However, before computers, games had to be simple for practical reasons - they were limited by the physical realities of the medium. Over-Complexityīefore video games, there were still games, of course board games, card games, sports, word games, and little 'don't step on the black tiles!' type-games created by children. The problems as I see them with roguelikes are issues that face most video games: over-complexity, unfocused game design, and temporal inefficiency. The fact that these games are challenging, and your choices actually matter (because if you make a wrong choice, there are consequences that cannot be undone - imagine that!) are exactly what make them fun and interesting. Actually, though, I think that's one of the main things they do right. Some are probably thinking, 'Yes - they're too hard and unforgiving'. However, I also think there are inherent problems with the genre. Not that it really needs to be said, if you've played 100 Rogues, but I'm a huge fan of roguelikes Dungeon Crawl and Shiren the Wanderer are two of my all-time favorite games. Players will decide for themselves, of course, but by sticking to a philosophy, I think I've stumbled upon something entirely new. However, as you'll see, my design process and philosophy stripped away so many elements of these genres that when I stepped back, I realized that what I had on my hands no longer fit that title. Which is funny, because the game's original working title was actually ' THE ROGUELIKE'. Note that it's not a 'role playing game', and it's not a 'roguelike'. To describe it in a line, it's a 'turn-based, hex-based, dungeon-crawling strategy game'. The new game in question is called Auro, named after the spoiled prince protagonist. While, on its face, it shares many surface-level things in common with 100 Rogues, I'd like to explain how and why I went back to the drawing board and looked at the fundamental aspects of the genre. My team, Dinofarm Games, and I have started working on a new game. In my previous Gamasutra article, ' The Cautionary Tale Of 100 Rogues ', I described the process behind designing, developing and marketing of my 2010 iOS game, 100 Rogues.

100 rogues ios