Roguelikes, meta-progression, and the difference between consequence and punishment
Permadeath sounds like the absence of mercy: no checkpoint, no continue, the run just ends. In practice almost no roguelike is that absolute — most keep something across the death, which is exactly what makes the loss bearable often enough to try again.
Outline#
- what “permanent” actually means in a genre built on repeated attempts
- meta-progression as the mechanism that makes permadeath sustainable
- consequence versus punishment: a distinction that matters for design, not just vocabulary
- self-imposed permadeath in games that don’t require it, and what players are actually asking for when they turn it on
Teaching team
- Marisol Quayeconvenor