Roguelike: a sub-genre of RPGs, characterized by level randomization, permanent death, and turn-based movement. Games are typically dungeon crawlers, with monsters, items, and environmental features. – Wikipedia
Roguelikes are rather obscure; only today did I learn that term and now that I think about it, odds are we’ve all played a few. And we’ll have the opportunity to play another that will be released late 2013 from Spry Fox, called Road Not Taken.
Have a little reflective poetry with your gaming
Road Not Taken is based on the famous Robert Frost poem of the same title. Your character is the only hope for a town that considers you an outsider. The story develops in that roguelike tradition of piecing together information about the world and its inhabitants as you venture and solve each puzzle. Road Not Taken is set in an “ever-changing forest in the aftermath of a brutal winter storm.”
Daniel Cook, current designer of the game, has previously contributed to Triple Town, Panda Poet, and Leap Day plus more. His goal is to illuminate the idea of the “road not taken,” the path that doesn’t lead to the conventional life of school, work, family, and finally death. For Cook, this game is an exploration of what happens away from the beaten path in an experimental and pointillist approach to story development.
There really isn’t a ton of information out just yet, but from the small bit circulating we can expect an experience like the Zelda games pre-Ocarina of Time. However, the story, puzzles and room exploration will definitely have their own feel and artistic style that separates the game from what we’re so accustomed to.
Additionally, Spry Fox won’t be campaigning on Kickstarter. It’s a change of pace for an indie game, but the developers say they can produce it with what they have and will put all their energy toward the game rather than managing a project on Kickstarter. Cheers to that!
Check out Spry Fox’s website to keep up with updates on Road Not Taken.
