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Are rouguelite games acceptable?

A topic by Juxxec created Feb 27, 2024 Views: 360 Replies: 3
Viewing posts 1 to 3
(1 edit)

I have an idea of combining two genres for the game jam game I want to make. But I got to thinking, which requirements for roguelikes are mandatory?

Theres:

  • Permanent death
  • Turn-based movement
  • Procedurally generated dungeons
  • Tile-based graphics
  • Dungeon exploration
  • Treasure collecting

If we replace turn-based movement with real-time movement, replace dungeons with a semi-open world that is randomly generated, have the enemy placement and objective of the game be randomized, and replace tile-based graphics with 3D, this would be considered a rogue-lite.

Would that be an acceptable game for this jam or do we need to create a hard-core roguelite that includes all of the above elements?

"roguelites" are fine. "rouguelites" not so much.

There's no such thing as a list of requirements for roguelikes, there are only interpretations that you can assimilate partially.

We are just asking people to ensure their entries show efforts to contain elements of the roguelike genre

Don't be afraid of innovating, we welcome additions to the roguelike formula, games that build on top of what a roguelike is, and mix it with ideas from other genres, are more than welcome. If you feel your idea is at the boundaries of what a roguelike is, ask the organizers in the community forums.

As a way to maintain the spirit of the challenge, we are asking all entries to contain elements of procedural content generation that impact gameplay in a substantial way. Advanced algorithms are not required, as long as you are providing a new experience with every run, but just placing enemies randomly in a fixed map may not cut it. If in doubt, ask the organizers in the community forums.

Thanks for the reply. I understand that the random placement of enemies on a fixed map is not acceptable. I was leaning more towards having my map randomly generated along with having the enemies’ placements on the map. I will definitely chat with the organizers.

*just* random placement on enemies on a fixed map is not acceptable. The key there is the "fixed" map, but you mentioned a semi-open world that is randomly generated. That would be enough.

moved this topic to Questions about the rules