Indie Game Lunch Hour Evolution in Rogue-Like Game Design
Nov 26, 2025
This week’s guest, Loren Weng, co-founder and CEO of Dorema Games, shares her insights on roguelike game design. She delves into the importance of procedural generation and discusses its evolution, including key titles like Hades and Slay the Spire. Loren highlights challenges in balancing narrative with roguelike mechanics and explores the unique aspects of co-op gameplay in her indie title, Soulmates. She also encourages listeners to imagine unconventional game mashups, sparking creativity in the genre.
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From TI-84 To Leading Major Game Design
- Loren Weng started in games after learning to program on a TI-84 and later joined Warner Bros via a connection from her alumni office.
- She led design on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite before founding Daruma Games and building Soulmates.
Proc Gen Suits Small Teams
- Roguelikes pair especially well with small indie teams because procedural systems multiply gameplay variety without handcrafted content.
- Emergent, system-driven experiences give indies high replayability with constrained resources.
Clarify Meta-Progression Early
- Define whether your game uses permanent meta-progression before calling it a roguelite or roguelike.
- Use permanent upgrades to justify calling a game roguelite and omit them if you aim for classic roguelike purity.