On Roguelike
Speaking from Berlin interpretation
In 2008, the International Development Conference Roguelike held on numerous Roguelike developers and enthusiasts to develop a " Berlin interpretation ", provides Roguelike game needs to have the following key elements:
- The game uses the process of generating a map to increase replayability.
- Role-playing games will be permanent death, the archive can not be used to restore the role of the permanent state of death.
- The game uses turn-based, grid map, the player can have enough time to think about every step of the decision-making.
- Game patternless, players can take action does not change depending on the state of the game.
- Game nonlinear route, players can use different means to achieve the same goal of the game.
- Resource management game with play, players must consume the rational allocation of its resources to maximize the possibility of survival.
- Game focused on fighting monsters, players no peace option to skip the fight.
- The game encourages players to explore the map to obtain various types of items distributed randomly on the map.
In addition, Roguelike games often further comprises the following secondary elements:
- Single player game character clearance.
- Some monsters and players have the same capabilities such as interactive scene props, cast spells and so on.
- Game with tactical challenges, forcing the players need to try many times to learn the most suitable survival tactics.
- The game uses ASCII character representation of land consisting of the map.
- The game contains dungeons to explore, dungeons of rooms and corridors connecting the room components.
- The game will be the player character statistics show.
However, for the game to develop a "standard" is often a flag things stand. The current epidemic, as we know roguelike game, there are a lot of games do not fully meet the above characteristics. I have here some of the steam will be marked with labels of popular rogue-like games listed, with the above interpretation of Berlin for comparison:
"Killing minaret" (Slay the Spire): do not fully meet the grid maps.
"Death cell" (Dead Cells): Non-turn, do not have the grid map.
"Dark Dungeon" (Darkest Dungeon): do not fully meet the grid maps.
"Famine" (Do not Starve): Non-turn, do not focus on monsters.
"Binding of Isaac" (The Binding of Isaac): Non-turn.
"Advance Dungeon" (Enter the Gungeon): Non-turn.
As can be seen, turn-based, grid map, ASCII character maps and other game elements with a profound mark on the times. With the diversification of the development of machine performance and development tools, turn-based and gridded map of roguelike is no longer a necessary option, and they are the essence of roguelike, the core of this category of fun, does not have a sufficient degree of contribution . Can truly be inherited, it is randomly generated game content (Procedural Generation) + permanent death (Permadeath) + Resource Management (Resource Management) these three core elements.
Can these three core elements, too much play very different games have emerged. With a permanent element of the P-death game Iron Man model agency, riding face life cut, Diablo expert mode, etc., on this basis, with randomly generated content and resource management are also part of the pattern Minecraft, unmanned deep space, and so the game, and we can not put them all called Roguelike. This shows that the three core elements of their own and do not constitute the core gameplay, the core gameplay of these games or action and fighting, is to collect and construction, is a policy, a puzzle and so on. Roguelike elements can do is play around this core, giving it exaggeration, to create a different experience with the conventional play.
That Roguelike game why should these three elements together it? These elements apparently there is a close connection, I would like to start talking about a permanent death.
The core elements: permanent death
Permanent mechanism of death, and archiving systems are inseparable. Archiving system consists of checkpoints archiving and instant archiving. The original intention of archiving systems, in order to facilitate the players to restore the state of the game, to avoid non-game factors (in reality errands / night) and so was forced to terminate and cause losses, a big advantage is the PVE game. Avoid losses archiving system, is the player's game time, players must again parts of the game. Game design, allowing the player to re-play the game exactly the same part of the contents of only one reason: the player does not finish this part of the consumer, that is not able to successfully master this part. The archiving system where failure can limit the maximum punishment for the game when the player failed just go back to before the player fails to master the content, rather than allowing him to play again from scratch.
But there is archiving system, but also limits the risk of the design game design. In reality, any losses that may arise will be part of the risk; while in the game, due to the existence of such a method archive back the timeline, as long as the loss to the extent that players unacceptable, players can reply by weight. Therefore, the "permanent death" mechanism to solve the problem is the design of risk, risk to delete files as part of the loss to increased bad decisions. As opposed to, let you continue playing, it is a good decision. Bad decisions and good decisions together to form a "decision Pool" (Decision Pool), which allows players to do meaningful choice. But if the game is a single formula, when and where to appear what monsters are fixed, and that the role of permanent death, it becomes a game to allow players to re-play the part of the content exactly the same, which is very hurt gaming experience thing such decisions pools, does not it no surprises yet.
The core elements: random content
To avoid this problem, Roguelike need to introduce random maps, and other process-generated content, manufactured uncertainty (Uncertainty), makes the experience every time you start the game may face are different. From the narrative point of view, each playing the role of the experienced players to manipulate all the "historical event" and not all have uniqueness retrospective; players in the loss of this role, not only lost the game trying period of time, but also that role will permanently lose the memories spent with you. And thread to create the system can be said to bring non-linear experience, death is permanent mechanism to prevent the contents of a highly repetitive means.
