Episode 139: Unexplored

Episode 139 of Roguelike Radio, where we discuss Unexplored with Rob Parker and Eben Howard interviewing the game's creator, Joris Dormans.

You can download the mp3 of the podcast, play it in the embedded player below, or you can follow us on iTunes.

Topics Discussed

• Is it a roguelike or a roguelite? Unexplored is real-time with the ability to pause, but is otherwise very classic in its approach.
• Discussion of the combat system (some comparisons to Dark Souls). The original Prince of Persia was a key inspiration.
• The importance of having a clean UI and the different ways Unexplored presents the player with information to make tactical decisions without losing the mystique of playing a roguelike.
• Different tricks during character creation to keep the player occupied while the game builds the dungeon in the background.
• Deliberate design decisions that departed from the traditional roguelike formula.
• Balancing the exploration and puzzle elements against combat.
• The dungeon creation system: Content Generation in Dungeon Run (PDF) – a look at the early approaches to content generation in Unexplored, back when it was called Dungeon Run 2.
• Rock Paper Shotgun: “How Unexplored generates great roguelike dungeons”
• IRDC US 2015 talk – Cameron Kunzelman, “The Artisanal Roguelike” (21:38)
• Waypoint: “Unexplored Is a Roguelike With a Satisfying Ending”
• Dark Ritual DLC announcement

Also note that there are two roguelike events coming up:

• Roguelike Developers Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia, 20-22 Oct
• Roguelike Celebration in San Francisco, 11-12 Nov

Join us next time for more procedurally generated discussion!