In the dangerous world of symbols ...

Now, when computer graphics reaches new heights, models in games are becoming close to photorealism, and the threshold for entering games is getting lower, it’s hard to imagine that games are still evolving in which interesting gameplay and tremendous possibilities come to the fore, and the graphics ... no. The name of this genre is Roguelike .

Quote from Wikipedia:

Roguelike (read as rouglayk; slang "bagel") is a subgenre of computer role-playing games. Characteristic features of roguelike are randomly generated levels and the irreversibility of the death of the character - in case of his death, the player is asked to start the game again. Most games of this genre have been developed on a non-commercial basis and use a two-dimensional text interface and keyboard control.

Makes you think, is not it? Let's try to describe the main features of Roguelike-games.
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1. Fatality of death (eng. Permadeath).
   All life is a game, and games are like life, so if you made a mistake that led to the death of a character, that's it, the game starts over. Such a game model makes the character cherish and not commit rash acts, and also reinforces the element of risk and the complexity of the game - in dangerous places each turn may be the last. This may seem strange, because it can be boring to go through the same thing many times, but the second property follows from this.
   
   
2. Random generation of the game world.
   Each game in the "bagel" - is unique. The dungeons that the player travels in, the outside world, the location of enemies and objects, the properties of unidentified things - all this will be new for each character. In some of these games, you cannot even get to the same level of the dungeon a second time - no, leaving the treasury and returning to a stronger one will not work. Or take a chance, or be left with nothing. We have time to think, and this is the third property.
   
   
3. Step by step games.
   In many difficult situations, the rule “act seven times, cut once” works perfectly, each move can and must be carefully thought out. There is absolutely no hurry, you can safely assess the situation, think about it - these are Roguelike similar to chess, with the only difference that the enemy will not stand above his soul and rush your move. And there is something to think about - and this property is number 4.
   
   
4. The freedom of action.
   Have you ever thought that a werewolf could also be struck with a silver ring, and a flammable bottle of oil for a lamp can be thrown into that nasty goblin? And you have this opportunity too. Items can be used in a variety of ways. And in general - you can do what you want - most bagels do not have a clear storyline - just have the main quest, in some case consisting of several, sometimes there are side quests for which you can get money or some other bonus. But this is not true for all games - ADOM, for example, has a developed plot, although freedom of action, however, no one limits. You will have the opportunity to learn everything, and this is the fifth property.
   
   
5. Difficult game system.
   The game system in “bagels” is usually very difficult - the quality of an object is influenced by many signs, the ability of a hero to withstand dangers depends on how well a certain skill is developed, and all monsters have their weak points - you just need to find them. And in this there is an additional interest - you will not find such information in the documentation for the game, but you must discover it yourself during the game. Well, or you can try to read the source or find on the Internet the so-called "spoilers" (from the English. To spoil - spoil). Such information can help, if you are so stuck in one place, but you should bear in mind that you can’t see what you see, so you should think about it 5 times before reading the spoiler - it can kill a lot of interest in the game. All documentation important for a normal game is already built into it - and believe me, you will need it - the sixth sign.
   
   
6. Special interface.
   Almost all of Roguelike for an unaccustomed player will seem unusual - everything is displayed with symbols, you can even play using only the keyboard. There are no simple menus and no plans - they are replaced by hot keys scattered throughout the keyboard. This slightly increases the threshold of entry, but you can be sure that it will be the simplest test for the player, compared to the next ones. Fortunately, hotkeys in different games are similar, so after mastering one game, you will have no problems with others. And graphics of this type very well develop the imagination and abstract thinking, so very soon you will not be a @ symbol moving along typographic points between the # signs, but a heroic half-elf sneaking along a narrow corridor in anticipation of a terrible dragons battle.
   
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Of course, not all of these signs are mandatory for the game to be called Roguelike, as the presence of only one or two of them does not allow. After all, there are also "bagels" with a graphical interface and multiplayer, not having a step. But in general, they define this genre quite well.

Moreover, it’s possible to add that “bagels” are traditionally very difficult, so many players in games like Angband or NetHack never completed them completely, or went through only a few years of unsuccessful attempts.

What makes players love these games so much? A unique atmosphere and, oddly enough, realism. While playing, you really feel like a warrior descending into full danger dungeons, where death is around every corner, and not a superhero with a mega-hyper-laser laser behind his shoulder, carrying enemies right and left, and detailed elaboration of games will make you remember important things more than once , which were completely forgotten in other games, like scrolls that burn in the process of fighting a dragon or burst bottles with the right potions when they freeze.

Roguelike lovers are known for a strange understanding of the fun of the game, similar to the motto of Dwarf Fortress "Loosing is FUN!" - "Playing is fun!". There is even such a term - YASD (Yet Another Stupid Death - Another One Stupid Death), which players on the forums mark stories about the most epic / funny death of a character. Therefore, long gatherings behind the “bagels” will help to strengthen the nerves weakly and make it possible to laugh at a friend who is angry with the death of some RPG, which led to the loss of 5 minutes of passage. And the most interesting Fails will become stories told to friends!

If you are interested in Roguelike games, I recommend trying to play them. I recommend starting with Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, which has a fairly player-friendly system and a nice graphical interface (along with excellent ASCII). Far away you, of course, will not go there for a long time, but at least you will understand how to play and what to do. Then you can either hammer Crawl further, or switch to something else - you have a whole world - Angband, NetHack, ToME (branches 2 or 4), ADOM, Cataclysm and a lot of other things - only about 800 names are listed on RogueBasin , and After all, this is not all. Some information in Russian can be found in the Club of Fat Lovers . Some of these games I can describe if there is time and demand.