Matt Dabrowski, the solo developer ofStreets of Rogue 2,is face-to-face with high expectations from fans who fell in love with the original anarchicindieroguelike-meets-life-sim. The game has “overwhelmingly positive” reviews on Steam thanks to steady support and content updates building upon its solid foundations. Despite fans' high hopes for the sequel, Dabrowski is more worried about meeting his own standards for the project.
Game Rant recently spoke with Dabrowski about the challenges of maintainingmechanical readability with upgraded graphics inStreets of Rogue 2, the procedural appeal of roguelikes, and the challenges associated with bringing a game to an open world. IfStreets of Roguefans' hopes are well-founded, every roguelike enjoyer should want to keep the title on their radar.
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Streets of Rogue: Going Open World
Translating any game into anopen-world formatis a daunting challenge. Especially when character progression is tied to level progression. However, the hard work associated with the jump makes sense in the context of Dabrowski’s motivations.
“I feel like there was only so much within that structure without breaking things. I can just keep adding more, and piling more and more on top of it, but I don’t know if that is actually good for the game or not. So the open world-structure is something I can see myself adding to for years and years to come.”
Streets of Roguehas evolved by leaps and bounds since its Early Access release in 2017. Between the various classes, perks, items, and mutators available, it is hard to imagine an addition that would meaningfully change the game. Developing new items, classes, or perks would feel particularly redundant in light of theactive modding community on Steam Workshop.
Dabrowski likened his ambitions for the title to two other legendary games that have undergone lengthy evolutions:Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead,andDwarf Fortress. Given the promise of moving to procedurally generated open-worlds with NPC AI governed by day and night cycles, it is easy to see why Dabrowski feels like the project can serve as a platform with near-limitless potential for development. More complex ways for NPCs to react to the player and world around them means more opportunities forunique classes with unusual abilities. They enable moments that feel unique, which is where the originalStreets of Rogueshines brightest.
Streets of Rogue 2’s Progression Overhaul
While a number of classes from the original game will be returning, Dabrowski said the evolution and growth ofcharacter classesis currently up in the air.
“The structure is still in the works. I have ideas about what your ultimate goal or goals might be, and there will be a lot of different modes.”
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Since players could only level up their character as they advanced to the next level in the originalStreets of Rogue, the way the sequel handles mission objectives, character perks, and other forms of progression will have to be completely re-thought. Dabrowski was quick to say the game will have numerous game modes, or “mutators” as they are referred to inStreets of Rogue.Two guaranteed mutators will include a hardcore perma-death mode, and an open-endedsandbox mode.
Designing the “Simple” Stuff
Even though most of the specifics are still murky, Dabrowski considers things like class mechanics, the farming system, crafting, and character customization to be easier than the challenges associated with an open world. The precise number of the game’s classes, returning and new, is still up in the air. Farming will work similar toother games featuring farming mechanics, though there will be unexpected crops in line withStreets of Rogue’ssense of humor. Beyond that, nothing is set in stone.
Crafting is also a black box at the moment, but ideas are clearly not in short supply. On the spot, Dabrowski spit-balled a robot-suit and ghostblaster combination that might allow the player to punch ghosts as a hypothetical example of something players may be able to craft.
Surprisingly, the vehicle roster is more clearly defined than the classes, partially because it relies on the labor-intensive process of designing pixel art sprites. Dabrowski and his pixel artist, Thomas Feichtmeir, are shooting for 20-to-30 controllable vehicles running the gamut from common sedans to trucks, fantasy cars, and police vehicles. He also mentioned the game will have at least water-faring vehicle. The wealth of vehicles promises a capacity for hijinks and mayhem to match theGrand Theft Autofranchise. In an industry caught between the burgeoning pull ofcozy gamesand the enduring appeal of grim-dark soulslikes, the absurdity ofGTAmerging withStardew Valleymay be exactly what the roguelike genre needs.
Streets of Rogue 2is currently in development, with an Early Access release projected for 2023.
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