You can make a roguelike in any programming language: Hauberk
was written in Google's web application language Dart, while Roguetype
was written in the memory safe buisiness language OCaml!
The easiest way to start though is to use Python and libtcod, a
library that gives you all of the tools you need.
A video by the creator of Cogmind detailing how to get started on making a roguelike. Almost everything I want to say
is in this video.
The way to learn is to go out and make things. I hope this page gave you a place to start, and good luck!
Inspiration
Roguelikes to try
Brogue is a great introduction to
roguelikes, and is somewhat minimalistic while still being fun. And it's free!
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is like a classic 1990s
roguelike, but with non ASCII graphics and playable in your browser. And it only comes at the low low price of...
free!
Dwarf Fortress has ascended beyond a game into a
partical accurate simulation.
That is only half a joke. Dwarf Fortress has two modes, one where you command a fortress and the dwarves within, called
Fortress Mode, and the roguelike mode, Adventure mode, which is what is relevant for this site. These modes are 100%
compatible, so if you have a fortress you can create a character and visit it (or plunder it!). There is no such thing as HP,
instead all entities including the player have simulated tendons, bones, organs, and muscles that can be bruised, torn, or
broken. Armor doesn't reduce damage flatly, instead the metal of the armor has a level of hardness and shock absorption.
Also there are eight different types of clay generated accurately in their respective soil layers. I could have made this
entire website about Dwarf Fortress...
The original version is free, while the Steam version, which has graphics and sound effects,
costs $30. Both have the same content and are recieving new updates, and you can add graphics
to the free version via tilesets.
As you can see by how many times I've mentioned it, I recommend Cogmind. It costs $25. Check out its video in Suggested Viewing if you want to see what it's like.
If you like Lord of the Rings, or don't, you might want to try Angband. It's a free roguelike from 1992 based on a different roguelike,
Moria, from 1988, where you go deeper and deeper into the mountains of Middle Earth to confront the evils hiding at
the final floor.
NetHack released in 1987 as a roguelike where the core concept
is "If you can think it, you can do it." Want infinite food? Turn your enemies to stone with either spells or a cockatrice,
then cast Stone to Flesh for an endless suply of meat! And you can do all of this for free!
How could I forget
Rogue, the game where it all began*, made by two nerds in a small town in California. It does show
its age, and plays like an alpha of NetHack or Angband, but without Rogue leading the way neither of those games would have
existed. You can download the
DosBox archive for free, or cough up $3
for the steam version.
Communities
The Roguelikes subreddit is currently the most active
forum for roguelike developers and players, r/roguelikedev may also be worth a look.
Temple of the Roguelike is a once active forum of developers
and players. As of writing (10/31/2025) this the site is broken and may never be fixed. You may notice that I shamelessly
took this site's background, but in my defence it is an excellent background!
Resources
A curated list of roguelike
development resources, including algorithms and tutorials.
*Technically Star Trek, a fangame about
the science fiction series made in 1971 was the first roguelike, followed by
Beneath Apple Manor in 1978. But it's
called a roguelike for a reason, Rogue popularized the genre. And no one wants to call them applelikes!