Grains of Genius for Roguelike consideration

[getter77]

Right, the gist of this topic is for the OP and/or subsequent posts to mention and/or link to games outside of Roguelikes in general that, for whatever reason, happen to have what you reckon to be nifty ideas that have gone at least somewhat undeveloped period ever since said game came to be---to say nothing of not being considered for Roguelike systems to add more flavor if not be a central theme to an entire work.  Can't let nifty notions outright, even if perhaps horribly flawed in their premier showcase, slip through the cracks now can we?  I'll start with some off the top:

Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage N64:  Lunar/Solar(Nocturnal/Diurnal) Aspects for characters.  Plenty of Roguelikes and RPG's incorporate any number of things from the gist of animal and human condition---but only has this instance in this game sought to make something out of it.

Chaos Seed for SNES/Saturn:  http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/chaosseed/chaosseed.htm   The notion of a dungeon wrought with underlying, synergistic/antagonistic mechanics beyond a general happenstance amid a few core rules.  Really, the article should elucidate the gist I'm getting at to ye.

Deathtrap Dungeon PSX/PC:  Trap-hell.  While traps are prominent in Roguelikes, rarely do the traps integrate with what happens in the course of a floor in substantial/long lasting ways---or even just be quite interactive in the variety.

Spectral Souls: Resurraction of the Ethereal Empires PSP:  Inventing skills/powers.  This one in particular really jumps out to me as a logical thing to be tinkered with and taken to ridiculous levels in Roguelike form.  Most other things are composed of parts random and otherwise afterall.  Besides, who among us didn't mix Lego's with K-Nex and such to make things that simply should not have been?...

Shiren the Wanderer DS:  The Food and Trap Dungeons...mainly food.  Surely some great things could be done with these in the PC Roguelike landscape with these as focal points of gameplay moreso than just features among many as it generally happens.

King Arthur: the RolePlaying Wargame PC:  Taking a mythological scenario and zeroing in on it while adding own flavor in a detailed and focused manner.  There is a rich abundance of myths and legends across the world that could serve as an excellent, focused backdrop for an excellent Roguelike experience---many more having gone unused than used in games period.  Also, it uses an ambitious system for arms and armor that serves to, in my opinion, openly mock how it is ususally considered for most RPG's and Roguelikes---whether they can nail the implementation or not this idea DEFINITELY needs to be ran with in some directions.  Here's a video where they breifly explain the gist of it, though I forget which part:

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/extended-heroes-king-arthur/57954

[getter77]

http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/SI_over.html  Solium Infernum

Offers up an excellent example of non-standard ways to handle magic/non-direct combat/diplomacy in the notions of "Wagers", "Vendettas", and other assorted bits.

[Fenrir]

This parallels my dream of an RPG where everything relies on player skill, instead of the points I spent on skill XYZ, since the addition of interesting new mechanics is the only way that can be achieved.

Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage N64:  Lunar/Solar(Nocturnal/Diurnal) Aspects for characters.  Plenty of Roguelikes and RPG's incorporate any number of things from the gist of animal and human condition---but only has this instance in this game sought to make something out of it.

I'm not sure what you mean here. I'll have to look up this game.

Chaos Seed for SNES/Saturn:  http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/chaosseed/chaosseed.htm   The notion of a dungeon wrought with underlying, synergistic/antagonistic mechanics beyond a general happenstance amid a few core rules.  Really, the article should elucidate the gist I'm getting at to ye.

This will manifest once Toady One implements Fortress Mode skills in Adventure Mode. I once proposed a system like Chaos Seed's Feng Shui for Dwarf Fortress. I hope that gets fleshed out and implemented.

Spectral Souls: Resurraction of the Ethereal Empires PSP:  Inventing skills/powers.  This one in particular really jumps out to me as a logical thing to be tinkered with and taken to ridiculous levels in Roguelike form.  Most other things are composed of parts random and otherwise afterall.  Besides, who among us didn't mix Lego's with K-Nex and such to make things that simply should not have been?...

Mage Guild dabbles in this, but it definitely could be taken further.

[getter77]

For Aidyn Chronicles, some characters are night people, some day people, and just like in real life---this can make for some pretty dramatic differences.  Not to mention, party makeup with this in mind bearing issues like wilderness wandering, camp ambushes when resting, to say nothing of differing build paths.  In general, things like  Vampires at night, actual fullmoon Werewolves and so on would be right at home Roguelike wise in terms of significant factors that'd lend to meaningful things to bear in mind moreso than just "skeletons appear at night outside!".

Unreal World taps into this somewhat in terms of the game and such I believe, but it is kinda a special case.

[Vanguard]

Spectral Souls: Resurraction of the Ethereal Empires PSP:  Inventing skills/powers.  This one in particular really jumps out to me as a logical thing to be tinkered with and taken to ridiculous levels in Roguelike form.  Most other things are composed of parts random and otherwise afterall.  Besides, who among us didn't mix Lego's with K-Nex and such to make things that simply should not have been?...

I once played a roguelike called Portralis that allows the player to make their own spells by choosing the effects and the amount of damage it inflicts, and then the game would decide how much that spell costs based on those things.

[getter77]

Annnd oddly enough, a new version of Portralis was just released!  It recognized it as one of my backlog inhabitants due to already having a bookmark.

[Vanguard]

Wait, seriously?  I thought that had been abandoned for all eternity.

[getter77]

Nope, in fact it would seem 2010 will be an active year at it via a cursory glance at the forum chatter.  I made a topic with link in the Announcements board.