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


*[[Major Roguelikes]]: Time-tested and found worthy of attention; foremost representatives of the genre.
== Development State classification ==
*[[Stable games]]: Playable games in their given state, merely lacking the fanbase to enter the ranks of the majors.
{{:Development states}}
*[[Beta Projects]]: In general release, but not yet considered to be complete. Players are cautioned to expect and possibly await more polished releases.
*[[Alpha Projects]]: Proof of concept releases; generally unplayable.
*[[Talkie Talkie Projects]]: Projects under discussion for which no actual code or executable has circulated.
 
== Roguelike engines ==
 
There also exist [[RogueLike Engines]], which in and of themselves are not games, but offer the means to construct new games.


== Master lists ==
== Master lists ==
 
{{:List of roguelikes}}
Following are quite large lists of roguelikes:
 
* [[List of roguelikes]]
* [[Lists of roguelikes by year]]
* [[Category:Lists of roguelikes]]


== Evolutionary Branch Classification ==
== Evolutionary Branch Classification ==
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*[[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.
*[[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.


Another approach is to build a tree of roguelike evolution. In some cases, it may be clear that one roguelike derives from another. For example, NetHack was built atop Hack, so its lineage seems clear.  Other times, determining relations proves more difficult.  Where does ADOM fit?  It appears to be a hacklike, but does not share its codebase with any other game. Similarly, [[Avanor]] adopts the gameplay, but not the actual code, of ADOM.
See [[Tree of roguelike evolution]]
 
                  [[Rogue]]
        ____________|_____________
      |    |      |            |
    [[Moria]]  [[Larn]]  [[Omega]]        [[Hack]]
      |            |            |
    [[Angband]]        |          [[NetHack]]
    ___|___        |  __________|__________
  |      |        |  |    |        |      |
[[ToME]]  [[ZAngband]]    [[ADOM]]  [[Zap'm]] [[SLASH'EM]]  [[Crawl]]
''Schematic family tree of popular roguelike games, showing inheritance by play style.''


Forming a series of differentiators might offer a standard nomenclature for describing roguelikes from which one might construct taxonomic groups of roguelikes.
== Special Categories ==


List of differentiators:
* [[:Category:handheld roguelikes|Handheld roguelikes]] - for cellphones, Game Boys, etc.
* [[Plot]] vs. Plotless: a plot-based roguelike sports a non-trivial plot. Note that quests ("kill the bad guy at the bottom", etc.) don't make a non-trivial plot. Plot-based roguelikes would include [[ADOM]] and [[GearHead]].
* [[RogueLike Engines]], which in and of themselves are not games, offer the means to construct new games.
* [[Dungeon persistence]]: persistent dungeons impact gameplay in many ways. They lead to finite in-game resources countered by unlimitted storage capacity (assuming object persistence, as well). They also leave few alternatives to confronting difficult obstacles and foes. Pacing thus differs radically, and this becomes a significant differentiator. ADOM, despite the infinite dungeon, would fall into this camp. Bands are almost uniformly non-persistent.
* [[Coffeebreak roguelike]]s - extremely short, but fun
* [[Equipment]] upgrade path: how likely are you to finalize a piece of equipment early in your game? Bands tend to have a deep upgrade cycle, where a large portion of the game lies in choosing when and how to upgrade. Hacklikes tend to have a trivial equipment upgrade, where the difficulty lies in acquiring equipment rather than in deciding whether to use it.
* [[Console roguelike]]s - for video game consoles
* [[Inventory]] size: a relatively wide spectrum is present here. Bands often have fixed inventory slots that make this an important part of the game. However, NetHack also has limited inventory — 52 slots or so, until one acquires a bag. Even with a bag, items stored therein are not within ready reach. ADOM, by contrast, allows one to cart along pages of inventory provided one has the strength of Atlas.
* [[Dungeon]] size: do dungeon levels fit on one screen? Most bands make levels that do not fit on a screen. Hacklikes tend to fit on one screen. Note that [[Crawl]] represents 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: persistent dungeons, little equipment upgrade path, large inventory size, single screen dungeon size, no town with supplies
* Band: non-persistent 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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