The Use of ASCII Graphics in Roguelikes

Abstract

This article explores the semiotics of the ''roguelike'' genre. Most roguelikes reject contemporary advances in graphical technology and instead present their worlds, items, and creatures as American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) characters. This article first considers why this unusual graphical style has endured over time and argues that it is an aesthetic construction of nostalgia that positions roguelikes within a clear history of gameplay philosophies that challenge the prevailing contemporary assumptions of role-playing games. It second notes that the semantic code for understanding the ASCII characters in each and every roguelike is different and explores the construction of these codes, how players decode them, and the potential difficulties in such decodings. The article then combines these to explore how such visuals represent potential new ground in the study of game semiotics.

Understanding Genre as Atmospheric Assemblage: The Case of Videogames

“…In the case of the roguelike, we find a tense, unforgiving atmosphere, not dissimilar from that of the soulsborne, though the former’s permadeath mechanic admittedly “ups the stakes” even more. Furthermore, the minimalist graphics contribute to an aesthetic of nostalgia (Johnson 2017, 117) which also “colors” the experience. The metroidvania, on the other hand, constructs an atmosphere heavily reliant on spatial navigation revolving around the unlocking of skills.…”

“…We see the same dynamic at play in other genres which become recognized as such only retrospectively. One example is the roguelike, a genre taking its name from Rogue (AI Design 1980), and featuring turn-based gameplay focused on exploration of randomly generated dungeons, permadeath mechanics (the players must start from the beginning with a new character whenever their previous character dies), ASCII graphical style, and presenting a high degree of complexity and depth (Johnson 2017). A further example is the metroidvania genre, which much like the soulsborne takes its name from two "archetypal" videogames, in this case Super Metroid (Nintendo R&D1 1994) and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami 1997).…”