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December 4, 2012 11:27 AM   Subscribe

Red Rogue is "a side-scrolling roguelike-like" available standalone on multiple platforms and on the web, free!

As pointed out to me by Rock,Paper Shotgun.
posted by adamdschneider (42 comments total) 33 users marked this as a favorite
 
Did someone say roguelikelike?
posted by cortex at 11:32 AM on December 4, 2012


Like, totally.
posted by adamdschneider at 11:33 AM on December 4, 2012


So, not really much like Rogue at all, then.
posted by Malor at 11:54 AM on December 4, 2012 [3 favorites]


No, but it's a bit like a roguelike.
posted by IjonTichy at 11:56 AM on December 4, 2012


So, not really much like Rogue at all, then.

Side-scrolling roguelikes are not without precedent.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:59 AM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


There's also TowerClimb, which I think is fantastic but which got almost no attention for some reason. It's more of a roguelikelikelike, though.
posted by IjonTichy at 12:03 PM on December 4, 2012 [3 favorites]


For more rouge-ness, turn on dogmatic mode.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 12:06 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


Half an hour in, I'll say that (a) dogmatic mode is a bit less crazymaking indeed and puts me more in my preferred think-at-leisure-before-dying-stupidly mode, and (b) in any case it's rather nice so far. Haven't really dug down enough to have a sense of depth on the mechanics yet.
posted by cortex at 12:12 PM on December 4, 2012


Hmm, I encountered a mimic that turned into me, decapitated it and picked up a rogue face, so now I can turn into...myself.
posted by adamdschneider at 12:13 PM on December 4, 2012 [2 favorites]


In dogmatic mode, it's pretty damn rougey.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:14 PM on December 4, 2012


I encountered a mimic that turned into me, decapitated it and picked up a rogue face, so now I can turn into...myself.

This confirms it, the game is a rougelike.
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:18 PM on December 4, 2012 [9 favorites]


We covered this for Roguelike Radio some time back, and talked with its creator. The game's pretty good.
posted by JHarris at 12:18 PM on December 4, 2012


Here's the episode post. Note: I am in this one.
posted by JHarris at 12:20 PM on December 4, 2012


Hey JHarris, are there transcripts out there for Rogelike Radio?
posted by IjonTichy at 12:22 PM on December 4, 2012


hey JHarris, are you still working on your own roguelike-like? I remember being excited for it.
posted by boo_radley at 12:23 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


Yes, but various issues came up (money) and took my attention away from it for quite a while. I am intensely depressed about the situation; it's on my mind constantly.
posted by JHarris at 12:26 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


Oh, and sorry we don't have Roguelike Radio transcripts. I know, I'd rather read things than listen to them myself. (And whenever I search Google for how to do something and end up with a half-dozen YouTube video results I cringe.)
posted by JHarris at 12:28 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


I just want to chime in and say that I have really enjoyed listening to Roguelike Radio on my commute lately. I first listened to it for the Dwarf Fortress episode, then started listening to the archives. It got me to check out several roguelikes that I hadn't heard of before, including Red Rogue. My favorite however, has been Caves of Qud.

Thanks, JHarris!
posted by history_denier at 1:06 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'll have to look into this one. Looks promising!
posted by ersatz at 1:16 PM on December 4, 2012


the trick seems to be getting the heal enchantment as quickly as possible, no?
posted by The Whelk at 2:03 PM on December 4, 2012


Instead of playing the game, I'm just listening to the soundtrack. Dark, atmospheric, glitchy. David Lynch may like this I'd think.
posted by hanoixan at 2:08 PM on December 4, 2012


What the hell guys, it's not even Friday. I still have work to do!
posted by Doleful Creature at 2:11 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


Yay! This is great.
posted by brundlefly at 2:26 PM on December 4, 2012


Ok, so, if anyone wants to tell me how to resurrect the minion if you lose it as well as how to remove cursed items... I'd be happy.

Otherwise this is fun so far.
posted by RolandOfEld at 5:20 PM on December 4, 2012


*sigh* and werewolf form and what it does to you while you're in it. Blah, some of the things about the equipment and stats could be more transparent.
posted by RolandOfEld at 6:06 PM on December 4, 2012


Spoiler: eat the portal scroll and you can summon billions of skeletons. At least that's how I think that happened.
posted by metaculpa at 7:42 PM on December 4, 2012


Blah, some of the things about the equipment and stats could be more transparent.

