Roguelikes - Just pretend that 'r' is a rat

[MusicalFreedom]

Hello there! I'm here to tell you about roguelikes! Isn't that great?! This thread is going to explain what a roguelike is! After, we can discuss whatever we like about roguelikes! Amazing! Nearly all of them are free! Awe!

Please, tell me about your favourite roguelike, and what your greatest experiences are with them! Tell me what you listen to when you play them! What clothes do you wear when you play them? Do you wear any at all??????

[hr]

Any questions?

"What on Earth is a roguelike?"

I'm glad you asked. A roguelike is described as a turn-based roleplaying game with permanent death. They generally involve diving into a dungeon blade-first, searching for a valuable treasure. The whole thing started with a little game called Rogue in 1980 (equal parts DnD and Adventure), and every similar game that came after it is called a... roguelike! Do you get it? I hope you do!

"Permanent death? Isn't that a little harsh?"

Not at all! In fact, when you play a roguelike for the first time, you ARE going to die! Isn't that fantastic?!
It's okay, though. The levels are normally randomised, meaning that the layout, monsters, items, and room features are completely different every time you play! You'd think that it would get boring, but you should see how long some people have been at it!

"I am a rich man who runs several very important businesses selling competing brands of soft drink. I don't have the time for an in-depth roguelike. Aren't these really time-consuming?"

Not always! I always find that some of the most exhilirating experiences with roguelikes have been with the simplest ones! Some of them don't even use the entire keyboard! How crazy is that?!

Most roguelikes use ASCII - pronounced ASS KEY - for their graphics, or ANSI if they're feeling frivolous. This means that they can run on any rubbish computer! Even yours!

[hr]

Roguelikes for the beginner - wait, so i'm the @ symbol?

• 
  Doom RL [http://doom.chaosforge.org/] - While the original Doom may have been an introduction to first person shooters for many people, I would like to see this game as being an introduction to roguelikes! It features fast-paced action for a roguelike - not many buttons to press, just KILL THEM ALL.
  
  Spoiler: Click for an image of Doom RL!

  
  
  POWDER [http://www.zincland.com/powder/index.php?pagename=about] - This is a special roguelike. You can get this on Windows, Mac, your Nintendo Gameboy Advance, and even your Nintendo DS! There's even a Linux version for those who have neckbeards! That's not the best thing about it, though. IT HAS TILES AS DEFAULT. If you want to see your slaughtering of a dungeon's inhabitants, then this is the easiest to get going! It's pretty easy to get the hang of, too! I recall it having a tutorial!
  
  Spoiler: Click for pretty tiles!

  

[hr]

Roguelikes for the go-getter - I can dip a sword in a potion!

• 
  Nethack [http://www.nethack.org/] - This is it right here. The most well-known roguelike known to man. This is probably one of the more complete roguelikes out there, with the developers trying to guess everything that you would want to do. Want to put on gloves, grab a cockatrice, and swing it around to turn ALL OF YOUR ENEMIES INTO STONE????? You can! Want to play sokoban? Sure, why not? want to genocide an entire fucking race? It's practically encouraged! If you get stuck in a level and can't see anywhere to go, you are missing a secret door. Hammer the s button (search) where you think there is one, and you can find it! Find the Amulet of Yendor!
  
  Zangband [http://www.zangband.org/] - Zangband is based on Angband, a heavily Tolkien-esque roguelike. Angband is fine, but if you REALLY want the POWER, go for Zangband. Why? Because Zangband has an entire fucking overworld, that's why! Go on quests! Leap into a cave of bandits and KILL THEM ALL! Be warned, though: this one is very difficult, perhaps more than most roguelikes.
  
  Spoiler: Would you like an image?

  

[hr]

Roguelikes for the visionary - Because dungeons are just too limiting

• 
  Gearhead [http://www.gearheadrpg.com/] - Pilot a gigantic fucking mech and kill shit! Go on quests! Play the first one and wait until the second one is in any way developed! Thrills, spills, and bills await you! You can still get out of your mech and beat the shit out of some rats, though. I like to use some sort of chainsword. This comes with two modes, downloaded separately. You have the regular ASS KEY version, and you have a graphical version. The graphical version is not that good. I recall it having anime. Still, fantastic game, an interesting take on a well-worn concept, and some AMAZING depth. Seriously, I'm reluctant to call this a roguelike, it's that expansive!
  
  Spoiler: See some hot graphic action!

