These are a few of my personal favorite “Roguelike” experiences.
Mega Man 9 & 10 Endless mode
- Extra, alternate, game mode for fun.
- Random rooms
- No timer to push you out or make it harder to progress, go until you can’t go any further for a position on leader boards.
Rogue Legacy
- Finite world though randomized each time
- Progressive build up of power that helps you get further each time in addition to power ups in the dungeons themselves.
- Hero linage system that adds new quirks for each playthrough such as hiding the map, flipping the view upside down, making the world black and white, ect.
- No forced timer that pushes you out or makes it harder to progress, go until you beat it or can’t progress any further.
Dungeons of Dredmor
- Finite end point after so long though each playthrough is randomized heavily.
- Unique class building system/initial customization in addition to crafting, shops, and other means of power ups earned while playing.
- No forced timer that kicks you out or makes it harder to continue, play as along as you possibly can or reach the end point.
20XX
- Finite end point’s with some options of choice, though there are extra options to make the areas much much bigger, or more difficult.
- Long term powerups/upgrades in addition to powerups acquired through normal play.
- No forced timer that kicks you out, getting through an area quickly however will be more rewarding but nothing that makes it harder to complete if you are not quick. There are also Bonus/Challenge rooms that are either “Don’t take any damage”, “Beat the timer”, etc that reward you for beating optional bonus objectives. The timers are never to your detriment and are only for extra rewards. You keep going until you can not go any further or reach the end.
Binding of Isaac
- Finite end point each playthrough.
- Character choice outside to change up initial starting experience.
- Powerups earned through each playthrough.
- No forced timer that kicks you out, there are time based events and situations to be more rewarding but nothing that makes the game harder to progress for not going quickly.
These are just a handful of Roguelikes that I have personally really enjoyed through the years, the ones that I like the most, with one of them being an optional play mode to a game that was not designed as a Roguelike. Not a single one of them uses a timer system to make the game harder if you don’t move quickly and those that do have “timer” content are designed to reward you for beating the timer as opposed to punishing you for not moving quickly and they are only in limited sections.
Don’t take me wrong on this, if Blizzard wants to do “special objectives” that require you make it through a certain section quickly for bonus rewards/powers that are timed then sure. The point is, however, none of the Roguelikes I have ever played have ever “punished” you for choosing to take it slower.
That is why I really hate how Blizzard is tackling Torghast, they are tacking on an arbitrary hard limit timer in the way of debuffs that make it harder to progress if you do not move quickly as opposed to timed sections that reward you if you choose to partake in them. There is absolutely a different in how it comes off/feels.
Torghast, in general, should not have a timer. You should be allowed to progress through the floors with as much time as you choose to take to try and get as far as you want. If they want timed content that rewards players for choosing to do it then it should be optional side rooms.
Something like a closed door that you click and it tells you “This is a challenge room, you have limited time to get through this but if you complete it you will be rewarded with an Anima power!” that either has a “Survive the waves” or “Race to the end through the traps” or such. Something that you willfully have to activate/start while the primary portions of the floors can be done at whatever pace you choose.
Heck, even add optional rooms to skip floors at the cost of some of your Anima powers of your choice. Maybe you start a floor, and near the start is a portal that will let you skip the floor but at the cost of anima powers.
The thing about Roguelikes isn’t going fast, its about strategy. Its about weighing the risk/reward of each situation.
The way Blizzard is choosing to tackle this is all wrong and I think they should look at other Roguelike games and see what makes them work instead of constantly falling back on the idea of “Lets put a timer on it!” There are so many other ways this could be handled.
The primary difficulty of Torghast should be progressing deeper, not racing a timer that makes it arbitrarily harder. What’s the point of it being infinite if they are going to tack a timer on anyway.
What do I hope for? They look at previous Roguelikes and how they reward/incentivize doing certain tasks, how they mix up each play through to be more unique/random, that they let players move at the pace that suits them.
What do I hope they don’t do? Don’t tack on systems that make you feel forced to go quickly in general. Having side sections that are timed for extra rewards, sure. Roguelike games are not races, they are strategic marathons not short sprints.