Editing Roguelike (section)

===Early roguelikes===
[[File:NetHack 3.4.3 ASCII capture ecran.png|thumb|right|A level in ''NetHack'' in ASCII mode]]
Early roguelikes were developed to be played on [[text-based user interface]]s, commonly UNIX-based computer mainframes and terminals used at colleges and universities before transitioning to personal computers. Games used a mix of [[ASCII]] or [[ANSI escape codes|ANSI]] characters to visually represent elements of the dungeon levels, creatures, and items on the level as in [[ASCII art]]. These games typically included one or two text lines presenting the player's current status at the bottom of the screen, and text-based menu screens to manage inventory, statistics, and other details.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/7-roguelikes-that-every-developer-should-study |title=7 roguelikes that every developer should study |date=June 12, 2017 |access-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810053220/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/299316/7_roguelikes_that_every_developer_should_study.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/08/remembering-the-best-shareware-era-dos-games-that-time-forgot/ |title=Remembering the best shareware-era DOS games that time forgot |work=Ars Technica |date=August 21, 2019 |access-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810053219/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/08/remembering-the-best-shareware-era-dos-games-that-time-forgot/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The player's character was nearly always represented by the <code>@</code> character across text-based roguelikes, which had been chosen by the developers of ''Rogue'' to stand for "where you're at".<ref name="craddock chp2"/> Other common examples would include <code>$</code> for monetary treasure and <code>D</code> for a dragon. Later games would take advantage of colour-based text graphics to increase the variation of creature types, such as a red <code>D</code> for a red dragon that would shoot fire, while a green <code>D</code> could indicate a green dragon that would shoot acid. Players would use the [[computer keyboard|keyboard]], using one keypress to enter a [[command (computing)|command]]. Sociologist Mark R. Johnson described these commonality of symbols and glyphs as [[Code (semiotics)|semiotic codes]] that gave an "aesthetic construction of nostalgia" by "depicting textual symbols as aesthetic forms in their own right" and consistency across multiple roguelikes.<ref>{{cite journal | journal = [[Games and Culture]] | first = Mark R. | last = Johnson | volume = 12 | issue = 2 | doi = 10.1177/1555412015585884 | pages = 115–135 | title = The Use of ASCII Graphics in Roguelikes: Aesthetic Nostalgia and Semiotic Difference | date = 2017 | s2cid = 64436113 }}</ref>

With modern computer systems, users developed alternate means of displaying the game, such as graphical tilesets and [[Isometric projection|Isometric]]-based graphical front ends, as well as interfaces that took advantage of keyboard and mouse UI controls, but otherwise still kept to the core tile-based gameplay.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/06/26/control-dwarf-fortress-with-isometric-graphics-and-mouse/ | title = Control Dwarf Fortress With Isometric Graphics And Mouse | date = June 26, 2014 | access-date = May 4, 2015 | first = Graham | last = Smith | work = [[Rock Paper Shotgun]] | archive-date = May 5, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003558/http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/06/26/control-dwarf-fortress-with-isometric-graphics-and-mouse/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

As computers offered more advanced user interfaces, such as [[windows (computing)|windows]] and point-and-click [[Menu (computing)|menus]], many traditional roguelikes were modified to include support for having multiple windows. This was useful to not only show the character-based dungeon, but details on the character's inventory, the monster they were in battle with, and other status messages, in separate windows. Having access to multiple windows also allowed having menus to complete more complex commands. More recent examples of roguelikes that have stayed with ASCII art-based displays include ''[[Cogmind]]'' (2017) and ''[[Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead]]'' (2013).<ref name="ks ascii art">{{cite web | url = https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/cogmind-proves-roguelike-isnt-done-ascii-art-yet/ | title = Roguelikes Aren't Done With ASCII Art Yet | first = Christian | last = Valentin | date = October 17, 2016 | access-date = January 4, 2020 | work = [[Kill Screen]] | archive-date = January 4, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200104075312/https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/cogmind-proves-roguelike-isnt-done-ascii-art-yet/ | url-status = live }}</ref>