
<p>Continuing to find and save interesting <a href="https://www.game-designers.net/category/twitter-threads/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">twitter threads</a> that can be useful for the game design community, with this thread on the strengths and weaknesses of roguelike difficulty systems vía <em><a href="https://twitter.com/Ludokultur">@Ludokultur</a></em></p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Original Twitter Thread: the strengths and weaknesses of roguelike difficulty systems</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here&#39;s another attempt at explaining the strengths and weaknesses of certain <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/roguelike?src=hash&;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#roguelike</a> metagame / difficulty systems!<br><br>(These are broad buckets. At this point there are many combinations and variants. Let me know about your favorites!)<br><br>ð <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GameDesign?src=hash&;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GameDesign</a> Thread ð§µ<br>1/6 <a href="https://t.co/oIuzWFHZF6">pic.twitter.com/oIuzWFHZF6</a></p>&mdash; Fabian Fischer (@Ludokultur) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ludokultur/status/1554130286014865408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">edited Twitter Thread: the strengths and weaknesses of roguelike difficulty systems</h2>



<p>Here&#8217;s another attempt at explaining the strengths and weaknesses of certain <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/roguelike">#roguelike</a> metagame / difficulty systems!</p>



<p>(These are broad buckets. At this point there are many combinations and variants. Let me know about your favorites!)</p>



<p>ð <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GameDesign">#GameDesign</a> Thread ð§µ<br> 1/6</p>



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="17260" src="https://game-designers.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-roguelike-difficulty-systems-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17260"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="17261" src="https://game-designers.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-roguelike-difficulty-systems-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17261"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="17262" src="https://game-designers.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-roguelike-difficulty-systems-3.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17262"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">roguelike difficulty systems</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-id="17263" src="https://game-designers.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-roguelike-difficulty-systems-4.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-17263"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">roguelike difficulty systems</figcaption></figure>
<figcaption class="blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption">roguelike systems Difficulty examples</figcaption></figure>



<p>Roguelikes with one single difficulty have the advantage of the whole community discussing &#8220;THE&#8221; game. However, they often scare away new players depending on how difficult they start out, and bore veterans by having them repeat sections they already mastered over and over.<br>
2/6</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://game-designers.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-roguelike-difficulty-systems-5-1024x576.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-17264"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">roguelike with Fixed Difficulty</figcaption></figure>



<p>A popular answer to roguelikes frustrating new players is meta progression. This however fights symptoms more than flawed fundamentals, exacerbating the reset problem and introducing new issues of fuzzy feedback and &#8220;solvedness&#8221;, at worst making entire mechanics irrelevant.<br>
3/6</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://game-designers.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-roguelike-difficulty-systems-5.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17265"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">roguelike with meta progression</figcaption></figure>



<p>Difficulty levels can help with initial frustration, the reset problem (to a degree) and follow the player&#8217;s skill progression. However, they inherently incentivize playing on the highest difficulty unlocked and burden the player with finding the &#8220;correct&#8221; one instead.<br>
4/6</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://game-designers.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-roguelike-difficulty-systems-6-1024x576.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-17266"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">roguelike with difficulty levels</figcaption></figure>



<p>Ranked systems fix a lot! They go against the &#8220;hero&#8217;s journey&#8221; structure, but roguelikes (being match-based) actually don&#8217;t have to follow that trope. They can be more like &#8220;sports disciplines&#8221; with consistent per-run difficulty, centered on the human player as their &#8220;hero&#8221;.<br>
5/6</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://www.game-designers.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-4-1024x576.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-14364"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">roguelike difficulty systems</figcaption></figure>



<p>Further <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GameDesign">#GameDesign</a> Reading</p>



<p>ð Reset Problem: <a href="https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-reset-problem-a-case-for-single-player-matchmaking}">https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-reset-problem-a-case-for-single-player-matchmaking</a></p>



<p>ð Auro&#8217;s Single-Player Elo System (<a href="https://twitter.com/keithburgun">@keithburgun</a>): <a href="https://dinofarmgames.com/auros-single-player-elo-system/}">http://dinofarmgames.com/auros-single-player-elo-system/</a></p>



<p>ð Learning (<a href="https://twitter.com/BrainGoodGames">@BrainGoodGames</a>): <a href="https://blog.braingoodgames.com/2017/02/21/commandment-6-learning/}">https://blog.braingoodgames.com/2017/02/21/commandment-6-learning/</a></p>



<p>ð Related issues in story-driven games: <a href="https://fischerdesign.medium.com/video-games-are-too-long-symptoms-of-a-more-fundamental-problem-d203dd7f40ff}">https://fischerdesign.medium.com/video-games-are-too-long-symptoms-of-a-more-fundamental-problem-d203dd7f40ff</a></p>



<p>6/6</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.game-designers.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-5.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-14365"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">roguelike difficulty systems</figcaption></figure>



<p><em>Originally tweeted by Fabian Fischer (<a href="https://twitter.com/Ludokultur">@Ludokultur</a>) on <a href="https://twitter.com/Ludokultur/status/1554130286014865408">August 1, 2022</a>.</em></p>



<p>Want to read more interesting twitter threads that we have archived?</p>



<p>Check our compilation:</p>


<div class="vlp-link-container vlp-layout-basic wp-block-visual-link-preview-link"><a href="https://www.game-designers.net/category/twitter-threads/" class="vlp-link" title="Game Designers Hub" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><div class="vlp-layout-zone-side"><div class="vlp-block-2 vlp-link-image"><img src="https://www.game-designers.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image.jpeg" style="max-width: 150px; max-height: 150px" /></div></div><div class="vlp-layout-zone-main"><div class="vlp-block-0 vlp-link-title">Game Designers Hub</div><div class="vlp-block-1 vlp-link-summary">4 Games Designers 2 Games Designers</div></div></div>


<p></p>

the strengths and weaknesses of roguelike difficulty systems via @Ludokultur
