Welcome to RogueBasin!

We are currently maintaining 2,107 articles.

What is a Roguelike?

A Roguelike is usually described as a free turn-based computer game with a strong focus on intricate gameplay and replayability, and an abstract world representation using ASCII-based display, as opposed to 3D graphics. Of course, as with any genre, there are deviations from the norm.

Roguelikes allow the player an indefinite amount of time in which to make a move, making gameplay comparable more to chess than to reflex-based games like first-person shooters. Since graphics are limited (if not completely shunned), the player's imagination must come into play - gameplay is more like reading a book than watching a movie. (continued...)

Roguelikes

Many Roguelikes are freely available online. The most popular are:

Since the control systems of these Roguelikes are geared towards "expert" players, the novice player may be interested in trying a 'lighter' game like DoomRL. The following may help you find out more:

Contribute

One of the easiest ways to contribute is to add your name to the RGRD Wiki Project. Simply add your name there yourself, or post a message on rgrd stating that you'd like to participate, and what you agree to. If someone happens to see a relevant post by you, they'll upload it to this wiki as an article.

If you'd like to contribute to RogueBasin directly, simply create and log into an account. Feel very free to edit! We especially need more information added to the games pages and the lists - if you're a developer, consider updating your game's page, and making sure that it (and you) are included in the relevant lists.

Current News

28 May - The Sewer Massacre 1.0 released
14 May - MazeCrawl version 0.9.1 demo released
12 May - Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup 0.2.5 released
09 May - Temple of the Roguelike opens here
02 May - DoomRL 0.9.8.7 released

Featured Article

Angband is a freeware roguelike based loosely on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. It was created by Alex Cutler and Andy Astrand at Warwick University in 1990. It is named after the fortress of Morgoth in Tolkien's works, with "Angband" literally meaning "Iron Prison" (or "Hell of Iron"). The latest version is version 3.0.6, released June 18, 2005, which is available for a wide variety of platforms.games pages and the lists. (continued...)

Roguelike Development

If you have some ideas for a new Roguelike and would like to give development a go (or are already a seasoned developer) the RogueBasin is here to help you expand the Roguelike genre. A complete list of articles is available, but here are some to get you started:

User:Icey/MainIdea