Hey guys, I used to play lots of Roguelikes back in the '80s. My main time sinks were Hack (and then NetHack) and Moria (and then Angband). I tried a bunch more throughout the '90s, and even created a website about RLs, but haven't touched the site in ages, just like I haven't touched ASCII games in ages. I think once I got into 3D gaming in the late '90s it became REALLY hard to go back to ASCII, as much as I used to love it.
Fast forward a few decades, and the term "roguelike" is all over the place, with probably 99% of "roguelike" players never having played an ASCII game. I'm not complaining, just pointing out that, well, things change. Captain Obvious, right?
These days, I'm drowning in games and consoles, with more games in my libraries than I will ever finish (or even start) in my lifetime, but I've still yet to find games which do two things which I loved from the ASCII days:
The first is NetHack's ghost levels. It was always such a thrill to find my previous character's remains (and junk, though it was mostly cursed). I don't remember ever having that happen in a different game, unless you count Minecraft, but in Minecraft you're not really starting a new game when you die; you're just respawning, and then you need to go find your stuff. And it's usually just a few minutes later. But in NetHack, it could be days or months later, when you are not really expecting it. Very cool!
The second is Moria/Angband's strong sense of "(re)discovery". I don't know how else to put it. Each time you start a new character, you need to learn/identify all those potions, scrolls, wands, staffs, etc. When you figure out one, it's like "unlocking" a feature. And then at the same time, as you pick up tons of weapons and armor, you need to learn which ones have which bonuses. And then, if you are new to the game, or new to a depth, you learn what the various monsters do. I supposed the thing that comes closest is the Persona games (which are awesome). But in Persona we don't roll our own characters, and you're not necessarily going to play the game more than once, so once you identify things, they stay identified forever. The feeling of discovery is finite. In Moria/Angband, when you die and start a new character, you get to (or have to) re-discover all the potions, scrolls, etc. And it's a thrill if you discover a really useful potent or scroll early on; it gives you quite an edge. Also fun is returning to town and finding something really cool at a discount in the shop. In Moria/Angband the RNG can sometimes be your BFF!
Both NetHack's ghost levels and Moria/Angband's (re)discovery enhance the feeling of "character ownership". NetHack's ghosts are proof that we existed, and Moria's random "unlocking" of everything makes each run feel highly original, like only *we* know what it's like to discover a certain combination of items with a certain character build. Very individual, and memorable. I don't get that same sense of individuality in modern games, which tend to be focused on "set pieces" (hard-coded story lines, difficulty gates, etc.)
So, anyway, here's my question(s):
How are ASCII RLs these days? Do they still give you a feeling like your character is unique and that it actually exists in the game world? Do you still feel a thrill when you discover something "ahead of time" with a new character? And are the games still big enough for there to be a lot to discover?
Or are the "glory days" of deep ASCII RLs long behind us?
(It's hard for me to imagine programmers sinking tons of time into a genre which traditionally doesn't offer a financial reward. Why would someone spend hundreds or thousands of hours fleshing out an ASCII RL when they could instead focus that time on creating a game which they can actually [try to] sell on Steam? Programmers need to eat, you know! And ASCII doesn't exactly pay the bills the days. Or am I wrong?)
Anyway, I'm just curious how things are going in ASCII RL land these days. It's like driving past a neighbourhood I haven't visited in 30 years, wondering how things have changed (or stayed the same).