The above mentioned "decision Pool", is the player capable of the moment, the sum of the actions will have a profound impact on the game, it comes after the Roguelike "patternless" features, meaning the game will not be the result of the current status and mode fundamental changes in the decision-making of different pools occur. The decision in the pool, including the good decisions and bad decisions, but should not contain "significantly better" decisions and "obviously bad" decision. According Meaningful Choice of view, all decisions have to be earnings and the current state of the game closely. The results of the introduction of non-linear random element manufacturing experience, is that the player can be extremely difficult to reach the global optimum choice. Permanent death + random factors in the decision-making level generated is to force the player must accept the "non-optimal" choice everywhere in the fact that the moment to accept the local optimal solution, reducing power players pursue global optimum, the effort to "continue game" on this matter.
However, for inexperienced players, if the lack of connectivity before and after (Context) and explicit hints in the game, he is a very difficult time to distinguish the merits of the decision-making of the game. Therefore, when the high roguelike game punishment comes, he will tend to go because "this game is not taught me, I failed," rather than "a few decisions before I do wrong, I failed." Such decision-making system, even if the player fails, I want to start all over again, learning how to master this game, also because of lack of relevant cues not from the start.
The core elements: resource management
Resource management system, where decision-making is the corresponding clues. Games with shallow resources to quantify the player's option, to guide decision-making on the part of resource management, easy to learn and the players again. In a general sense, although there is interference random factors, players can consume more resources place, resulting in it to help the greater; when the player failed to delete files and accept the punishment, the cause of the failure can be analyzed in terms of resources, thus re-allocation of resources allocation in the next time again. One resource management games are played, fear arise, due to simplification of the system, so that the global optimal solution can easily be approximated by the iterative numerical sense; but in Roguelike here, randomly generated game content just to some extent hidden global optimal solution, helping to achieve the purpose to extend the replayability of the game.
Overall, in line with Roguelike definition games often use a permanent death, and resource management games are played randomly generated and other factors, driven by an outside core gameplay, the decision-making around the risks and benefits, greatly extending the game's playable time and create a unique gaming experience. However, the logic mentioned above, that is, roguelike who want to do things, so successful has been able to achieve it?
Roguelike not perfect
In Roguelike the game, there are many technical and design problems, to limit the performance of this direction near the part of the game works. One of the most common is the problem of the archiving system. Permanent mechanism of death is highly dependent on the archive, and the archive is stored in most games locally, which means that as long as the players happy, is the ability to have full interpretation and modification of the hidden and encrypted archive location shift is only postponed modifier R & D only. Only logic and archived on the game on the server side, its permanent death mode can be said to be complete, but the costs associated with can not be ignored. Archive options exist means to break the Internet to see how to crack the archive, even kill archiving system, there is a memory modifier also makes sense to reduce, and in the absence of a maximum punishment of death permanent death mode just re-read the file from the archive into a system but it will limit the duration of the game completely the total clearance.
Archiving problems, limitations of overstating the difficulty of the game is in fact reduce the ability of fault tolerance. Roguelike also tend to have highly random levels, monsters and rewards; under the influence of random factors, non-real-time system of Roguelike games in addition to test a player's luck and understanding of the game outside, difficult to have other overstating the difficulty of practice; the latter is will soon be the player to find out, leading to difficult turn-based roguelike value at the time of press, often becomes a pure look at the face of the game. To see the face of the game combined with high death penalties are ineffective duplication of effort and bring a bad experience, this climb tower students fully understood. Therefore, based on the death punishment archiving system is highly dependent under the premise of conscious players, the difficulty of making such a conscious will challenge players from a random factor, while the victory after customs clearance of little help experience.
In addition, most Roguelike non-linear game features also make it difficult to have a single-line and multi-linear narrative and the game as easy mechanism - self-consistent narrative (Ludonarrative Consistence) capability. With "Eternal column" represented TRPG also have permanent death mode as an option play and rich resources management, but in order to highlight the plot and logical self-consistent view of the world, it is difficult to introduce the process generated game environment to manufacture replayability. At this point, "Ring World" as a representative of non-linear "process of generating narrative", through a complex and self-consistent system demonstrates how highly the process of creation and existence generated game characters close emotional connection characteristic of the players; but it the colonial administration's core gameplay it will not fully fall under Roguelike label, it can only be said to be worth considering the direction of another game design it. In short, most Roguelike the direction of interest, it does not here.
In fact, the mechanism of a game - a self-consistent narrative ability, from a commercial point of view to a large extent decide the game and experience the difference compared to competing products, giving players a reason to choose you instead choose someone else. Roguelike games are in this area are often below their attention to polished core gameplay itself, but the reason is not successful once polished it is difficult to distinguish in the same degree in manufacturing, which is why many superficial change of name Roguelike nature banner . "Dark Dungeon" pain system introduced can be said that in this direction the more successful attempt, can be considered for Roguelike games in Berlin to get rid of the stereotype interpretation, find a new breakthrough pointed out the direction of it.