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[Qbopper]

I was starting a roguelike this morning and I was thinking, how can I introduce a fun new concept to the genre that isn't effing randomly generated anything (1. because it's old and 2. I probably couldn't implement it (I probably will have to though))?

[JasonPickering]

I have thought about this topic a lot. Just play a few roguelikes and I am sure ideas will come to you. A lot have the same setting, same monsters, and same mechanics and changing just one can usually flip the whole game. so while your standard maybe one guy exploring a dungeon fighting orcs. Maybe you can make a squad based game exploring an abandoned space station that only has one giant monster running around killing your guys.

[s0]

Not sure how "innovative" it is, but I've had a concept for a hell roguelike in the back of my head for a long time. The sins, based on the seven deadly sins of Christianity, that your character committed in life would be your character class, with the twist that the classes would only have negative traits (sloth would make you painfully slow, wrath would make you uncontrollably attack enemies etc.).

Actually, the whole game would be based around punishing the player at every turn. Every item you'd find would have some kind of extreme adverse effect in addition to a small positive effect, for instance.

[fraxcell]

I've always thought having some sort of alternate universe would be cool. Like a light world/dark world, where each world would have the same terrain and buildings, but have changes like different monsters, items, and so on. You could also get creative with the ways that you could affect the dark world from the light world and vice versa.

Or, maybe a Shadow of the Colossus sort of game where you take down gigantic beasts, limb by limb?

[BilbyCoder]

There are some Roguelikes which do different things with the genre that might be worth checking out.

[url = http://doom.chaosforge.org/]DoomRL[/url] is one that comes easily to mind, but I'm sure that there are others.  I just can't think of them at the moment.

To me, random maps is a fundamental element of a Roguelike, along with high death penalties.  The rest is up for grabs.

[baconman]

IMHO, randomness is the most fundamental Roguelike gimmick. Effects of most items (potions, rings, rods, scrolls, etc.) being randomized, along with room/floor layouts being a key factor in the gameplay.

Not to say that derandomizing some things couldn't work with a change of context. For instance, PokeMon Mystery Dungeon has derandomized items; but in the context where a player is expected to keep winning in dungeons instead of losing in them. (Though I think a one-or-the-other approach would be more fun than doing both.)

Another heavily-leaned gimmick is the search button, particularly where traps and secret doors are concerned. There are other potential ways you can play on that as well; by streamlining it or making it more integral.

[s0]

If you're looking for roguelikes that do things "differently" you should check some 7DRL entries. There's a lot of interesting stuff that it would be cool to see expanded into a full-fledged game there.

[Qbopper]

Thanks for all the replies! I'll be sure to check that out, Sinclair. My only problem is that developing randomized maps could be tricky in GM lite without coding. I hate GML very much...

[tergem]

Thanks for all the replies! I'll be sure to check that out, Sinclair. My only problem is that developing randomized maps could be tricky in GM lite without coding. I hate GML very much...

Save up and buy the complete edition. It supposedly is worth it, from what I hear .

Coding randomized rougelike maps is pretty easy compared to other types of randomized maps, the easiest way is to create rooms of random height and random width, then connect them using a path-finding code (like a*).

My favorite part of rouge-likes is a either a great setting, or some great depth (Dwarf-Fortress is the extreme example).

Have fun!

[dangerousday]

How about a 2-player cooperative roguelike? Haven't seen one of those since Toejam & Earl, though I admit I haven't been looking very hard.

[Sir Raptor]

You could do a roguelike RTS.

[baconman]

What Derek does in Spelunky (made in GM as well) is put a grid of markers in a level that's surrounded with an indestructible perimiter. Then he uses a randomizer to command each marker to create a series of tiles and objects relative to it's position. Not exactly Rogue, but the results are pretty stellar. I'm going for a similar approach in some of my projects.

[s0]

AFAIK, Spelunky generates its levels out of predefined "building blocks" that get randomly stuck together according to certain rules. Diablo uses a similar system.

[Xion]

If you're looking for roguelikes that do things "differently" you should check some 7DRL entries. There's a lot of interesting stuff that it would be cool to see expanded into a full-fledged game there.

this, a thousand times. There are quite a few 7drls that have rad ideas which, if fleshed out and polished and mashed into one game, that one game would be my favorite game ever.