Isn't opacity part of what being a roguelike(-like) means? As far as resurrecting the minion, some Googling suggests that's what the Underworld is for, if you can get there. The wheel of rng sent me there, but all I was able to do was knock death/the boatman unconscious, though he still kept blowing me back.

I realize how weird that all sounds.
posted by adamdschneider at 7:56 PM on December 4, 2012


Isn't opacity part of what being a roguelike(-like) means?

Meh, I mean to a certain degree I can see that, but that doesn't mean I don't want to know what damage my mace does compared to this new dagger I just found or what the impact of being a werewolf is. Playtesting a million and a half times is one option but for some things I'll just bite the bullet and ask.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:18 PM on December 4, 2012


I have no idea what I'm doing.

Pressing "Y" seems to open up some kind of magical portal through which a new friendly skeleton enters. There appears to be no cost to pressing it over and over. First thing I do on each level is summon up a half dozen skeletons, which follow me around; whenever I see an enemy, I just get up close, then run away and let the skeletons fight it.

Is that supposed to work?
posted by Mars Saxman at 9:07 PM on December 4, 2012


Yea my last run was interesting, I died but was reincarnated in skeleton form for some reason, then when I portaled to the over-world I turned back into a human for some other reason.

Also the AI for the summoned skeleton seems a bit sad when you give them a bow. Here comes a monster, on the same level as you. It's a perfect chance for you to shoot it. ... and he stands there inert 1/2 times. *facepalm*

Made it to level 10 anyway.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:14 PM on December 4, 2012


Whoa, interesting. I've never played a roguelike or roguelike-like but trying out random stuff and obtuseness is pretty cool! You don't even get the back story up front...
posted by Mister Cheese at 10:51 PM on December 4, 2012


So far the only solution I've found to a cursed weapon is casting teleport on it. But if this is truly roguelike there will be other solutions I haven't encountered yet.
posted by RobotHero at 1:04 PM on December 5, 2012


Brilliant!
posted by RolandOfEld at 1:26 PM on December 5, 2012


So far the only solution I've found to a cursed weapon is casting teleport on it. But if this is truly roguelike there will be other solutions I haven't encountered yet.

Casting null works.
posted by mr_roboto at 3:48 PM on December 5, 2012


Interesting. I wonder if the "endless supply of clones" option is a bug? I just tried one of the online flash versions (instead of the downloadable Mac version) and it the hotkey doesn't work. It's a very different game without the army of clones...
posted by Mars Saxman at 9:53 PM on December 5, 2012


I didn't find a null rune until after that. I've never had a null rune and a cursed weapon at the same time, but I assume that's a good place to try it.

I had the supply of clones for a while, but using the E-word instead of the Y key. He may have been adding and removing capabilities over the last few days, or maybe it's another whim of the RNG.
posted by RobotHero at 10:12 PM on December 5, 2012


So the game is complete? My reading of his FAQ led to me not being sure. Between this and Don't Starve, I'd rather play a finished game rather than something that has bugs or major changes coming.
posted by RolandOfEld at 3:43 PM on December 6, 2012


I listened to the Roguelike Radio where he referred to it as a work-in-progress.

I guess that was from May, but I suspect roguelikes are never finished, merely abandoned.
posted by RobotHero at 5:22 PM on December 6, 2012


I've really been enjoying this. Especially the hats, and the dreaming text.
posted by dreamling at 3:18 PM on December 7, 2012


Damnit! I've got down to level 9 one time in what must be close to a hundred attempts. Roulette curse, WTF? Hmmm... maybe start wearing Blessed armor on the lower levels? The undead are immune to curses, though. Are there any runes that make something Blessed? Damn, and you can throw runes as magic! This is too complicated!

The programmer's website has some cool Flash stuff. Check out the shadow casting demo for the lighting system in Red Rogue. I don't even want to go down the rabbit hole of roguelike development wikis.
posted by Mister Cheese at 3:14 PM on December 8, 2012


Null also works when you've been turned into a werewolf.

Being reincarnated as a ghost or turned into a werewolf is eliminated when returning to the overworld.

That damn forchan keeps killing me.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 4:54 AM on December 9, 2012


for future reference, in case you want to see the ending:

shift+ctrl+enter = debug mode
give item yendor
give item rune of portal
give item rune of portal
feed rune of portal to minion
travel to underworld
eat rune of portal
travel to overworld

you're welcome
posted by leotrotsky at 11:31 AM on December 14, 2012


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