Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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There are only a scant few signs of this... deviant behavior pattern, but. I'm very much an enthusiast for the so-called roguelike AND rogue-lite design concepts.

This can mean many things to many people, of course, and there's SO much wiggle room and potential rough edges around the corners... and even some of the massive tentpole design fixtures... so it's not at all surprising that there's a lot to be said for and against various features.

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I'll attempt to break it down "simply" and without much excessive dalliance into detail, because there's been entire CONFERENCES held on the subject by people with far more time and far higher character-limit than me and my humble description field:

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I like things that are random... or at least arbitrarily-decided. I might be one of the few that considers that weird little question mark on most character select screens to be the best, most necessary bit.

It weighs heavily on me when such is absent. I feel deep trepidation when it's relegated to a specific button press, like it was an afterthought. I am descended upon by a sleep choice paralysis demon when I'm just flat out disallowed from letting chance decide my fate.

I think random selection SHOULD be extended beyond character and stage, even down to stuff like "weapon" and other similarly customizable choice-based factors, and any game that caters to this want is raised inestimably in esteem in my eyes.

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I strongly prefer the building and reinforcement of skills and knowledge beyond memorization and rote repetition. New and more challenging or complex obstacles and features can still be introduced gradually and even in a vacuum... but they should never be utilized in EXACTLY the same way.

I have great respect for the humble World 1-1 Goomba, as well as the other, less-successful cohort not far behind. The same goes for the even less-appreciated block formation and pipes beyond.

...but my greater emphasis is on "what do I do if this enemy approaches under a low ceiling?" or "what if there are multiple?" and "how can terrain affect my decision-making process?"

It is in this spirit that I prefer to granularize my familiarity and understanding of game features, rather than knowing exactly how to avoid all the dangers in a specific room layout or what the simplest way to neutralize the threats within a specific problem context are.

(Chances are, given intelligent procedural design, you'll encounter THAT kind of thing plenty anyway, so the more atomic lesson will cover a wide variety of broader applications.)

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Originally Streamed at:
twitch.tv/yuugijoou

For other... roguish tendencies:
twitter.com/yuugijoou
discord.gg/bKT9pRW

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Now, to my knowledge... and i contemplated this at quite some length, I must admit... ... ... I'm not certain Nintendo and its direct subsidiaries have ever actually crafted a full-on Rogue-inspired game structure?

The idea itself is not even remotely new. As a copyable concept, it predates what most people think of when they say "Nintendo" the video game software company (obviously the company's history gets a lot less specific if we trace further back than that), and there have been many such examples ON Nintendo's proprietary platforms. Less-strictly-defined "rogue-lite" games have also enjoyed a burgeoning resurgence on those and seemingly every indie-accessible platform.

Heck, the original Rogue wasn't even the first "roguelike," despite ostensibly donating its name to an entire genre as well as the offshooting "roguelite" subgenres.

My point being that there are numerous gameplay elements and encapsulated concepts that are ripe for game design that have remain suspiciously (seemingly) under-tapped.

Granted, a big enough PART of that is a perceived elevated difficulty level... and not just because one of the implied tenets of their construction is forcing players to start over from the beginning. Most games dating back to be as old as Nintendo shared this "feature"... so that being an end-all deciding factor is certainly out. (I mean, "Nintendo Hard" at least USED to be an unironic descriptor.)

Sure, it's just a side feature in a side mode made long after launch, but the decision to play with such factors feels fresh and interesting... for a decades-old business deciding to toy with notions that were around before they even started to flex around in the space such notions pertained to.

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At any rate, THIS is the first "climb" of the Spire of Order.

I put it that way, because... hey! This is a tutorial! You can't fool me! Same old Nintendo!

I mean, it's good that they're making the effort, because there's a LOT to take in here. Many design philosophies and norms and practices go into a genre that, ostensibly, many players will not be familiar with in the slightest. Even those that are may not be fully prepared for what they mean to gameplay.

There's also the PROLOGUE setup for our story.

If it's a tutorial...then why did it take nearly an hour?