This post was originally written on: 13/06/2021
In order to better design the structure and key elements of the article, I first have to better understand the fundamental questions that I am attempting to answer through it.
My first difficulty was the broad nature of the Roguelike genre, and in order to properly explore the questions I want to present, I would have to narrow down the scope of my research to a subgenre of Roguelikes. I would therefore have to define this genre myself, and justify that definition through my writing.
The distinction I decided upon was to narrow down Roguelikes as a whole to the sub-genre of Kit/Build Roguelikes. These roguelike games are defined by their use of kits (a collection of stats, abilities, and items, that a player begins a run with, usually presented through a character selection, or initial choice they have to make) and builds (a collection of stats, passive/active effects, that a player collects throughout a play session, usually through items/relics, or other systems, that empower the player, most commonly through synergies with their kit)
This distinct sub-genre has a selection of games to use in my case studies, and encompasses a large variety of popular roguelikes in the modern day i.e. Hades, Risk of Rain 2, Binding of Isaac, Skul the Hero Slayer, etc…
The distinction also includes more selections, in my mind, that correlate strongly to the MOBA design principles that I want to explore in my article.
The research questions that I therefore decided to answer were:
- What is a Kit/Build Roguelike?
- What mechanics in Kit/Build Roguelikes are similar in design to those in the MOBA genre?
- What do these mechanics provide to the games they are in, and how is their value different in each game?
And more broadly:
- What core elements of MOBA design are adaptable to other genres?