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== Official Development State classification ==
See also: [[:category:roguelike games]]


*[[Major Roguelikes]]: Tested by time and found worthy, these are the representatives of the roguelike genre.
== Development State classification ==
*[[Stable games]]: Playable games in their current state, these roguelikes merely lack a few thousand rabid fans to become the next generation of representatives.
{{:Development states}}
*[[Beta Projects]]: Released for public consumption, but not yet considered a complete game.  The public is warned that they might want to await a more final release.
*[[Alpha Projects]]: Released by their developers as a proof of work, although not yet playable.
*[[Talkie Talkie Projects]]: Projects that have been discussed, but for which no actual code or executable has been seen.


== Roguelike engines ==
== Master lists ==
 
{{:List of roguelikes}}
There also exists roguelike engines, which are not really games, but rather a way to build new games easily.
See the [[RogueLike Engines]] page.


== Evolutionary Branch Classification ==
== Evolutionary Branch Classification ==


These are the two main evolutionary branches taken from [[Rogue]]. Of course, many roguelikes belong to neither branch, especially the newer ones which take ideas from other gaming genres such as simulation and strategy.  (Rogue itself, for example, can't be meaningfully ascribed to one branch or the other)
These are the two main evolutionary branches taken from [[Rogue]]. Of course, many roguelikes belong to neither, especially more recent games which often borrow from other genres, such as simulation and strategy.
 
*[[Hacklike]]. These are games that owe inspiration primarily from the [[Hack]] line of games.  [[NetHack]] is the most advanced in this genre.  [[Adom]] and [[Crawl]] may also be considered Hacklikes.
*[[Band]].  These are games which owe inspiration from the [[Moria]] line of games. Properly, this would only refer to [[Angband]] and its variants (see [[Angband Variants]]), but one can extend it to other games with similar playstyle. [[Diablo]] is considered a Band by those who consider it a roguelike.


Another way to look at this is to build a tree of roguelike evolution. One problem with this approach is how to draw the lines.  In some cases, it may be clear that one roguelike derives from another. [[NetHack]] continued with the source code of [[Hack]], so a connection seems clear. Othertimes it is more difficult.  Where does [[Adom]] fit? It is a [[Hacklike]], but doesn't share any code from any other roguelikes. Similarly, [[Avanor]] is based on the gameplay of [[Adom]], but again shares no code.
*[[Hacklike]]: these games take inspiration primarily from [[Hack]] and its descendants. [[NetHack]] is the most advanced in this genre. [[ADOM]] and [[Crawl]] may also be considered hacklikes.
*[[Band]]: these are games which take inspiration from [[Moria]] and its descendants. Properly, this term would only refer to [[Angband]] and its [[Angband variants|variants]], but one can extend it to other games with similar playstyle. Many consider [[Diablo]] to be a band.


<code>
See [[Tree of roguelike evolution]]
  ToME
    |            Zap'm
    |              |  Slash'em
Zangband    ADOM  |    |      Crawl
    |        |  \--+-+---+-------/
    |        |      |   
Angband      |    Nethack
    |      Omega    |
    | Larn  /      /
    |    \ /      /
  Moria    |    Hack
    |      |      |
    \    |    /
      \____|____/
          |
          |
        Rogue
       
family tree of popular roguelike games, inheritance by playstyle.
</code>


What I think we should do is create a series of differentiators for Roguelikes.  We can then have a standard nomenclature for describing Roguelikes and then can determine what taxonomic groups of roguelikes we should create.
== Special Categories ==


