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Mobile roguelikes - UI, design and the Android landscape
Tom Ford
Oxford, United Kingdom
IRDC 2012 London
My roguelike games
• 2009 7DRL: DDRogue – Special attacks linked into normal
movement
– Narrative amnesia plotline with multiple endings
• 2010 1KBRL: ZigClimb – Armour and weapons
– Positioning and MvM combat important
• 2010 7DRL: PrincessRL – Successor to DDRogue (same engine)
– ‘Class’ differentiation through point-based training choices
– Limited (12) opportunities for short (3 level) dungeons in ~2 hr game duration
– Magic and charm in addition to special moves give role differentiation
– Narrative plot, unusual setting and multiple endings http://flend.net
Mobile (Android!) roguelikes
• Google Play search for ‘roguelike’
gives you:
• 36 hits
• 27 unique games
– 2 in Japanese!
• 22 roguelikes
• 18 non-desktop ports
Mobile roguelike game design
• Good game design is good game design regardless of platform
• Mobile devices (particularly phones) bring their own challenges /
opportunities
– Touch interface
– Limited screen size
– Device speed
– Heterogeneous devices
– Usage models
– Low Barrier to entry
– App Stores
– Remuneration models
The touchscreen
• How can we use the touchscreen for a roguelike on a phone or
tablet?
– Can we adopt the evolving conventions of touchscreen usage?
• Should we
– Pretend it doesn’t exist?
– Tolerate it?
– Embrace it?
D-pad tap
(Endless Depths)
D-pad slide
(VOYAGE TO FARLAND)
9 directions
(ROGUELIKE CLASSICS)
Directional tap
(ROGUE TRIAL)
Drag to scroll
(DWELLER)
Slide to move
(TRAQUE HACK)
Tap to travel
(LEGENDS OF YORE)
Pinch to zoom
(NETHACK)
Travel after pan
(NETHACK)
On-screen keyboard
(ROGUELIKE CLASSICS)
Hold to run
(NETHACK)
Control methods in mobile roguelikes
Touch interface pros and cons
• Slow for repeat moves
• Lacks accuracy
• Obscure-able
• Fatiguing
– Excessive number of taps
– Excessive finger travel
• Fast for large movements
• Allow for new / natural
interactions
PROS CONS
On-screen keyboard
• As seen in
– Roguelike Classics
– No Way But Down
• Advantages
– Accurate
– Quick
– Flexible
• Disadvantages
– Obscures half the screen
– Standard on-screen keyboards often lack
particular keys on default display
– Need to know vi-keys
• Or custom set used
• Touch for non-roguelike players
PRETEND IT
DOESN’T EXIST!
On-screen D-PAD
• As seen in
– Infinite Dungeon
– Voyage to Farland
– Powder (apparently!)
• Advantages
– High(ish) accuracy
– Limited finger travel
– Rapid repeating
• Disadvantages
– Deeply conservative!
– Screen real estate dedicated
to D-Pad
– Slow for menu screens
VOYAGE TO FARLAND
PRETEND IT
DOESN’T EXIST!
Directional tap
• As in seen in
– Dweller
– Endless Depths
– Nethack
• Advantages
– Large area to tap
– Good accuracy
– 1 square movement can’t go *that*
wrong
• Disadvantages
– Possible to make mistakes if you click
close
– Feels like you are attacking behind the
monster if you click far
– Fatiguing
4 directions
8 directions
NETHACK
TOLERATE IT!
Click square to travel
• As seen in
– Legends of Yore
– Dweller
• Also directional tap
– Nethack
• Only after drag-to-scroll
• Advantages
– Great for backtracking
– Works well with drag-to-scroll
• Disadvantages
– Easy to make mistakes if squares are small
– Mistakes during combat can have serious
consequences
– Requires intelligent interruption system
LEGENDS OF YORE
EMBRACE IT!
Slide to move
• As seen in
– TraqueHack
• Fun version of directional tap
• Not as tiring as you might think
TRAQUE HACK
Tap and hold to run
• As seen in
– Nethack
• Typical alternative to double click
• Delay makes it irritating compared to
double tap
NETHACK
EMBRACE IT!
Screen size
• Mobile screen size average 8 cm x 5 cm
• How many tiles to pack in?
– Dweller (small tiles): 14 x 20 -> 3 mm x 3 mm
– TraqueHack: 5 x 4 -> 15 mm x 15 mm
• Large tiles are better for accuracy
– Personally: 5 mm x 5 mm safe minimum
• Excessive scrolling for ranged-attack heavy
games
• Game design consideration
Zoom
• Pinch to zoom typical mobile
interaction
• Nethack port uses this to good
effect
– Great for backtracking
Unexplored features:
• Oversized monster & item & stair
icons on zoom out
• Autozoom out to show all in-vision
targets
Targetting
• Rogue-style 8 directions
• Legend of Yore
– Click to shoot for Wizard
• Dweller-style targetting
– Click ranged attack to enter mode
– Click again to fire / cast
– Reticule automatically moves onto
next target
– No autoclose
Gestures
• Useful in archery and magic systems?
– rgrd discussion
TAP TO MOVE / MELEE DRAG TO SHOOT /
CAST READY SPELL
Archery gestures
• Are you going to trust your mage or archer’s life to these?
Items, Inventory and Menus
• Click on yourself seems to be a natural motif for ‘interact with whatever I’m standing on’
• Menus, inventory or otherwise seem slower on mobile than PC, with lots of finger movement
• Auto-pickup, auto-equip, current item comparison all help
• Quickslots for spells and potions help to integrate most actions into the main screen
– Replacement for keyboard chord motif
• Overlays gel better than menus
ENDLESS DEPTHS
App Stores, Advertising and Remuneration
• Nowadays it’s no longer taboo to make money from roguelikes!
– More or less
• Free & Paid app strategy
– In game payments
• Importance of marketing / community building
• Niche or mainstream pricing strategies
– Legends of Yore: $2
– Trap Rogue: $6
• Delver donation model
• Donation via paid apps
100,000+
50,000
10,000
5,000
1,000
500
?
Dec ‘09? Jan ’09?
Apr ‘09 May ’09?
May ’09?
Mar ‘12 Jan ’09? Jun ‘11
Ascendances
Downloads
Nov ‘09 Jun ‘11
A graph (of contentiousness)
Rogue DIABLO
IBM PC
ONE X
TRAQUE HACK
NETHACK LEGENDS OF YORE
FARLAND
HYDRA SLAYER
DWELLER
INFINITE DUNGEON
SIGMORE MINES 2
HYPER ROGUE
ROGUE TRIAL
ENDLESS DEPTHS
Quest Swords and
Spells
NO WAY BUT DOWN
TRAP HUNTER
DELVER
Kamyran's Eye
ANDOR’S TRAIL
SAMURAI ROGUE