Asterogue is a "juicy" graphical coffeebreak roguelike I made that is pretty much directly inspired by the original Rogue in terms of scope and features. You descend 17 levels into the heart of an asteroid to find The Orb and save the universe. There are a bunch of different monsters which get progressively harder as you descend. Instead of magic there is technology and you can pick up nanotech items and beakers of chemicals to buff your character (or hurt them if you get unlucky).
I built Asterogue over the course of a couple of months while I was bored on a break from work due to illness. The game was always built with web tech but I only released it on Android and Windows at first because that seemed to be the right way to release a game. Well I recently realized maybe the right way is the wrong way. Maybe this web thing really is catching on. So now I'm trying out a web release to see if I can make it easier for more people to play Asterogue. So far this is working well and the game is getting more daily players than it ever did as a native app, which I'm very grateful for!
For the web based version I am trying a new payment model. The original Asterogue was like most other games in that you simply buy it in the app store or on Itch and download the game. This time around I am trying a new experiment with this and instead of buying a downloadable binary, you can play the first few levels free in your browser and then you pay one-time to unlock the full game online if you want to continue. I think this strikes a nice balance for players as you get to try it out and only continue if you're actually into the game once you have picked up the vibe. I haven't really seen this done before with web based games so it's all a bit of an experiment.
This release also includes a bunch of fixes and new features based on feedback I received from players after the native version was release.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my little roguelike game. Have fun!
Glad to see more web games! The zero install/instant load aspect is such a huge advantage for the web. I am interested to see people's experience with monetization on web vs app stores.
These days it's possible to do almost any mobile game as a web game. I recently discovered this very polished (despite the cartoony graphics) battle royale: https://gooberdash.winterpixel.io/ and the creator has an HN post describing how they did it (Godot with wasm threads): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40372308
Another good source on the technical aspects of porting to the web is Sebastian Altonen, a very good graphics programmer who works at a company called HypeHype doing a kind of TikTok-but-Roblox hybrid. He is currently porting from WebGL to WebGPU and posting a lot about it here: https://x.com/SebAaltonen
Quick question, does purchasing the game from your website also give you the windows version as well? I’d like to see if I can run it on my steam deck but it’s not clear to me if you only get the browser version or not. The Itch.io page for your game mentions the windows and Linux packages (and it’s cheaper?) so I wanted to check before buying.
This is a really neat game. I love how you're showing that you can build fun small games on the web. I always toy with the idea of doing gamedev and seeing things like this are both fun and inspirational.
Looks awesome, I really enjoy the atmosphere of the game.
This being Hackernews, there's is generally a great interest in both the technical as well as the business side of projects such as this. Would you be ready to share some insights into how well a game like this (which is targeting certainly a niche) can do financially, both with respect to the investment as well as the revenue side of things?
Sorry if this question might be out of your comfort zone.
I was playing from iPad on iOS 17 and when I've reached level 16 and went to the stairs to the next level, the page crashed and reloaded. Is that something of a bug? It didn't look like it was an ending (if there is one) and my high score didn't get saved :/
And also… what is it with monsters so often stealing the valuables? The items are degrading already, why everybody is just so often running away with your stuff? And why they just disappear and you can’t find and kill them yo get your stuff back?
And do items like discs change their function between runs? I’ve noticed that on some runs blue discs or Goonies increase health while on other runs they do nothing.
And sort of a bug report: on iPhone, if you switch from Safari to another app and then back, the music stops working until you reload the page, go to the settings, change music volume to 0 and then back to some value.
I played for a few minutes but then I couldn't pick up anything because I could only carry 6 items. After a few cycles of "let's see what I can drop to pick up the new thing" I just stopped playing, because that is not a fun loop to me.
This is awesome! I have made games for the browser a few times but always felt it wasn't a "serious" way to make a marketable game. Really cool to see someone else taking it seriously!
PSA: I've pushed a new build that fixes the show-stopping bug where getting to the last level crashes your tab. A hard refresh (ctrl-shift-R) should get you the new build.
