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, you'll want variety in your experiences. But why do the first two elements imply a permadeath approach?