Personally I think that the bundle should be kept slim so as not to overwhelm newbies and concentrate on a few select games that are the most accessible in the genre. I threw together a quick mock-up of those games that I personally consider to be the most easily picked up by newcomers to the roguelike genre.
I think the strong suits for these games are the following:
- Graphics - Each of these games have tiles or graphics. Most newcomers to roguelike games tend to be turned off and bewildered by ASCII.
- Familiar mechanics - Gamers coming from various different genres will find a variety of familiar mechanics adapted from other genres. Spelunky's platforming, FTL's RTS style mechanics, Tales of Maj 'Eyal's usage of skills/abilites similar of modern day RPGs, The Binding of Issac's Zelda-esque gameplay.
- Accessibility - The majority of these games are either mouse driven or have a simple keyboard layout. No having to lookup an in-game readme for commands. I would argue the toughest of the above two games to get into for a new player would be DCSS and ToME, but I feel that they serve as a good introduction to the more 'traditional' roguelikes.
The only problem I would see with the above games is that 4 of the 9 are paid games. However, if this is a bundle that is being done for charity then perhaps the developers could be contacted for their blessing ala the Humble Bundle. I don't know anything about how that works but if these games can't be included there are a few replacements I would suggest that still keep with the theme of introductory roguelikes. Infra Arcana, Sword of the Stars: The Pit, IVAN or Powder would fit in as well as a few others that escape me currently.
I love this idea though. I think it is an excellent way to gain more exposure to the genre. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on any ideas/improvements and will add my input when I can. I am extremely excited for this project! Keep up the great work.
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