Roguelike (1)
That was how the sudden contemplation over the new game began.
Truthfully, it wasn’t that I lacked ideas.
“If anything, it’s the opposite.”
The real problem was that there were simply too many ideas coming to mind.
“I’d like this one to be a bit longer…”
The previous game was far too short. Even repeated playthroughs, or runs by skilled players, could be finished in about thirty minutes.
It resembled the early Nintendo titles like Kirby or Mario more than the flash or indie games of today.
After all, the game itself had originally been something I’d casually whipped up as an app test before releasing it.
By current standards it was little more than a short piece—something pleasant enough to kill time—but to the children who first encountered the lost culture of old games, it had been nothing short of magical.
Something anyone, regardless of age or gender, could enjoy without feeling overwhelmed, even on their first experience with games.
If I wanted longevity, releasing something like that as the next title made sense.
In that regard, games that blatantly squeezed players for money like Niriri were out. Gacha games were out for the same reason. Sure, both would make plenty of money if they succeeded, but this world hadn’t even developed the mindset of spending real currency on games yet.
“…Alright. Let’s go with this.”
Several other plans quickly filled the document. Simple, yet addictive—games that made time slip away before you even noticed.
[Project #2]
Genre: Roguelike
“For killing time, a roguelike is perfect.”
Alright. You’re the one.
With that thought, I activated the game tool.
A roguelike game. A general term for titles born from the influence of the very first dungeon-crawling game. Most follow the format of descending through stages one by one to clear them.
The biggest characteristic of these games is that saving is impossible.
Some might call it inconvenient, but that very inconvenience is what defines the roguelike experience.
One mistake, and everything you’ve painstakingly built vanishes in an instant.
Within that razor-thin tension, player reactions split into two types: those who can’t bear to lose their progress and immediately try again, and those whose competitive spirit ignites, driving them to attempt it once more.
Huh? What about rage-quitting? A true gamer would never rage-quit a roguelike, right?
Designing the game so that such rage-quits don’t occur is also part of a roguelike developer’s destiny.
I planned to take the roguelike foundation and add various elements to customize it.
“Alright, let’s get started.”
Now that the planning was complete, it was time to begin work.
> The Constellations cheer and encourage you.
A dark room lit only by LED strips.
“Haa…”
Marina leaned back in her chair with a sigh, staring at the computer screen under the glow of the lights.
Countless posts related to the game filled her view.
Most were either clear guides from players who couldn’t progress the story, or questions from those who had seen the story but failed to unlock achievements.
“Good grief… You still haven’t cleared it?”
A small laugh escaped Marina’s lips at the sight.
They still couldn’t clear it?
To her—who had not only finished the story but unlocked every single achievement in Make Hero—it all seemed like child’s play.
As the gallery’s administrator, an emotion she had never once felt before welled up inside her.
It was superiority.
“…By the way, just who is this GM anyway?”
Whenever she thought about the game, her thoughts always circled back to this.
Someone who didn’t merely know about past culture like she did, but had actually recreated it.
In a way, that person was even more impressive than her.
‘I couldn’t even bring myself to try recreating it.’
And for good reason. The remaining records were fragmentary, and even with what existed, reproducing it alone had been impossible.
Movies and dramas lacked the necessary people. Songs and novels ran into the wall of creativity.
Maybe GM really was a genius who surpassed her.
For Marina, who possessed an open mind and exceptional ability, this was the first time she had ever considered the possibility of someone being better than her.
That didn’t mean she planned to sit still, though.
“…Alright.”
First, she might as well finish the game. If she kept studying what that person had made, she might gain something herself.
Just as she was about to launch the game again with that thought—
A message from GM had arrived before she realized it.
“Ah…”
As the gallery administrator, she had failed to respond promptly to a user’s request. Chiding herself, Marina quickly accessed the gallery.
A reply arrived shortly after.
“New game…?”
At those words, Marina’s eyes sharpened.
No matter how many times she refreshed her artificial retina display, the message remained the same.
A new game. Something completely different from before.
‘No way… He made another one already?’
It was impossible. Even she couldn’t have done something like that.
Setting aside raw ability, the creativity required to come up with ideas at this pace was something no human of the current era could achieve.
With trembling fingers, Marina typed a reply.
At the same time, a file arrived from him.
File: Legend of the Swordsman
“Swordsman…?”
What was this, some kind of AI courtroom game? Since swords had already vanished from history and most trials were handled by AI judges and lawyers, her assumption seemed reasonable by her standards.
“Well, I’ll find out once I play it.”
Come to think of it, the last game had been the same. Rather than making wild guesses, she figured launching the game like before would be faster and more accurate. Marina executed the file.
The same dot graphics as last time greeted her.
“Huh?”
No, something was different.
Unlike the previous game, which only showed the side profile, this time she could only see the character’s back.
On a whim, Marina pressed the right arrow key.
-Click!
The character moved sideways, revealing their left side.
“This one’s different from the last.”
It was clearly a different gameplay style—different enough to warrant being called a new game. Marina carefully walked toward the door.
-Creak
The moment the door opened, a vast room came into view. A massive underground graveyard littered with countless tombs spread out before her.
“…Is this, by any chance, a graveyard?”
At the sight, Marina’s heart began to tremble.
Graves—burying the dead in the ground instead of preservation capsules. There were even old legends about certain humans digging down there and drinking the water contained in their ancestors’ skulls.
‘An incomprehensible legend, but…’
Unfortunately, she had no time to take in the scene.
-Kieeeek!!
“Hm?”
A monster immediately leaped out and lunged at her. The creature flapped its tiny wings as it chased after Marina. Every time it hit her, the HP bar at the bottom of the screen visibly decreased.
“……”
Dodging the attacks, Marina calmly pressed a button.
-Shhhk!
When she pressed the A button while facing the monster, her character threw a dagger at it.
-Gurgle…
After several dagger hits, the monster’s health began to drop. Before long, it collapsed to the floor.
“Hmm… Not bad.”
She controlled the character and defeated the monster. The mechanics were similar to before. Yet perhaps because the gameplay felt more intense this time, Marina found herself strangely drawn to it.
How long had it been since she last faced any real hardship? Even hacking, which she had made her life’s work, was starting to feel tedious.
‘It said you only get one life, right?’
That made it even better. Yeah, this level of challenge was exactly what made it worth playing.
Marina began focusing on the game with passionate eyes.