Roguelike Radio Roguelike Radio episode 168: Jank
7 snips
Dec 5, 2025 Dive into the charm of jank in gaming! Discover how it sits between bugs and delightful surprises, particularly in indie titles. The discussion touches on how procedural generation fuels unpredictability. Hear about Dwarf Fortress's chaotic interactions and roguelikes leveraging jank for emergent narratives. The panel examines how players adapt to bewildering UI and system quirks, transforming confusion into memorable moments. Finally, they reflect on jank's artistic role and the balance between design intentions and spontaneous chaos.
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Jank As A Middle Ground
- Jank sits between outright bugs and harmless glitches and often arises from complex simulations.
- It creates unintuitive but charming behaviours players accept rather than immediately demand to be fixed.
Dwarf Fortress Cat Intoxication
- Dwarf Fortress generates famously chaotic, memorable moments from entangled systems.
- Rob Parker recounts cats getting intoxicated because of how dwarves spilled beer into the world.
Players Seek Boundary-Pushing
- Players actively push system boundaries to exploit or enjoy jank as emergent affordances.
- Roguelikes naturally encourage this because mastering rules and limits is central to play.