  
  
  Dwarf Fortress [http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/] - Have you ever wanted to carve out the side of a mountain and litter it with the corpses of your own dwarves (aka dorfs)? With this game developed by some nerd, you can! This game is unique in that it generates a new world from scratch, and develops its own history. You can set the world parameters - have a world completely full of scary things!
  Thing is, this is difficult to get into. Fortunately, some guy decided to do a video tutorial of this game. You can find it here [http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5A3D7682BDD48FC2&search_query=dwarf+fortress+tutorial].
  Dwarf Fortress has two modes. The main one is Fortress Mode, a Dungeon Keeper-esque management of a fortress - only a little more complex. The other mode is Adventure Mode, which resembles a regular roguelike. In this mode, you can explore your old fortresses, gaining a new insight into the minds of your dorfs.
  As was mentioned in this thread a few times, there's a playthrough of this called Boatmurdered [http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Boatmurdered/]. Read it! It's really funny! It has elephants!
  
  Spoiler: This is an old version. But that's okay!

  

[hr]

That's it for now. There are so many roguelikes to find, and I sure as hell can't find them all. In fact, I don't even play roguelikes! I don't even know why I'm here! Who are you people?

Don't worry, though. I might update this post with even more games just for you! I haven't covered everything I wanted to, and I am getting sleepy!

[hr]
Edits

13 May - After the OP, and after catching up on my nighty-nights, I noticed something horrible. It's like that moment in your nightmares, where the monster flashes in front of you, bearing its teeth as deadly gifts. There was no Dwarf Fortress in this list. I sought to amend this.

[hr]

• 
  Rogue Sink Basin [http://roguebasin.roguelikedevelopment.org/index.php?title=Main_Page], for all your roguelike needs.

 

[bodyklok]

Hello there! I'm here to tell you about roguelikes! Isn't that great?! This thread is going to explain what a roguelike is! After, we can discuss whatever we like about roguelikes! Amazing! Nearlt all of them are free! Awe!

Dude... Great opening. This OP is just so well written it makes me want to buy all of these games right now. Someone give this guy a Thanks badge!

 

[Earthbound]

Ah, roguelikes, the forgotten gem of video games. Games have developed in two directions, though most people are only aware of one. Most games developed graphically. They've figured out how to make the shiniest gun and the ugliest aliens, and have to you to use the gun on the alien, usually only required a single trigger pull and some strafing. In the other corner, we have games that developed their gameplay, but not their graphics. This is a rather, shall I say, "underground" group of games. Interactive fiction, d20 variants, and roguelikes comprise this category. A game that I'm sure that a sizable portion of the Escapist community at least recognize is Dwarf Fortress. Dwarf Fortress is built on the idea of a roguelike mixed with a god game on steroids. For someone relatively unfamiliar to the genre, it's like trying to climb a smooth wall.

But I ramble on, here's some more fantastic roguelikes.

Elona [http://elona.wikia.com/wiki/Elona_Wiki] is a huge, fantastic roguelike that most newcomers to the genre will love. It has no permanent death during the first section of the game, a ton of humorous dialog, and a full, beautiful, graphical tileset. This game is a must-play. (Cost: free)

IVAN [http://ivan.sourceforge.net/] is probably one of the most difficult games I have ever played, and I've beaten almost all the levels in both N and Ninja Gaiden 2. Almost illogically so, it's extremely easy to pick up and play yet difficult to master, like chess but with more blood. It also has a full tileset and is filled to the brim with armor, enemies, and about as many ways to play (and die) as there are letters in this post. As you play the game, you discover all the ways that you can try to beat it and all the strategies that you can use. One last note, look out for landmines. (Cost: free)

Frozen Depths [http://koti.mbnet.fi/frozend/info.php] is a much lesser-known game, but I feel that it is still a fantastic game. You're slowly freezing to death in a vast, underground labyrinth. What do you do? You guessed it, you cut a bloody swath in your wake as you make your way down! Oh, and you try to keep yourself warm as well. Frozen Depths is definitely a more difficult roguelike to get into, but it's not as punishing as either of the other two games. (Cost: free)

 

[NeutralDrow]

I like the ones from here:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.110436

 

[scotth266]

I have to say that this is interesting. I'll be checking some of this out for sure.

A game that I'm sure that a sizable portion of the Escapist community at least recognize is Dwarf Fortress. Dwarf Fortress is built on the idea of a roguelike mixed with a god game on steroids. For someone relatively unfamiliar to the genre, it's like trying to climb a smooth wall.

Good lord, is Dwarf Fortress fun. And also hilarious. You know of Boatmurdered?

On that note, I have to say that I'm getting terribly interested in writing a old text game, like the Escapist's own Phantom of the Arcade adventure.

