GROGPOD Roguelike Podcast

The road to Rogue was paved with ascii, teletype, thousand-pound mainframes, and a hacker spirit only highschoolers and college kids and eminate. For our big 100th episode, we have for you a 3-part deep dive into the games that inspired Rogue, the first TRUE roguelikes, and the crown jewel of ascii games: Brogue. This being part 1, we focus on the biggest computer games of the 1970s and how those shaped the design of Rogue. For each game, Scott briefly talks about how its played and a short bit of history, followed by some community correspondence about the game. Finally we have the pod crew doing a first ever live in-person recording about our experiences playing these games for the first time. So use those podcast desription timestamps to jump around! You feel weak with hunger… a hunger that can only be satisifed by hitting that play button!







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1:00 - Intro to episode 100 parts 1, 2, and 3
05:30 - 1971 Star Trek overview
13:30 - Trek correspondence
20:22 - 1975 pedit5/The Dungeon overview
30:10 - 1976 Colossal Cave Adventure
41:12 - ADVENT correspondence
47:12 - 1980 Rogue
58:52 - Rogue correspondence
1:06:46 - GROGPOD live first impressions

Next episode: EP100 part 2: The First Roguelikes (Moria, Hack, Larn, Omega)

Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Star Trek 1969

Outro music: Introduction to the PDP-11

Ball don’t lie! This week we’re dropping into the chasm filled with Arkanoid-inspired enemies in BALL x PIT! The fabled city of Ballbylon has fallen and evil monsters have dragged the metropolis into, you guessed it, a pit! Your quest is to rebuild the city by taking a ramshackle elevator down into the depths, huck balls at the rampaging hordes, and escape with resources you can use to restore the town brick by brick. Sure none of the residents have eyes in their sockets, are largely magical warlock outcasts and fallen kings, and in some cases look like haunted versions of an American Gothic painting, but we will rebuild! And upgrade our infrastructure via as many ping-pong mechanics as possible!







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1:58 - Game stats
3:35 - One sentence description
4:07 - The Fall of Ball-bylon in 46 Seconds
8:46 - Visual Style: Scrolling Enemies, Mobile Game Look & Art
13:49 - Ball System: Build Strategy Synergy
29:06 - Early Game & Metaprogression Treadmill
35:18 - Town Building: RTS Grid Base Builder & Worker Trajectory
43:21 - Character Variety: Turn-Based Mode, Twitch Voting & Unique Gimmicks
52:32 - Narrative Theme: Descending the Pit & Level Progression Arc
55:04 - Town Building x Ball Combat x Sound Design
1:11:22 - How’s it Compare with Vampire Survivors?
1:22:30 - Rankings & final thoughts
1:30:00 - Similar games & show wind down

Next episode: Episode 100 part 1 - Rogue and Its Predecessors

Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: GROGPOD Theme 2 by Balatro composer LouisF - https://louisfmusic.com/

Outro music: Liminal x Desert - Amos Roddy

Moon and Sun! Caves of Qud returns for our summer music episode, as I grabbed some time with the composer Craig Hamilton! Since Qud is a dramaturgical triad, we couldn’t NOT do a third episode talking with the creative mind behind the creative sounds of the game. We’re talking Digital Audio Workstations, sci-fi literature, flamethrowers, traditional roguelikes, and so much more! The torsion of an external crank drags a rosin-slathered wheel against a metal cable, whose protestations emerge from the wooden case in a low, melodic groan.

Part 1 of our Qud Qoverage focusing on the story and soundtrack can be found here

Part 2 focusing on the gameplay and mechanics of Qud can be found here

Other topics discussed:

https://www.craigoryhamilton.com/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1247760/Caves_of_Qud_Soundtrack/

https://stumpyfrog.com/sfr24a-caves-of-qud-3lp/

https://eggplant.show/into-the-depths-caves-of-qud-finale

http://www.decklinsdemise.com/mordor.htm

https://store.steampowered.com/app/224500/Gnomoria/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_Ratio_Regum_(video_game)







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00:00 - Intro Premable
2:17 - Interview Start!
3:14 - Craig’s Musical Origins: Uncle’s Yamaha Keyboard & Early Life
6:22 - Mixtapes, High School Bands & College Hardcore Synth Work
10:10 - Childhood Dream: Astronaut, Video Game Maker or Musician
11:50 - Childhood Gaming: Diablo 1, XCOM & Cinematic Music Influences
17:38 - Film Score Influences: Arrival, Blade Runner & Disney Jungle Book
19:00 - How Craig Got Hired: Dropsy Tracks & Caves of Qud Audition
24:24 - Composition Process: Flavour Text Prompts & Dev Collaboration
26:43 - “Onward”: Multiple Versions, Melancholy Quality & New Keyboard
33:53 - Diegetic Sound Design: Golgotha Flamethrower & Theme Park Composition
38:45 - Craig’s Favorite Track: “Arrival” & Interstellar Inspiration
44:46 - “Bey Lah Heritage II”: Western Aesthetic, Harmonicas & Hindren Influence
47:36 - “Attack on Grit Gate”: Desperate Blown-Out Battle Sound Design
52:34 - Favorite Game Soundtracks: FF7, Nuclear Throne, Katamari Damacy
1:05:31 - Craig’s 40 Hours of Qud: Exploration Style & Mutant Builds
1:10:47 - The Caves Music: Danger, Oppression & Caving YouTube Inspiration
1:15:14 - Cozy Art Lulling Players Into a False Sense of Security
1:18:36 - Gnome Moria, Ultima Ratio Regum & Procedural Generation Discussion
1:25:21 - Show Wind Down

