Roguelike
Etymology
Named after Rogue, a 1980 text-based dungeon crawler whose procedurally generated dungeons and irreversible death set the template. Later hybrids that soften permadeath spawned the spin-off label "roguelite."
noun · /ROHG-lyk/
A game genre defined by randomly generated levels and permanent death on failure.
What it names
A design philosophy — that unrepeatable runs and real stakes make each attempt feel alive — now influential far beyond its origins.
Example
Every roguelike run starts from scratch, so I never know whether I’ll find a great weapon or die in the first room.
Related idea
Turns on permadeath; without permanent consequences a game with random levels is not truly a roguelike.
See also