 

[incrediblegeek]

Ancient Domains of Mystery [http://www.adom.de/], or ADOM for short, is one of the best there is. Overworld, quests, towns, NPCs, multiple dungeons, interesting stories, plenty of artifacts and lore to discover, etc etc. This is certainly a must play for any rogue-like enthusiast.

 

[balimuzz]

This guy sounds suspiciously like he used to work in marketing for one or two of these games...

 

[CmdrGoob]

TOME is also great, as is Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup.

 

[vede]

Hello there! I'm here to tell you about roguelikes! Isn't that great?! This thread is going to explain what a roguelike is! After, we can discuss whatever we like about roguelikes! Amazing! Nearlt all of them are free! Awe!

Dude... Great opening. This OP is just so well written it makes me want to buy all of these games right now. Someone give this guy a Thanks badge!

Even the part you quoted said they're free, man. (Or... was that a bit of sarcasm I missed... again?)

Also, the lack of the original Rogue in this post makes me truly cry for the roguelike genre.

You want a roguelike for beginners? It's Rogue. Even Roguebasin doesn't list Rogue in its "Most Influential Roguelikes" list. Where has the respect gone, I ask!

Also, experiences with Rogue?

A recent event was just a couple days ago. I had found three wands early in the game, and found a zombie in a room with a potion across it, on the other side of the zombie, and I decided I would identify my wands on the zombie. I zap it with the first, and it's a wand of do nothing. I zap it with the second, and it's confusion. (Note that I'm taking damage because the zombie has been somewhat close up to this point.) The zombie careens around crazily, and ends up about half-way into the room. When it finally starts coming at me again, I zap it with the third, so I have a clear shot. The zombie disappears. Thinking I teleported it away, I move forward to grab my prize, and am devoured by the now invisible zombie.

I posted this in another thread here as well.

Either way, I demand that anything ever involving roguelikes has something about Rogue in it.

And R's are rattlesnakes, dammit!

 

[Erana]

Everyone seems to forget that Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is a roguelike. Hell, tons of people are obsessed with a game whose genre they can't even identify.

Still, NetHack is my darling Roguelike.

A game that I'm sure that a sizable portion of the Escapist community at least recognize is Dwarf Fortress. Dwarf Fortress is built on the idea of a roguelike mixed with a god game on steroids. For someone relatively unfamiliar to the genre, it's like trying to climb a smooth wall.

You know, I could never get a hang of DF. Of course, I think part of it was that my laptop keyboard lacks a number pad...

 

[IxionIndustries]

Meh.. MUDs are still better in my opinion. I played a roguelike once. Didn't like it so much.

 

[SimuLord]

I'm not a big fan of roguelikes. They're a little TOO primitive as far as presentation goes. I'm far from a graphics whore (I still play Railroad Tycoon 2 and Caesar 2 frequently), but there's a point where I'm just like "ouch, my eyeballs" and go running off to play something else.

 

[not a zaar]

I don't like games like that, it seems like they are tailor made for asperger's dorks with no lives. There's no motivation, there's no design. It's just randomly generated dungeons. You might was well be playing a spreadsheet.

 

[Overlord Moo]

I've played Nethack a few times, and it's a great time-waster. Difficult, though.

This [http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=2399.0], though, is hilarious.

Very funny

 

[MusicalFreedom]

I don't like games like that, it seems like they are tailor made for asperger's dorks with no lives. There's no motivation, there's no design. It's just randomly generated dungeons. You might was well be playing a spreadsheet.

Now excuse me, sir, what right do you think you have to come stomping in here with your boots getting mud all over the carpet seriously i just cleaned it would it have hurt you to just step around the carpet

I forgot to put Rogue in there! I'll do that at some point. For now, Dwarf Fortress.

For those who might be interested in Dwarf Fortress if it just weren't so DAMN COMPLICATED, there is a handy video tutorial on YouTube that goes through the basics of it here [http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5A3D7682BDD48FC2&search_query=dwarf+fortress+tutorial]. I find that his voice helps soothe the pain of learning all that stuff. He covers the Fortress Mode, because the Adventure Mode doesn't really need a tutorial.

I have also found an application called Dwarvis [http://code.google.com/p/dwarvis/], which shows your fortress in 3d. I haven't used this application, so I don't know how well it works.

Has anyone got any fortresses going on at the moment? Anyone had any fortresses? What was the most difficult thing about it?

 

[Earthbound]

Ancient Domains of Mystery [http://www.adom.de/], or ADOM for short, is one of the best there is. Overworld, quests, towns, NPCs, multiple dungeons, interesting stories, plenty of artifacts and lore to discover, etc etc. This is certainly a must play for any rogue-like enthusiast.

