Zeno Rogue·Apr 7Are roguelikes bad?Recently I see lots of people avoiding everything marketed as roguelike. Things like “it looked to be a cool game but it turned out to be…
Zeno Rogue·Mar 6, 2025Engine Builders: an analysisIn recent years, a new, very popular genre has emerged: games heavily focusing on upgrades and synergies. People creating games in this…
Zeno Rogue·Nov 9, 2023Permaconsequence and PermadeathPermadeath is the idea that, when your character dies, they cannot be brought back to life. Simple, right? Well, no. There are many flavors…A response icon2A response icon2
Zeno Rogue·Jan 4, 2023Permadeath considered harmfulTypical video games take 10–100 hours to complete; when something bad happens, e.g., your character is killed, you can just reverse the bad…A response icon1A response icon1
Zeno Rogue·Apr 9, 2022What is the difference between Roguelike and Roguelite?Roguelike is a genre primarily defined by its immediate gameplay (just like genres such as platformer or first-person shooter). Roguelites…A response icon2A response icon2
Zeno Rogue·Apr 6, 2021What to Say instead of RoguelikeInfluential games sometimes get genres named after them. However, such genre names tend to be unclear. Which feature of the influential…A response icon1A response icon1
Zeno Rogue·Feb 14, 2021The Monty Hall problem, but differentSuppose you’re on a game show, and you’re given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a…A response icon3A response icon3
Zeno Rogue·Jan 29, 2021H. P. Lovecraft and non-Euclidean geometryAfter creating the first versions of HyperRogue, I have learnt that people often associate non-Euclidean geometry with the works of H. P…A response icon2A response icon2
Zeno Rogue·Nov 6, 2020What “Roguelike” MeantSeveral recently released games have rekindled the old discussions on the meaning of the word “roguelike”. This post is an attempt to…A response icon2A response icon2
Zeno Rogue·May 1, 2019Non-Euclidean geometry and gamesThe term “non-Euclidean” is often used by gamers to mean any kind of game where geometry does not work exactly as in our world. While such…A response icon4A response icon4
