Making it in Unreal: how the roguelike Champion’s Ascent got less like Rogue

Which part of a roguelike is your roguelike like? This isn’t just a PC gaming tongue twister - it’s also the question every developer has to ask when undertaking a project that’s meant to evoke that revered RPG sub-genre. Will the game be a roguelike because it relies on the ever-looming threat of permadeath, or because it’s turn-based, or because it takes place in winding dungeons rendered unmappable by procedural generation? Each studio must choose which parts belong in its project - and how can be altered without diminishing the repeatable allure of the roguelike. For Husban ‘Mcdoogleh’ Siddiqi, the solo developer behind Champion’s Ascent, the answer to that question has changed over time. At first, the game took on not only the mechanics but the classic subterranean setting of the roguelike - but like Spelunky and FTL: Faster Than Light, the project has since turned out to have a character all of its own, one that not all of the genre’s famous elements can get on with.

from PCGamesN https://ift.tt/2EzmXED