HyperRogue facts for kids
Quick facts for kids HyperRogue |
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| Developer(s) | Zeno Rogue |
| Composer(s) | Shawn Parrotte Will Savino Lincoln Domina |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, Android, OpenPandora |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Roguelike |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
HyperRogue is a free and independent video game made by Zeno Rogue. It is a roguelike game, which means it has elements like exploring dungeons and permanent death. The game is inspired by the puzzle game Deadly Rooms of Death and the amazing art of M. C. Escher. What makes it truly special is that it takes place in a unique kind of space called the hyperbolic plane.
Contents
How to Play HyperRogue
HyperRogue is a turn-based game. This means you and the enemies take turns making moves. You control one character who explores a world based on hyperbolic geometry. Imagine a world where space bends and stretches in unusual ways!
The game uses ideas from roguelike games. For example, the world is created randomly each time you play. This is called procedural generation. Also, if your character dies, you lose all your progress. This is known as permadeath. The way you fight enemies is like a puzzle game, similar to Deadly Rooms of Death.
Exploring Different Lands
The game world has 72 different lands. Each land has its own unique look, special items (treasures), enemies, and magical powers. These lands are often separated by "Great Walls," which are like straight lines in the hyperbolic world. As you travel, the lands change, and monsters or powers from one land can affect others.
The world is always being created as you play. Some lands are locked at first. You need to do certain things, like collecting a specific number of treasures, to unlock them.
Your Main Goals
Your main goal in HyperRogue is to collect treasures. But you must be careful not to get trapped by enemies! Besides collecting treasures, there are also several big quests you can try to complete. These include the Yendor quest, the Prince(ss) quest, the Hyperstone Quest, and the search for the Holy Grail.
Fighting Enemies
The basic combat in the game is inspired by Deadly Rooms of Death. You and the basic enemies take turns. On your turn, you can stay still, move to a nearby spot, or attack an enemy next to you. Both you and basic enemies can be defeated with just one hit.
The game won't let you make a move that would get you killed right away. This is like the check rule in chess. While fighting one enemy is usually easy, you need to plan carefully when facing many enemies at once. The game also has many different types of monsters. Some move at different speeds, and some are very long, like snakes or dragons. Others need to be attacked in a special way.
Special Game Modes
HyperRogue offers many special ways to play. You can try specific challenges, like the Pure Tactics Mode. Or you can play modes that change how the game works. For example, Chaos Mode makes lands change very quickly. Shoot'em Up Mode is a continuous action game, not turn-based. Orb Strategy Mode lets you use magical orbs whenever you want.
Hyperbolic Geometry in the Game
The world of HyperRogue uses non-Euclidean geometry, specifically hyperbolic geometry. This special type of geometry changes many parts of the game.
How Geometry Affects Gameplay
In a hyperbolic world, space curves in a way that's different from our everyday experience. This negative curvature can help you escape tricky situations. For example, if a monster is chasing you, it will fall farther and farther behind unless it follows you exactly. This is because paths that seem parallel in our world actually spread out in hyperbolic space.
Visuals and Art Style
By default, the game is shown using the Poincaré disk model. This makes the infinite hyperbolic world fit into a circle. You can also choose other ways to view the world from the special modes menu. The game's graphics are inspired by the famous artist M. C. Escher. His "Circle Limit" series of artworks also used hyperbolic geometry.
Game Balance and Size
One cool thing about hyperbolic geometry is that the number of cells grows very, very fast as you move away from your starting point. The world of HyperRogue is practically infinite! This means the game couldn't use the usual way of getting stronger by collecting better gear. Instead, new lands and magical powers are unlocked by finding treasures. But, the more treasures you collect in a land, the more monsters will appear. This stops you from just "grinding" (repeating easy tasks) forever.
Quests and Level Design
Many challenges in HyperRogue would be simple in a normal (Euclidean) world. But the huge, expanding hyperbolic plane makes them difficult. On the other hand, some tasks that would be nearly impossible in a normal world are easier in the hyperbolic world. For example, it's very hard to get to the center of a medium-sized circle and then return to where you started in hyperbolic geometry.
The game also uses shapes and objects that are impossible in our normal geometry. These include infinite trees, special curved lines called equidistants and horocycles, and straight lines that never cross. There's even a land where the world seems to rotate around you when you return to a spot after walking a few steps!
The game has a tutorial that teaches you about hyperbolic geometry and how to play.
Game Release and Updates
The very first version of HyperRogue was made in November 2011. It only had one land and simple monsters. A new version came out in March 2012 for the Seven Day Roguelike Challenge. This version added more lands and magical orbs. In January 2015, HyperRogue became available on Steam.
Version 12.0 was released in June 2021. This update added support for virtual reality (VR) through SteamVR, letting players experience the hyperbolic world in a new way!
