What Is a Roguelike? — History, Notable Works, and a NetHack Glossary

What Is a Roguelike? — History, Notable Works, and a NetHack Glossary

What Is a “Roguelike”?

Quick primer you can reuse as an article or handout.

Definition

A roguelike is a turn-based, grid-movement RPG featuring procedural levels and permadeath. A commonly cited yardstick is the 2008 “Berlin Interpretation,” which lists high-value traits such as procedural generation, permadeath, turn-based play, grid movement, resource management, and emergent gameplay. In modern usage, roguelites are action-forward games that adopt some—but not all—of these traits.

History (Very Short Timeline)

  • 1978 — Beneath Apple Manor seeds the formula on the Apple II.
  • 1980 — Rogue popularizes permadeath + procedural dungeons on BSD Unix.
  • 1983 — Moria deepens the template.
  • 1984–85 — Hack (shops, systems) → basis for NetHack.
  • 1987 — NetHack debuts; the “DevTeam” era begins.
  • 1990s — Angband, ADOM, Dungeon Crawl gain fans; in Japan, the Mystery Dungeon / Shiren line brings console popularity.
  • 2006 → — Community forks Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup (DCSS), still active.
  • 2010s–2020s — Roguelike mechanics go mainstream via roguelites (Spelunky, FTL, The Binding of Isaac, Dead Cells, Slay the Spire, Hades, etc.).

Representative Works

Traditional Roguelikes (turn-based, grid, permadeath)

  • Rogue, Moria, Hack, NetHack, Angband, ADOM, Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, Brogue, ToME, Shiren the Wanderer

Roguelites / Hybrids

  • Spelunky, FTL, The Binding of Isaac, Dead Cells, Slay the Spire, Hades, Vampire Survivors, Returnal, Into the Breach, Balatro, Cult of the Lamb

NetHack Glossary (One-Page)

Ascension
Winning: retrieve the Amulet of Yendor and escape the dungeon (the end-game “ascension run”).
Amulet of Yendor (AoY)
The unique quest item required to ascend.
Conduct
Self-imposed challenges (e.g., foodless, vegan, wishless, pacifist) tracked by the game/community.
Elbereth
Engraving “Elbereth” on the floor deters most monsters while you stand there; a classic survival trick.
Gehennom
Hellish late-game branch beneath the Castle; where the Amulet is hidden.
Sokoban
Four-level puzzle branch; push boulders to goals for a prize.
Bones
Levels saved from other players’ deaths; you may loot—or suffer—what they left behind.
Branches
Side dungeons such as the Gnomish Mines, Sokoban, Quest, and Fort Ludios.
Wishes / Wand of Wishing
Rare effects granting (mostly) any item; planning wish priorities is core strategy.
Engraving
Writing on floors (dust, tools, magic) used for Elbereth, scare-spots, and notes.
Alignment & Altars
Pray/sacrifice to your deity; altars can identify items and bless gear (with risks).
Artifacts
Unique named items with special powers; many are role-locked or non-wishable.
Intrinsics
Built-in resistances/abilities (e.g., poison, fire, see-invisible) gained from items, food, or levels.
Ascension Kit
Late-game loadout emphasizing reflection, magic resistance, and reliable escapes.
Quest
Role-specific branch to obtain your quest artifact and the Bell of Opening.
Shopkeeper
Neutral NPCs who buy/sell; theft and pricing mechanics run deep (and can be deadly).
Pets
Early allies (e.g., starting kitten/puppy) that fetch, scout, and kill safely for you.
Polymorph / Polypiling
Transform yourself or items; powerful but chaotic and often conduct-sensitive.
Scroll of Scare Monster
When placed on the ground, acts as a “no-go” warning for enemies; fragile but lifesaving.

© Your Name — Free to reuse with attribution.

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