List of Differentiators:
* [[:Category:handheld roguelikes|Handheld roguelikes]] - for cellphones, Game Boys, etc.
* Plot vs No Plot.  A plot based Roguelike has a non trivial plot.  Note that quests, "kill the bad guy at the bottom", etc, do not constitute a non-trivial plot.  Plot based roguelikes would be [[Adom]] and [[Gearhead]]
* [[RogueLike Engines]], which in and of themselves are not games, offer the means to construct new games.
* Persistant Dungeons.  Persistant dungeons imply many differences to gameplay.  They often mean you have a finite number of resources available.  On the other hand, they mean you have unlimitted storage capacity.  They also mean there may be little alternative to facing a bad encounter.  Pacing thus differs radically, and this becomes a significant differentiator.  [[Adom]], despite the infinite dungeon, would be in the Persistant Dungeon camp.  [[Band]]s are almost uniformly non-persistant dungeons.
* [[Coffeebreak roguelike]]s - extremely short, but fun
* Equipment Upgrade Path.  How likely are you to finalize a piece of equipment early in your game?  [[Band]]s tend to have a deep upgrade cycle, where a large part of the game is chosing when and how to upgrade.  [[HackLike]]s tend to have a trivial equipment upgrade, where the difficulty part may be acquiring the equipment rather than deciding whether to use it.
* [[Console roguelike]]s - for video game consoles
* Inventory Size.  A relatively wide spectrum is present here.  [[Band]]s often have fixed inventory slots that make this an important part of the game.  However, [[NetHack]] also has limitted inventory - 52 slots or so, until one acquires a bag.  Even with a bag, items in the bag are not in ready reach.  [[Adom]], by contrast, allows one to cart along pages of inventory provided one has the Strength of Atlas spell.
* Dungeon Size.  Do dungeon levels fit on one screen?  Most [[Band]]s make levels that do not fit on a screen.  [[HackLikes]] tend to fit on one screen.  Note that [[Crawl]] is an exception to this.  There are important gameplay differences when one can see the entire dungeon at the same time.  Consider the effect on Detect Monster like spells.  (While [[Adom]] resizes to fit the screen, note that it will always fit the screen!)
* Wilderness.  Is there a wilderness area outside of the dungeon?  [[ZAngband]] and [[Adom]] are examples of this.
* Town with Supplies.  Are there surface towns that carry needed adventuring supplies?


We can thus create the following adhoc categories:
[[Category:Browse]]
* [[HackLike]] - Persistant Dungeons, Little Equipment Upgrade Path, Large Inventory Size, Single Screen Dungeon Size, No Town With Supplies
* [[Band]] - Non Persistant Dungeons, Equipment Upgrade Path, Limitted Inventory Size, Multi Screen Dungeons, Town with Supplies.
* AdomLike - [HackLike]] + Plot + Wilderness
* ZAngbandLike - [[Band]] + Wilderness

Latest revision as of 22:59, 19 July 2011

See also: category:roguelike games

Development State classification

  • Talkie Talkie Projects have been talked about to the point where they develop a well known life onto their own. However, no actual release of a functional game has occurred.
  • Alpha Projects are roguelike games which, while released, are not yet playable. This means you should not be surprised if there is no win condition, or no monsters, or things generally go bad after the character creation screen.
  • Beta Projects are roguelike games which, while available to the public, are not yet ready to judged as finished products. Unlike alpha projects, they have progressed to the point where they are fun and enjoyable games if you can handle a few sharp corners.
  • Defunct Games are roguelikes that are both no longer being developed and are not considered finished by the authors.
  • Stable Games are roguelikes that the authors have believed reached a level of maturity that allows them to be judged as games in themselves. Often, development is still ongoing, as roguelikes are hardly ever finished. (Except for those that were developed in a definite amount of time, like Dungeon Monkey and the 7DRLs, of course.)
    • 7DRLs are stable games created within a seven day window.
    • Major games are stable games that have provided significant influence to the roguelike genre.


Master lists


Evolutionary Branch Classification

These are the two main evolutionary branches taken from Rogue. Of course, many roguelikes belong to neither, especially more recent games which often borrow from other genres, such as simulation and strategy.

  • Hacklike: these games take inspiration primarily from Hack and its descendants. NetHack is the most advanced in this genre. ADOM and Crawl may also be considered hacklikes.
  • Band: these are games which take inspiration from Moria and its descendants. Properly, this term would only refer to Angband and its variants, but one can extend it to other games with similar playstyle. Many consider Diablo to be a band.

See Tree of roguelike evolution

Special Categories

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