Crypt of the NecroDancer
A rhythm-based dungeon crawler.
Where Crypt of the NecroDancer comes up2 episodes and tests
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit, with the designer of Islanders and Thronefall testHow to find amazing game ideas
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testHow To Combine Video Game GenresCrypt of the NecroDancer worked by fixing a genre problem and blending genres. Ryan Clark felt roguelikes leaned too hard on randomness, so he built a dungeon crawler around player skill, and he combined it with rhythm gameplay to make something novel. The sources give no sales or player numbers. The lesson: find a flaw in a genre, then borrow mechanics from outside it to fix it.
- 1Spot a genre complaintRoguelikes leaned too hard on randomness
- 2Design the fixCenter the game on player skill
- 3Blend in rhythmMerged mechanics from two genres
- 4Ship something newA rhythm-based roguelike, not a copy
From Ryan Clark's NecroDancer design story
What was said about Crypt of the NecroDancer
Ryan Clark built NecroDancer by fixing what he disliked about roguelikes. Ryan Clark felt roguelikes leaned too hard on randomness, so he made a dungeon crawler centered on player skill. That game became Crypt of the NecroDancer.
It is offered as an example of starting from a complaint about a genre and designing the fix. Jonas Tyroller's team used the same approach for their city builder Islanders.
Mixing rhythm with roguelike made a novel game. Crypt of the NecroDancer is a rhythm-based roguelike. Merging mechanics from two genres produced something new, rather than a copy of either one.
The source says blending genres can freshen a genre by "looking outside of current conventions", and that it can even create new genres.
How to find amazing game ideas
Ryan Clark felt roguelikes leaned too hard on randomness, so he made a dungeon crawler about player skill.
Ryan Clark built NecroDancer by fixing what he disliked about roguelikes. Ryan Clark felt roguelikes leaned too hard on randomness, so he made a dungeon crawler centered on player skill. That game became Crypt of the NecroDancer.
It is offered as an example of starting from a complaint about a genre and designing the fix. Jonas Tyroller's team used the same approach for their city builder Islanders.
How To Combine Video Game Genres
It is an example of blending genres, in this case rhythm and roguelike, to create a novel game.
Mixing rhythm with roguelike made a novel game. Crypt of the NecroDancer is a rhythm-based roguelike. Merging mechanics from two genres produced something new, rather than a copy of either one.
The source says blending genres can freshen a genre by "looking outside of current conventions", and that it can even create new genres.
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