The story of Rogue

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Nostalgia and Personal Histories

  • Many recall discovering Rogue (and early roguelikes like Moria, Hack, Empire) on university minicomputers and VAX systems in the early 80s–2000s.
  • Stories include labs banning Rogue in daytime, students flunking out due to Moria, and childhood memories of watching parents die repeatedly to trolls.
  • Several never beat Rogue; some are comforted that even a creator reportedly hasn’t. Others returned years later and finally won, often after experience with NetHack.

Roguelikes, Roguelites, and Genre Evolution

  • Older definition of “roguelike” stressed close similarity to Rogue: turn-based, permadeath, procedural dungeons, hunger, item identification, often ASCII.
  • Over time, the term broadened; “roguelite” emerged for games that borrow elements (meta-progression, randomization) but diverge in structure and presentation.
  • Japanese series (e.g., Shiren/Mystery Dungeon) are highlighted as keeping traditional roguelikes alive on consoles.
  • Some argue many modern titles (e.g., Dark Souls) capture Rogue’s spirit via incomplete information, high risk/reward, and experimentation without classic mechanics.

Recommended Games and Platforms

  • Traditional or close descendants: NetHack (with many variants and tournaments), Angband and variants, Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, Caves of Qud, Cataclysm: DDA, Brogue, Larn/ULarn, UnReal World.
  • Console-friendly / Switch: Shiren 5 & 6, Wizardry remake, Jupiter Hell, Tanglewood, possible Rogue ports (with noted UI bugs), Dragon Fang Z, Void Terrarium, Crown Trick, Crypt of the Necrodancer/Cadence of Hyrule, Spelunky.
  • Mobile/indie: Pixel Dungeon and Shattered Pixel Dungeon, Roguecraft (Amiga, planned Switch port).
  • Multiple online servers and archives are mentioned for playing classic variants in the browser or over SSH.

Design, Mechanics, and Strategy

  • Players emphasize economy of movement due to food and traps; one notable tactic is only walking on previously trodden tiles on return paths.
  • Discussion of how small, consistent advantages (safer routing, better risk judgment) compound into dramatically higher win rates.
  • Some enjoy sprawling systems (NetHack), others find the complexity pushes them to wikis and prefer more focused designs like Brogue.
  • Many stress that what “feels like Rogue” includes minimalist, clearly “programmed” systems and visible grids, not polished cinematic experiences.

Technical and Historical Notes

  • Rog-o-matic, a 1980s expert system that played Rogue, is cited as a rule-based forerunner of modern game-playing agents.
  • Rogue’s save files used simple encryption and metadata (UID, inode, timestamps) to discourage copying and save-scumming; later reverse-engineered.
  • Debate around terminal history: IBM 3270 vs DEC-style terminals, “glass TTYs,” and when full-screen, cursor-addressable terminals became common.
  • Attempts are made to identify the font in a linked screenshot; consensus is “unclear.”

Accessibility and UI

  • ASCII-based games and plain-text guitar tabs are remembered as unintentionally highly accessible, including for Braille displays.
  • Modern “polished” UIs often reduce accessibility; one commenter offers a bookmarklet to strip pages to preformatted text.

Language and Culture

  • Frequent misspelling of “rogue” as “rouge” is attributed to English spelling patterns and common letter combinations.