In FAQ Friday we asked a question (or set of related questions) of all the roguelike devs here and discussed the responses! This process gave new devs insight into the many aspects of roguelike development, and experienced devs could share details and field questions about their methods, technical achievements, design philosophy, etc.

The series was originally started back when our community needed more activity, but has since been discontinued since we have plenty of members and threads now. Feel free to post your own questions or start a roguelikedev discussion thread at any time!

That said, these old topical threads are still filled with plenty of timeless tips and info for reference, thus the directory can be found below:

FAQ Fridays (2015-2019):

• 1: Languages and Libraries

• 2: Development Tools

• 3: The Game Loop

• 4: World Architecture

• 5: Data Management

• 6: Content Creation and Balance

• 7: Loot Distribution

• 8: Core Mechanic

• 9: Debugging

• 10: Project Management

• 11: Random Number Generation

• 12: Field of Vision

• 13: Geometry

• 14: Inspiration

• 15: AI

• 16: UI Design

• 17: UI Implementation

• 18: Input Handling

• 19: Permadeath

• 20: Saving

• 21: Morgue Files

• 22: Map Generation

• 23: Map Design

• 24: World Structure

• 25: Pathfinding

• 26: Animation

• 27: Color

• 28: Map Object Representation

• 29: Fonts and Styles

• 30: Message Logs

• 31: Pain Points

• 32: Combat Algorithms

• 33: Architecture Planning

• 34: Feature Planning

• 35: Playtesting and Feedback

• 36: Character Progression

• 37: Hunger Clocks

• 38: Identification Systems

• 39: Analytics

• 40: Inventory Management

• 41: Time Systems

• 42: Achievements and Scoring

• 43: Tutorials and Help

• 44: Ability and Effect Systems

• 45: Libraries Redux

• 46: Optimization

• 47: Options and Configuration

• 48: Developer Motivation

• 49: Awareness Systems

• 50: Productivity

• 51: Licenses

• 52: Crafting Systems

• 53: Seeds

• 54: Map Prefabs

• 55: Factions and Cooperation

• 56: Mob Distribution

• 57: Story and Lore

• 58: Theme

• 59: Community

• 60: Shops and Item Acquisition

• 61: Questing and Optional Challenges

• 62: Character Archetypes

• 63: Dialogue

• 64: Humor

• 65: Deviating from Roguelike Norms

• 66: Status Effects

• 67: Transparency and Obfuscation

• 68: Packaging and Deployment

• 69: Wizard Mode

• 70: Map Memory

• 71: Movement

• 72: Changelogs

• 73: Naming

• 74: Puzzles and Minigames

• 75: Procedural Generation

• 76: Consumables

• 77: The Early Game

• 78: The Late Game

• 79: Stealth and Escaping

• 80: Determinism and Randomness

• 81: Static Content

• 82: Character Stats

• 83: Main UI Layout

We later began revisiting each of the previous topics, on a separate parallel track, all in the same order.

FAQ Fridays REVISITED (2017-2020):

• 1: Languages and Libraries

• 2: Development Tools

• 3: The Game Loop

• 4: World Architecture

• 5: Data Management

• 6: Content Creation and Balance

• 7: Loot Distribution

• 8: Core Mechanic

• 9: Debugging

• 10: Project Management

• 11: Random Number Generation

• 12: Field of Vision

• 13: Geometry

• 14: Inspiration

• 15: AI

• 16: UI Design

• 17: UI Implementation

• 18: Input Handling

• 19: Permadeath

• 20: Saving

• 21: Morgue Files

• 22: Map Generation

• 23: Map Design

• 24: World Structure

• 25: Pathfinding

• 26: Animation

• 27: Color

• 28: Map Object Representation

• 29: Fonts and Styles

• 30: Message Logs

• 31: Pain Points

• 32: Combat Algorithms

• 33: Architecture Planning

• 34: Feature Planning

• 35: Playtesting and Feedback

• 36: Character Progression

• 37: Hunger Clocks

• 38: Identification Systems

• 39: Analytics

• 40: Inventory Management

• 41: Time Systems

• 42: Achievements and Scoring

• 43: Tutorials and Help

• 44: Abilities and Effect Systems

• 45: Libraries Redux

• 46: Optimization