New Roguelike game in development

I love roguelike games (What a roguelike is).  I’m sure if you’re reading this post you do too.  There is something strangely exciting about the idea of character permadeath and that sense of loneliness and isolation that comes from the single player experience.  

I also love the ASCII design aesthetic as well.  Somehow just using 256 8x8 characters for the graphics forces a degree of imagination on the player and on the designer and the end result is often a more rich and fulfilling graphical experience than even a modern triple A high budget release.  Some examples of beautiful roguelike games include both Brogue and Cogmind with their stunning palettes and intricate effects.

With this in mind I felt it was time to put fingers to the keyboard and put together a roguelike of my own.  The setting is space - an area that has been touched on in roguelikes but is nowhere near as popular as the classic Tolkein-inspired dungeon crawler.  

You play an explorer charged with discovering and mapping new worlds.  You receive payment for what you find that will enable you to explore further and deeper into an increasingly hostile and unforgiving procedurally generated random galaxy.  

Like any uncharted region of space the quadrant you are exploring is populated with dangerous alien species as well as unscrupulous pirates and hostile civilizations. 

An online leaderboard will compare you to other players and allow you to claim the crown of the galaxy's greatest explorer.   Everyone explores a different segment of the same universe; you won’t meet other players but everyone maps the universe and the entire universe will be available to view online.

Right from the start I feel it important to add a disclaimer here:

I know this might not be a classic roguelike in all its design elements or gameplay.  In the end, I am looking to create a game that I (and hopefully many of you) will enjoy.  

You can follow the development of the game here as well as on twitter.  I’ll also put up some (hopefully) useful programming tips relating to Gamemaker Studio 2 (my programming environment of choice) or just programming in general.  

I have included a screenshot of the character on the surface of a habitable Terran size planet as a very small teaser of what is to come...

As well as the current menu system...