Rogue, as has been said before in similar words, is a hallmark of PC gaming. It set a standard many years ago and has seldom, if ever, been matched in capacity for replay, simplicity of design and play, or sheer “time-passing” fun.
When you think of a graphical computer-based Role-Playing Game today, you think of deep intrigue, vast lands to explore, and some of the most beautiful places, people, and creatures that you can imagine! It was not always possible to create such a broad expansive world to explore with a PC.
No, there were simpler times. These were the days when the game that challenged the very limits of computer performance consisted of small screen blips which moved back and forth, interacting with other blips to simulate tennis, bowling, or perhaps skiing or driving. These games were fun in their own right, and did their part to advance the industry of video gaming. Some gamers demanded more. To be certain, more is what they would receive before long.
In the middle of the 1980s, the personal PC was beginning its whirlwind rise to prominence. Early on, Role-playing tried to conquer this new frontier. Rogue can be said to be the first great graphical computer RPG. Taking the concept of the time honored dungeon crawl, and
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adding to it the idea of ever changing dungeons and items each time you play, as well as the instant generation and representation of these things made possible by the power of the PC, Rogue became a game like no other.
Each time you play is a new adventure; a new chance to make a name for yourself on the list of heroes who have come before you; a chance to make it to the bottom of the great deep Dungeons of Doom, and to survive to tell the tale. You will fight a host of terrible beasts (Represented by the letters of the alphabet). You will encounter mysterious scrolls, wands, rings, staves, and weapons (All with their own unique symbols). Don't get used to the idea that a Zinc wand will do the same thing now that it did last time you ventured into the dungeons. It changes entirely every time. A new mystery to uncover. The random regeneration is one of the things that added so much to Rogue's replay value.
If you love the Computer RPG Genre today, come and see the game that started it all: The often imitated, but as yet never duplicated, Rogue. The pixels and symbols are a challenge themselves, and while they are just a small step above the text-based games of yesteryear, they are still the forefathers of modern RPGaming.