I forgot this one. ADOM was the first roguelike that just pulled me in. It's just such a well made game. The author was actually making a commercial release of another game, which he called JADE, but it seems to be on haitus now. Actually, in my opinion, it's like the Duke Nukem Forever of roguelikes. Anyway, ADOM is a must-play for any roguelike enthusiast.

Also, the lack of the original Rogue in this post makes me truly cry for the roguelike genre.

You want a roguelike for beginners? It's Rogue. Even Roguebasin doesn't list Rogue in its "Most Influential Roguelikes" list. Where has the respect gone, I ask!

I never like the original Rogue, ironically. While I understand that it was the pioneer of the genre (though some would dispute that), it lacks some of the polish that make later games so nice. Still, without it, all that early computer gaming would have had would just have been MUDs, as nice as they are.

 

[MusicalFreedom]

I've just played Rogue again (it's been a while, completely forgot about it), and it seems very basic. That's understandable considering how it's (one of?) the first roguelikes. Perhaps that simplicity makes for an easy learning experience. Definitely good for beginners.

ADOM is also fantastic, but it's been a while since I played that one too. I have a terrible memory. I think that had an overworld, an infinite dungeon, and a bunch of ghostly apparitions telling me that I was too weak.

 

[Underground Man]

Ancient Domains of Mystery [http://www.adom.de/], or ADOM for short, is one of the best there is. Overworld, quests, towns, NPCs, multiple dungeons, interesting stories, plenty of artifacts and lore to discover, etc etc. This is certainly a must play for any rogue-like enthusiast.

^ That. I'm so horrible at it, though. I used to play it all the time in class when the lectures got old, but I never got past level 12.

Mangband was good too.

 

[Lullabye]

Well, I remember a few weeks ago with my first experience with D&D(the actual tabletop game)

Spoiler: It started out well enough...compared to Demon's Souls.(story ahead)

I walked out of a meat shop(because apparently I crave meat. One of my personality traits, don't ask) Anyway, I'm chewing on beef jerky (both in game and literally. You really connect with the character when you do the same thing they do) when I realize I am in a brand spankin new town, and have no idea where everything is. Obviously, I want teh local tavern/inn. All my soon to be teammates are already there, picking up quests, so I feel the need to hurry. But with a douche DM, nothing is ever easy. I couldn't see the Tavern in any direction, so I naturally think it's a good idea to ask for directions. I saunter on over to the nearest house, and knock on the door.
This is where it all goes terribly wrong.
I hear a sound. A kind of, ghostly whispering. Normally a person wouldn't be able to hear this, but I'm a lyncanthrope(aka, a were-animal. specifically tiger) so my senses are heightened. I knock a few more times, call out even, and no answer. Now, I'm also curious, so I decide to check out the house.
I open the door.
Quietly, carefully, I creep inside. It's dark, but that's hardly an issue with my enhanced lowlight vision. The sound I heard earlier is louder now, and it seems to be coming from up the stairs. I ascend as quietly as possible, testing each step. finally I reach the top, and am met with an open space. One window beside me, a long rectangular room in front, with a cabinet at the back. None of this however, is as interesting as the smallish glowing orb making it's rounds across the room. Common sense be damned, I stick around and scour the room for a few more minutes. After assessing the situation, I feel it safe enough to engage this glowing orb. I take a step out into it's soft, foggy light.
It notices me.
As I approach, it starts to hum and vibrate. Closer and closer I tread, the orb ever agitated. Finally, at a distance I can only assume was it's personal bubble, it finally decides to take action. A bright flash lights up the room, and my reflexes take over, doing a quick back sideways roll towards the window I saw earlier. My head smacks against the wall, but that's a minor worry compared to the scorch mark marking the spot I had been not a second before.
The Orb starts vibrating again, lighting up every shadow in the room. Without thinking I grab the windowsill and kick through the glass. I feel an intense heat on my back, but ther is no time to worry about that, as I am now falling 20 ft through the air. Quickly, I smash my hand into the siding, muscles straining to slow my descent. Suddenly, my arm gives way and I free fall to the ground head first.
Black.....
I wake up a few seconds later, dazed, and covered in blood. A looming shadow stands over me.
"I think we got the right place." said the shadow in an almost reptilian voice.
"Well, let's ask this guy the details first." a voice coming from behind the giant shadow.

TLDR: go read it.

And that friends, was my first experience playing D&D.

Though, it's nothing compared to one of my friends who managed to piss off a brigade of goblins and as a result got 20 javelins thrown at him, all within the first half hour of playing for the first time.