn’t just change the world of video game development either. It also changed the way people approach gaming from a consumer perspective. Roguelike games shifted the way people think about video games. And how they discuss them too.
Reddit, one of the main gaming hubs on the internet, highlights the impact Roguelikes have had on the way people consume video games. People making a career from gaming is nothing new. But the main issue that presents itself for gaming content creators is the need to continually find new games to keep their audience engaged. Roguelikes don’t suffer from this issue. The subreddits for most Roguelikes are still extremely active.
Roguelike speed runners and gaming personalities are amongst the most popular in the gaming community. As we can see from the Reddit Contributor Quality Scores provided by REDAccs, content creators who focus on Roguelike content are among some of the most popular on the site. And this also applies to sites like YouTube as well.
Roguelikes have also made gamers more aware of shady business practices in gaming. We don’t need to hark on about the harm being caused by this trend of micro transactions and battle passes. Many modern developers are insistent that these features are essential to the success and longevity of their games. But Roguelikes prove time and time again that this isn’t true.
The creator of Balatro recently hit out against the lootbox elements that have become so prevalent in modern gaming. Balatro was wrongfully given an 18+ rating. Because it apparently promotes gambling. Yet games with actual gambling elements, in the form of lootboxes, are rated for people of all ages to play. And the gaming community is starting to pick up on this. Which is leading more gamers to vote with their wallets and step away from games that indulge in these negative practices.