December 23, 2009 by Stone
It’s been a while since I posted. Sorry.
A roguelike is a computer game based on Rogue, which was one of the first computer games written. These games usually have simple graphics of ASCII characters, an ‘@’ for the player (represents a hero viewed from the top down), and letters representing enemies (such as a ‘D’ for a dragon). These range in complexity up to the likes of ADOM (which is hugely complex, with lots of things to do an explore, lots of skills the player can learn, and several paths through the game). These can also have quite a few themes, rather than just the mythical dungeons and dragons type theme. Notable games in this regard include Gearhead Arena (a roguelike centered around anime-style giant fighting robots, with you the player as an aspiring pilot. Actually, the whole game is even bigger than that, and totally awesome), and DoomRL (Based on Doom. If you’ve never played Doom, you’ve missed out on true gaming legacy. DoomRL is in itself a vast amount of fun).
Roguelikes, if you can get over the lack of graphics, are really a lot of fun. They can vary in difficulty and complexity, so people of any gaming skill-level can jump into one. Because of some features they share with bigger games (skill points, leveling up, inventory, ect.), creating one is a good way to learn a new language, or test a programmer’s skills. I will be writing this in Java, which I am actually just starting to learn. I understand the concept of Object Oriented Programming, but it is time to see if I can do it (well, that and I have an idea that hasn’t been explored in a roguelike yet).
More details to come. This isn’t started yet, so don’t expect a mini-site or progress for a while.