Why is permadeath essential to a roguelike design?
- by Gregory Weir
Roguelikes and roguelike-likes (Spelunky, The Binding of Isaac) tend to share a number of game design elements:
Procedurally generated worlds
Character growth by way of new abilities and powers
Permanent death
I can understand why starting with permadeath as a premise would lead you to the other ideas: if you're going to be starting over a lot,…