I love-hate it when friends introduce it me to a good roguelike... they're soooo addicting. When Balatro came out my close friend almost hesitated giving it to me because he knew I wouldn't be able to put it down.
You touch on one of the big challenges with Roguelikes and almost even most Roguelites which is a mesh of high-skill ceiling and game knowledge that gates reaching the "OP-broken" gameplay of the end-game of each session. As gamers we geek out on the theorycrafting of compounding exponential power and being able to pushback against incredible odds.
This is where I think Habby genuinely succeeds though... is they understood that the larger restriction for mass market adoption is THE TIME REQUIREMENT. A failed run with bad RNG build might cost you 10-15m and even if you are able to complete a successful run for Vampire Survivor or Balatro takes 30-45m. (And that's just for one hit of dopamine... one's never enough)
I can't tell you how many times I've heard friends mention they're sleep deprived from an unrestrained night of Vampire Survivors, but some games like Slay the Spire and Balatro make really smart concessions to provide save states.
So maybe Tip #3 for people trying to make the $1B roguelike, figure out some great afk concessions that can allow us to resume play.
Great article! I am also obsessed with the roguelike genre and believe there is a lot of growth potential with new design hybrids. Richard Garfield (creator of Magic: the Gathering) and I co-created SolForge Fusion to combine the best of CCGs and Roguelite experiences. We are launching in Steam Early Access tomorrow.
I also did a deep dive with the creators of Slay the Spire on my Think Like a Game Designer podcast with lots of insights into the genre. Thanks for adding to the conversation on this fascinating area for design.
Take: auto-battlers are PvP roguelikes
I love-hate it when friends introduce it me to a good roguelike... they're soooo addicting. When Balatro came out my close friend almost hesitated giving it to me because he knew I wouldn't be able to put it down.
You touch on one of the big challenges with Roguelikes and almost even most Roguelites which is a mesh of high-skill ceiling and game knowledge that gates reaching the "OP-broken" gameplay of the end-game of each session. As gamers we geek out on the theorycrafting of compounding exponential power and being able to pushback against incredible odds.
This is where I think Habby genuinely succeeds though... is they understood that the larger restriction for mass market adoption is THE TIME REQUIREMENT. A failed run with bad RNG build might cost you 10-15m and even if you are able to complete a successful run for Vampire Survivor or Balatro takes 30-45m. (And that's just for one hit of dopamine... one's never enough)
I can't tell you how many times I've heard friends mention they're sleep deprived from an unrestrained night of Vampire Survivors, but some games like Slay the Spire and Balatro make really smart concessions to provide save states.
So maybe Tip #3 for people trying to make the $1B roguelike, figure out some great afk concessions that can allow us to resume play.
Great article! I am also obsessed with the roguelike genre and believe there is a lot of growth potential with new design hybrids. Richard Garfield (creator of Magic: the Gathering) and I co-created SolForge Fusion to combine the best of CCGs and Roguelite experiences. We are launching in Steam Early Access tomorrow.
I also did a deep dive with the creators of Slay the Spire on my Think Like a Game Designer podcast with lots of insights into the genre. Thanks for adding to the conversation on this fascinating area for design.