How Roguelites Are Taking Over Games - Extra Credits Gaming

Once upon a time, way back in the early 2000s, we as an industry made a startling discovery. Anything could be an RPG. Every genre, every game type. There was no limit. And now it's happening again. Though this time with a different mechanic. And as it was before, so it will be again. Because Rogue-lite is the new RPG. Thanks so much to Factor for leveling up my eats with great tasting fast and fresh meals delivered right to my door. There was a time when shooters didn't have leveling systems. Where you didn't grind for gear or have a skill tree in a sports game. But then we as an industry had a universal epiphany. Players simply played for longer if you put persistence into your games. If you gave them a way to tie individual play sessions together so they felt like they were making meaningful progress, they stuck around. Before this, many games were single session games. You played. You enjoyed the experience. And then you were done.

There was an easy exit point after every round of play. And if you fired up a new round, it was simply because you wanted to play again. There was nothing you were working towards. You weren't unlocking new things and you didn't have the feeling that even if you lost, you're still making progress so you might as well keep grinding. But these days, this stuff is so ubiquitous that we don't even notice it. Leveling systems are quite easy to implement and their effects on retention are so well known that it's just standard practice to put them in almost everything we build. Simple RPG mechanics have just become part of the DNA of most modern games. And now it's starting to happen with Rogue-lite mechanics. Short replayable playthroughs with randomized elements and a dash of meta progression is the game development fad du jour. But these pieces actually add up to something that provides a simple answer to a number of universal game design problems. Which is why you're seeing Rogue-lite elements or Rogue-lite modes popping up in more and more genres. Equally as important, these pieces are mechanics agnostic. Like leveling systems, they can be layered on top of

anything. So, does this mean that Roguelite will worm its way into the very fabric of games the same way RPG mechanics have? Maybe, maybe not. But unlike anything else in the last 20 years, it certainly might. So, what advantages do Roguelite mechanics bring? Well, first, they create opportunities for short session play. With Roguelite progression, game types that used to require dozens of hours of longer sessions can be broken down into much more digestible blocks. Then, Roguelite uses persistence in the opposite way that RPG mechanics did. Because instead of giving you a reason to play longer, they allow you to justify hopping into a 30-minute run whenever you might have a little time. And then, of course, by layering the RPG mechanics on top of that, they really get in the hook so you end up saying, "Okay, just one more game." This is incredibly valuable as a game designer, especially now when the game-playing audience really is of all ages. Giving experiences that even a busy person can fit into their day really does expand who gets to play your game. This type of short session play

also means that players are less likely to simply drop off when life does get busy. It functionally lets the player scale their play length at will and still have a satisfying experience with your game rather than, you know, the 60-hour game we all have sitting somewhere on our shelf that we look at time and time again and just say, "Oh man, that game looks awesome. I'm going to get to it as soon as I have the time to really dive in." Next, it allows for massive amounts of content reuse. Rather than to be completed once, it allows you to possibly create hundreds of hours of play time with the amount of content that would fill 10 hours in a once-in-done game. The value of this, especially for smaller studios, cannot be overstated. It lets developers compete in genres they'd otherwise simply be locked out of. Roguelite also provides a frustration escape valve for players. It's like shuffling a deck in Magic, right? When you lose, you can blame the randomization. Oh, but when you win, that was all skill, baby. And while you will definitely hear players gripe about bad runs in a roguelite, the short

session investment, plus that tempting voice that says, "Oh, your next run's going to be better." means that players are far less likely to just quit your game than when they hit a skill barrier in a non-roguelite title. Actually, that little voice brings us to our next point. Roguelite games are great at encouraging that just one more run feel by promising something new every time. They create a sense of discovery in games that might not have a sense of discovery built in. They offer the player the hope that things will go more their way, and that even when they don't, they'll maybe still see something cool and new in the way the pieces fit together. A great example of this is one of my absolute favorite games of the last few years, Returnal. And actually, if I'm being honest with myself, it's probably in my top five games of all time list, if I ever get around to updating the damn thing. I digress. When you start that game, crash-landed on an alien planet with just a randomized sidearm, you're met with a brutal difficulty curve. But despite that, with each run, not only do you unlock more weapons, items, etc. before you are brutally slaughtered by Geiger-esque beasties, you'll also learn more and

more about why the main character, Selene, is trapped inside of the roguelite existence of the game you're playing. Finding things that give you new lore for your out-of-game brain to hold onto in the form of translated alien messages, creepy earth houses where they absolutely should not be, or even previous audio logs that past Selenes have left upon their deaths for you to hear. Basically ensuring that the progress you make every run isn't just limited to tactical gear or stats, but the narrative that all of those things are servicing. Seriously, I really can't recommend this game enough. If you enjoy roguelites and want to experience playing through basically a master class of all of these mechanics intermingling in hyper-engaging ways, there's no better place to do it. Returnal's still in my like weekly rotation over 2 years after its release. I have clocked a lot of hours. And actually, ooh, if you want some more insight onto why this game is so special, Jacob Geller also made one hell of a video about it a while back that you should definitely check out, but I am done gushing now. Just wanted to show you a little footage and back to the episode proper. Lastly, roguelite

games encourage the players to try out new styles of play. As a designer, mind you, this is one of the hardest things to make your players do. It's one of the grails of game design, so to speak, because usually players find one way they like to play or are comfortable with playing and stick to that for most of your game, which means they're missing out on content you worked hard on and potentially ways they'd enjoy playing your game more. But, by throwing in random quirks and not giving your players all of the same options with every playthrough, it forces them to branch out and experience more of what your game has to offer. So, with all that said, does it mean that roguelite will worm its way into the very fabric of game design? That it will just become a part of the majority of games in the same way RPG mechanics have? Maybe, maybe not. I guess only time will tell. But, you know what they say. This has all happened before. It will all happen again. Wait, I've said this paragraph before, right? Or a version of it? Hold the phone, am I in a new run? Once upon a time, way back when I was hungry, I made a startling discovery. Any mealtime could be made better with Factor. Every lunch, every dinner, THERE

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