3 reasons roguelikes have gotten more popular

     If you're familiar with the term "roguelike", you'll know that recently it's gotten a huge spike in popularity. the term originated as a way to describe games similar to "Rogue", a game created in 1980 which was famous for it's use of procedural generation. Roguelikes have been coming out for years, even during the video game crash there was one or two released. Now, though, there's more than ever, and I think I have a good idea why. Here are three reasons why roguelikes have gained popularity.

Reason 1: Variety

     Originally, roguelike was a term that only described games incredibly similar to rogue, meaning games with ascii graphics, permadeath, a top down view, randomly generated levels, and it took place in a dungeon going down floors. Now, with the advent of video games like FTL, Spelunky, and Binding of Isaac, only a few of those constants remain. With the advent of this new variety comes new fans, people who are fans of platformers and top down shooters who love the idea of potentially infinite replay value and intense difficulty. Roguelikes are now only defined by random generation and permadeath, with some not even taking place inside a dungeon. 

Reason 2: Computer gaming popularity

     These games are an experience unique to PC gaming, with only a handful of them ever released on console (though certain games like chocobo's dungeon and nightmare of druaga come to mind). Until recently, PC gaming as a whole was not particularly popular, but with the advent of steam and the console generation slowing, it has been steadily rising.With it, so has the popularity of the roguelike. Indie gaming is partly related here, since developing and distributing indie games is a lot easier on PC. Indie games take a lot less funding, and as a result there's less risk, meaning indie developers can try more niche genres, which feeds back into the topic at hand. More are being made because they can be made, and because there are more, people are noticing them more often. 

Reason 3: Youtube and the Let's Play

     With the popularity of the "Let's play",  some video creators look for a game that they like which could potentially be an infinite source of episodes. That means that when they have no other episodes planned, and no other games to play, they fall back on their favorite for a filler episode. Not to mention certain popular youtubers are huge advocates of the genre. All the exposure caused by this has led to a significant rise in popularity, because existence of these games is being spread, and as a result a lot of people who might never have tried it in the first place have found out that it is a genre they love.