| | A rogue-like game is a computer-based roleplaying game that is loosely based upon, or similar to the game Rogue. Rogue-likes often feature either no graphics, very primitive graphics, or use ASCII Character s to represent various characters, enemies, items, even the dungeon itself. Many of these Games are freeware, meaning that They are free to copy and distribute. Some of them are shareware, meaning a trial version May be freely distributed, but once the trial period is up, users should pay a small fee to the developer for either continued play, or access to all features. Because of the Low Quality and resolution of graphics, or complete lack thereof, most rogue-likes Work just as well on older Computers as they do on today's models. Rogue-likes are available for most platforms including Windows, DOS, Mac, and Many UNIX systems. |
| The Rule system of most Rogue-likes is based on that of Dungeons & Dragons, a popular tabletop roleplaying game. Character races and classes, monsters, character statistics such as strength or intelligence, the system of hit points, mana or spell points, and experience points, levels, magical spells and items, armor classes, and alignments. |
| Rogue-likes share many common features, such as some of the following:
* Single-player - Almost all Rogue-likes are single-player, meaning that all other characters, monsters, and events in the game are controlled by the game itself.
* Turn-based - Rogue-likes do not operate in real-time, meaning that the game stops until the player enters a command.
* Fantasy-themed - Characters and enemies in Rogue-likes are often borrowed from mythology or fantasy literature. Worlds contain magic, monsters, and uncommon situations. Common themes are Norse mythology, and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, etc.)
* Random Generation - Rogue-likes operate based on a pseudo-random number Generator which often controls just about every aspect of the game, including dungeon layouts, encounters with various monsters, location of items, and damage inflicted in battle.
* Dungeon - Rogue-likes usually take place in some sort of maze, containing hallways, rooms, doors, and secret passages. This is usually referred to as a "dungeon," which spawns the Rogue-like nickname "dungeon-crawler."
* Time Involved - Most Rogue-likes take a very long time to complete, due to the myriad of factors the player must Deal with. More often than not, the player will never finish the game. |
| Many gamers often categorize Rogue-likes with other RPGs, such as text adventures and MUDs. Text adventures do not use any graphics, and objects are described to the player in written sentences. Multi-User Dungeons are just that, multi-user, meaning that many People can play at once. Due to the nature of a multi-player game, many of these are played in real-time. |
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