History SoYouWantTo / WriteARoguelike

A RogueLike is a specific kind of RPG that is built on the philosophy of YOLO: You Only Live Once. When your character dies, they're sent right back to square one to start all over.

* RPGsEqualCombat: Nobody plays a Rogelike for the story beats. They're purely focused on a primary gameplay loop of fight-loot-advance.

The specific type of RPG (that is, action or turn-based) doesn't really matter, although modern Roguelikes are often ThreeQuarterView / [[Isometric Projection isometric]] ARPG's that build a unique level room-by-room as the player progresses.

The specific type of RPG (that is, action or turn-based) doesn't really matter, although modern Roguelikes are often isometric ARPG's that build a unique level room-by-room as the player progresses.

The specific type of RPG (that is, action or turn-based) doesn't really matter, although modern Roguelikes are often ARPG's that build a unique level room-by-room as the player progresses.

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: Fell down a pit or stepped in a trap, or just got beaten into poo by a [[{{Mooks}} mook]]. Or mainlined too much Chaos magic and melted. Or made one too many [[DealWithTheDevil trades with the shopkeeper demon]] and got DraggedOffToHell. Or got drunk, vomited while asleep, and drowned. The potential for YetAnotherStupidDeath to claim a character is endless.

* ''VideoGame/{{Rogue}}'': The great grandpappy, against which all others are measured. It's the TropeNamer: "roguelikes" are "like ''Rogue.''" An ASCII graphics DungeonCrawler RPG that pioneered having a FinalDeath.

* ''VideoGame/{{Rogue}}'': The great grandpappy, against which all others are measured. An ASCII graphics DungeonCrawler RPG that pioneered having a FinalDeath.

Be sure to check out So You Want To SoYouWantTo/WriteAStory for writing advice in general, So You Want To SoYouWantTo/WriteAnRPG for advice on writing RPG's specifically. Since Roguelikes don't have a hard-and-fast genre as much as they do a set style, you might want to check out our tips for writing a certain kind of story (ex, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, etc).

* VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac: Grim, ReligiousHorror-flavoured atmosphere informs the locations of each Level of Hell you need to escape to reach the end of the game. By completing certain criteria, you unlock new characters with new playstyles.

!!'''The Epic Fails'''

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: Fell down a pit or stepped in a trap, or just got beaten into poo by a [[{{Mooks}} mook]]. Or mainlined too much Chaos magic and melted. Or made one too many [[DealWithTheDevil trades with the shopkeeper demon]] and got DraggedOffToHell. The potential for YetAnotherStupidDeath to claim a character is endless.

The specific kind of RPG (that is, action or turn-based) doesn't really matter, although modern Roguelikes are often ARPG's that build a unique level room-by-room as the player progresses.

* Once you've nailed down your aesthetic, peices of equipment for your character sheet (hats, armor, gloves, etc) that give the player an edge. Maybe try giving equipment that has a NescessaryDrawback. Shoes with heelies that extend your dodge, a hat that causes friendly maggots to spawn from your kills, or a vest that halves your fire damage while doubling your ice damage, that kind of thing.

A Roguelike is a specific kind of RPG that is built on the philosophy of YOLO: You Only Live Once. When your character dies, they're sent right back to square one to start all over.

* PowerAtAPrice: While a player might want an invulnerable hero, just as many will want a GlassCannon build with one HP but a fireball spell that leaves a fallout zone. Remember: The best ''de''fense is a good ''of''fense

* HaveANiceDeath: With death being on the menu so much, it's inevitable that your players will get repeatedly murderized. A little bit of levity goes a long way.
* Perserverance in the case of seeming futility.

* Again, tailor or mix as you like. Some older Roguelikes had {{ASCII}} "graphics," representing your character with an "@" symbol and monsters by their first initial. The trend has been to move away from this, however.

* Again, tailor or mix as you like. Some older Roguelikes had {{ASCII]] "graphics," representing your character with an "@" symbol and monsters by their first initial. The trend has been to move away from this, however.

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: Fall down a pit or step in a trap, or just got beaten into poo by a [[{{Mooks}} mook]]. Or mainlined too much Chaos magic and melted. Or made one too many [[DealWithTheDevil trades with the shopkeeper demon]] and got DraggedOffToHell.

* A trend has emerged of fusing Roguelike elements to different kinds of games. FPS is common, but RTS's, for example, are kind of hard to do since they focus on entire armies, rather than one person who's been set up to fail.

* Weapons flavoured to the genre of game you're making

* A DeathSeeker or someone with RessurectiveImmortality for the protagonist.

* A DeathSeeker or someone with RessurrectiveImmortality for the protagonist.

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: Fall down a pit or step in a trap, or just get beaten into poo.

* VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac: Grim, ReligiousHorror-flavoured atmosphere informs the locations of each Level of Hell you need to escape to reach the end of the game.

* VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac: Grim, ReligeousHorror-flavoured atmosphere informs the locations of each Level of Hell you need to escape to reach the end of the game.

* VideoGame/TheBindingOfIssac: Grim, ReligeousHorror-flavoured atmosphere informs the locations of each Level of Hell you need to escape to reach the end of the game.

* TheBindingOfIssac: Grim, ReligeousHorror-flavoured atmosphere informs the locations of each Level of Hell you need to escape to reach the end of the game.