I'm absolutely mortified that 23k people played the game with this bug present. I can't facepalm hard enough right now. My apologies and thank you for your patience!
On the subject of scifi roguelikes, I've sunk 700+ hours into Jupiter Hell. I've been playing roguelikes since the original Rogue in the 80s and I think JH is the GOAT: skill tree that rewards experimentation, learning curve that never feels unfair, and that "just one more level" itch propelling you forward. Add in a fresh take on ranged combat mechanics, a strip-it-to-essentials design (a winning run takes me ~3h on Ultraviolence), and a legitimately good custom 3D engine, and you have something that I think will be recognized as a classic for years.
Quite surprised to see JH mentioned here, it's a great game! Also in some way it reminds me of Heat Signature, which is not the same game at all, and yet somehow has the same kind of vibe for me.
Jupiter Hell is basically just the commercial release of Doom Roguelike, with better controls and graphics and the name changed because of copyright. So if you like Doom and you like roguelikes it's right up your alley.
It's amazing to me how often I hear things like this even though the level gen hasn't changed. I think maybe what happens is people get really good at it and can then only be defeated by really hard levels or unlucky combat rolls.
I have no idea how I expected the browser back button to work, but whatever it did do surprised me a bit. During gameplay, it might be nice to have an "are you sure you want to go back?" before it exits.
I'd recommend running spell check on your in-game messages. I already saw "Weilding X" instead of "Wielding X"
I just grepped the source and wow, literally every instance of wielding is spelled wrong, including variable names. I've updated it, thank you (will push it once HN is done thrashing my VPS). Will also have a think about how to improve the back button thing!
I just did a quick run down to the paywall, and it's fun! Good coffeebreak game, and I like the vibe a lot. I'll buy it shortly.
I'm not sure if more mechanics show up later in the game, but this feels like the kind of game that needs traps or other landscape threats, even if they're 100% detectable. Maybe there are cooler / more complicated items coming, but the tactics so far are pretty light.
I personally also have qualms about tiled roguelikes that don't let you move/attack on diagonals, but I understand wanting to keep the keyset simple.
I was a bit confused by the sight radius at first, because it was hard for me to distinguish which parts of the map were uncovered and which parts were covered but black because of the background. I wonder if you could add some sort of transparent "fog" or something over unsighted areas, so that you still see the space background but also make it clear that tiles have not been sighted.
My only comment is that it feels like there are too many items for the amount of inventory space.
There will be rooms completely littered with boots that you just walk past. Every time you see something interesting like a potion you have to first chuck away a pair of boots before you can pick it up and drink it.
One suggestion is to allow for HJKL or WASD movement. Arrow keys are fine and intuitive, but not in the best location. I remember playing nethack years ago and it had the HJKL system.
I wonder sometimes how much playing moria drew me to VI over emacs.
Emacs' dealing poorly with choppy internet connections was the main reason I went back to vi very quickly after trying it, but it wasn't the only reason.
Also wish "i" wasn't the only way to open inventory. It feels awkward having to move my hand from "i" to the top row numbers, then back to the arrow keys.
But when I drop something by clicking on the red X button, the item should drop to my feet and not become permanently lost. If the game can't stack items, it could go in a random nearby space. If there are no empty spaces, I can accept that I can't drop it. Oh, I didn't check if monsters can step above items.
Readit News
I built Asterogue over the course of a couple of months while I was bored on a break from work due to illness. The game was always built with web tech but I only released it on Android and Windows at first because that seemed to be the right way to release a game. Well I recently realized maybe the right way is the wrong way. Maybe this web thing really is catching on. So now I'm trying out a web release to see if I can make it easier for more people to play Asterogue. So far this is working well and the game is getting more daily players than it ever did as a native app, which I'm very grateful for!
For the web based version I am trying a new payment model. The original Asterogue was like most other games in that you simply buy it in the app store or on Itch and download the game. This time around I am trying a new experiment with this and instead of buying a downloadable binary, you can play the first few levels free in your browser and then you pay one-time to unlock the full game online if you want to continue. I think this strikes a nice balance for players as you get to try it out and only continue if you're actually into the game once you have picked up the vibe. I haven't really seen this done before with web based games so it's all a bit of an experiment.