Next episode: BALL x PIT

Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Caves of Qud OST - 3rd Spore Phase

Outro music: Caves of Qud OST - Of Chrome, and How (Sultan’s Song)

“You don’t have the cards!” This week we deep dive the cyberpunk productivity app roguelike deckbuilder hybrid that our very own co-host Will has been developing since 2018! A unique spin on gamification apps, Hard Reset asks the ever-important question of: “what if we made the game part actually fun?” The capitalist oligarchs have taken over and you must stop them by upgrading your cybernetics as provided by a mysterious benefactor. Fight through mutant-filled cyber slums with the help of rocket arms, irradiation blasters, and a helpful hand or two. But don’t skimp on those tasks to practice your cello or take out the garbage! Being consistent rewards gameplay with bonuses, and missing days will add consequences to your deck.

Find Will’s app at:

https://hardreset.app/
https://discord.com/invite/VdqP5AWBnz
https://bsky.app/profile/hardresetapp.bsky.social
https://www.youtube.com/@HardResetApp

Hard Reset has already been getting some coverage by other outlets that you can find below:

ParadoxPort - Hard Reset: When To-Do Lists Meet a Dystopian Cyberpunk Game
Sam Liberty - Hard Reset Is the Gamified Productivity App I’ve Been Waiting For







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1:13 - Game stats
2:28 - One sentence description
5:09 - Origin Story: Behavioral Therapy Work & Contingency Management
9:18 - Hard Reset’s Purpose vs. Previous Therapy App
12:07 - Habitica Comparison & Fun-as-Reward Design Philosophy
15:25 - Vesper-5 & Checklist-Game Symbiosis Discussion
23:52 - Boot Sequence, Node Map & Game Structure Walkthrough
24:34 - Hardware & Wetware System vs. Slay the Spire Relics
35:10 - Card Codex Stats: 71 Cards, 15 Hacks & Unique Mechanics
43:41 - Combat Animations, Eye-Opening Intro & Protagonist Identity
46:01 - Portrait Mode Innovation & One-Handed Mobile Design
59:50 - AI Art Ethics: Solo Dev Cost Reality & Moral Debate
1:09:43 - Story & Theme: Cyberpunk Anti-Oligarch Revolution Narrative
1:33:43 - Player Build Strategies & Community Discoveries
1:53:00 - Rankings & final thoughts
2:01:13 - Fan Write-Ins
2:05:10 - Similar games & show wind down

Next episode: Summer music fest interview with Caves of Qud composer Craig Hamilton!

Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: GROGPOD Theme 2 by Balatro composer LouisF - https://louisfmusic.com/

Outro music: Hard Reset trailer theme

It’s a special bonus episode this week! With Rift Wizard 3 launching in June 2026, I sat down with developer Dylan White to talk about the third game’s evolution, how its distinguished itself from Rift Wizard 2, and what it takes to make a traditional roguelike game stand out in the ever evolving morass of games being released on Steam these days. Come for the discussion on PyGame, stay for the discussion on metal music band names as monsters!







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1:51 - Interview Start
2:49 - Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup as Primary Design Inspiration
6:15 - Original Concept: Not a Wizard Game at First
9:06 - Core Design Goal: Every Encounter High-Pressure & Unique
13:11 - Rift Wizard 2: Items System Added to Fight Forced Builds
16:46 - Dominions 5 Influence & Knowing Your Game’s Identity
20:35 - Why Python/Pygame: Fast Prototyping & Fun to Code
22:38 - ASCII Prototype Origins & Discarded Pac-Man Mana Mechanic
32:22 - AI Coding Agents: Core Logic Hand-Coded, UI Outsourced
41:52 - Crafting System Design: Balancing Planning vs. Improvisation
47:31 - Rift Wizard 3 Art Direction: Ralph Bakshi & 70s Animation
56:36 - Grid Size Changes Across Versions & Rebalancing Challenges
1:02:14 - Sequel Philosophy: 75% Familiarity, 25% Novelty
1:07:17 - Switch & Steam Deck Portability: Mouse-Keyboard Dependency Problem
1:22:50 - Dylan’s Favorite Roguelikes & Final Thoughts on Genre

Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com!

https://grogpod.zone

Intro music: Rift Wizard 3 Title Theme

Outro music: Rift Wizard 3 Boss Theme