This release also includes a bunch of fixes and new features based on feedback I received from players after the native version was release.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my little roguelike game. Have fun!
These days it's possible to do almost any mobile game as a web game. I recently discovered this very polished (despite the cartoony graphics) battle royale: https://gooberdash.winterpixel.io/ and the creator has an HN post describing how they did it (Godot with wasm threads): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40372308
Another good source on the technical aspects of porting to the web is Sebastian Altonen, a very good graphics programmer who works at a company called HypeHype doing a kind of TikTok-but-Roblox hybrid. He is currently porting from WebGL to WebGPU and posting a lot about it here: https://x.com/SebAaltonen
This being Hackernews, there's is generally a great interest in both the technical as well as the business side of projects such as this. Would you be ready to share some insights into how well a game like this (which is targeting certainly a niche) can do financially, both with respect to the investment as well as the revenue side of things?
Sorry if this question might be out of your comfort zone.
And do items like discs change their function between runs? I’ve noticed that on some runs blue discs or Goonies increase health while on other runs they do nothing.
I have fixed the bug and if you do a hard refresh you should get the fixed version.
I played for a few minutes but then I couldn't pick up anything because I could only carry 6 items. After a few cycles of "let's see what I can drop to pick up the new thing" I just stopped playing, because that is not a fun loop to me.
https://chr15m.itch.io/roguelike-browser-boilerplate
https://ondras.github.io/rot.js/hp/
https://www.oryxdesignlab.com/products/tiny-galaxy-tileset
https://nostalgic-css.github.io/NES.css/
https://sfxr.me/
I'm absolutely mortified that 23k people played the game with this bug present. I can't facepalm hard enough right now. My apologies and thank you for your patience!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/811320/Jupiter_Hell/
Absolutely been enjoying it the past year.
[0]: https://rogule.com/game.html
It's amazing to me how often I hear things like this even though the level gen hasn't changed. I think maybe what happens is people get really good at it and can then only be defeated by really hard levels or unlucky combat rolls.
Couple nits:
I have no idea how I expected the browser back button to work, but whatever it did do surprised me a bit. During gameplay, it might be nice to have an "are you sure you want to go back?" before it exits.
I'd recommend running spell check on your in-game messages. I already saw "Weilding X" instead of "Wielding X"
I'll give it a further go.
I'm not sure if more mechanics show up later in the game, but this feels like the kind of game that needs traps or other landscape threats, even if they're 100% detectable. Maybe there are cooler / more complicated items coming, but the tactics so far are pretty light.
I personally also have qualms about tiled roguelikes that don't let you move/attack on diagonals, but I understand wanting to keep the keyset simple.
I was a bit confused by the sight radius at first, because it was hard for me to distinguish which parts of the map were uncovered and which parts were covered but black because of the background. I wonder if you could add some sort of transparent "fog" or something over unsighted areas, so that you still see the space background but also make it clear that tiles have not been sighted.
Hopefully this stuff helps.
My only comment is that it feels like there are too many items for the amount of inventory space.
There will be rooms completely littered with boots that you just walk past. Every time you see something interesting like a potion you have to first chuck away a pair of boots before you can pick it up and drink it.
Emacs' dealing poorly with choppy internet connections was the main reason I went back to vi very quickly after trying it, but it wasn't the only reason.
I started to walk around, picking things up. Then, I noticed a little "i" on the bottom left. I typed "i", and it opened the inventory. Very good!
Now, the "i" was replaced by an "x". I really expected that "x" would close the inventory... but it didn't. :-(
Unless the "x" letter is reserved for something important, it would be nice if it could be used to close dialogs!
But when I drop something by clicking on the red X button, the item should drop to my feet and not become permanently lost. If the game can't stack items, it could go in a random nearby space. If there are no empty spaces, I can accept that I can't drop it. Oh, I didn't check if monsters can step above items.