{"rewrite":{"id":"r_1b64c97d3a0f674f45768ada","clusterId":"c_b90195e9b761a54c4b4cbca7","slug":"three-roguelite-devs-explain-why-they-chose-the-genre","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Three Roguelite Devs Explain Why They Chose the Genre","summary":"At the Tokyo Game Show 2026 event stage on September 20, the teams behind three action roguelites met at UKIYO GAME BAR in Yurakucho, Tokyo, for a cross-border discussion. The participants were Xiao Yu, producer of MyACG Studio's Cinderia from China; Kim Minseu, lead programmer of Team Tapas's Witch's Garden from Korea; and Takumi Isogai, producer and director of Furyu's CRYMELIGHT from Japan. Asked why they built roguelites, the answers split. Xiao Yu said the genre keeps production costs down because the same scenes can be reused, which suits small teams. Kim Minseu said an early prototype closer to Vampire Survivors led the team to look for a genre that would let strong animation and action carry a project at limited cost. Isogai said CRYMELIGHT needed repeated retries for its story and staging, and that Hades raised the genre's recognition in Japan.","whyItMatters":"The three answers split on cost versus narrative, and the split is itself the report: the genre's economics and its storytelling are being weighed differently by studios in three markets.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eIsogai said he was \u0026#34;a little surprised that everyone cites cost as a reason,\u0026#34; and the other two laughed. Cinderia producer Xiao Yu put the economics plainly: with roguelikes \u0026#34;you don\u0026#39;t need to prepare 100 or 200 scenes to let players play for a long time.\u0026#34;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCinderia (MyACG Studio): dark fantasy roguelite, close to Cult of the Lamb visually; hit 100,000 copies in its first 10 days of Steam early access in March 2026.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWitch\u0026#39;s Garden (Team Tapas): full release in August 2026, Steam rating \u0026#34;very positive\u0026#34;; the team wanted a gateway title for players new to action roguelites.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCRYMELIGHT (Furyu): launches November 5, 2026; Isogai directed the screen look toward a Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland mood and the tears and eye animation of its heroines.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKim said the Witch\u0026#39;s Garden animator, Lee Seonwoo, drove the pivot after an early Vampire Survivors-style prototype. Isogai traced the genre\u0026#39;s spread in Japan to Cult of the Lamb, and picked out Shiren the Wanderer and Torneko no Daibouken as the older Mystery Dungeon titles he grew up on.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Xiao Yu frames the genre as a cost fix: the same scenes get reused, which suits small teams. Isogai came at CRYMELIGHT from story and staging instead. Same genre, opposite budgets.","twitterPost":"Xiao Yu says roguelites cut costs through scene reuse. Isogai says CRYMELIGHT needed them for story and staging. Same genre, different reasons.","threadsPost":"Xiao Yu of MyACG Studio describes the roguelite as a cost fix: reused scenes keep small teams viable. Takumi Isogai says CRYMELIGHT needed retries for its story and staging. Two devs, one genre, opposite starting points.","newsletterBlurb":"Developers from China, Korea and Japan compared notes on why they build roguelites. Two cited production cost. One cited a story that needed repeated defeat. All three named Hades as the genre's turning point.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/interviewsjp/cinderia-20261022-474739/\",\"title\":\"Popular Girls Roguelite 'Cinderia,' 'Witch's Garden,' and 'CRYMELIGHT' Developers Talk: Why Does Everyone Make 'Hades'-Style Games? Reasons So Different the Debate Heats Up - A Roguelite Discussion\"},{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/22/173913.html\",\"title\":\"Cheap to make? For the story? Or the influence of Hades? We asked three roguelike developers from Japan, China and Korea why they make roguelikes, and got three different answers\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":33069,"outputTokens":1255,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792652832,"createdAt":"2026-10-22T07:03:37.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-22T07:06:07.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-22T07:06:07.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_b90195e9b761a54c4b4cbca7","canonicalTitle":"安く作れるから？物語のため？それとも『Hades』の影響？──日中韓のローグライク開発者3人に「なぜローグライクを作るのか」と聞いたら、答えは三者三様だった","representativeArticleId":"a_2d5a41538c6622d57d6aae42","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Cinderia\",\"Witch's Garden\",\"CRYMELIGHT\",\"Hades\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-22T04:00:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-22T04:01:54.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-22T07:06:06.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/interviewsjp/cinderia-20261022-474739/","title":"人気少女ローグライト『Cinderia』『魔女の庭』『クライムライト』開発者が対談、なぜみんな『Hades』系を作るのか。理由が違いすぎて白熱、ローグライト談義"},{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/22/173913.html","title":"安く作れるから？物語のため？それとも『Hades』の影響？──日中韓のローグライク開発者3人に「なぜローグライクを作るのか」と聞いたら、答えは三者三様だった"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Cinderia","Witch's Garden","CRYMELIGHT","Hades"],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Cinderia from MyACG Studio, Witch's Garden from Team Tapas and CRYMELIGHT from Furyu were represented in the discussion held in Tokyo on September 20 during Tokyo Game Show 2026.","Cinderia entered Steam early access in March 2026 and sold 100,000 copies within 10 days, according to Game Spark.","Witch's Garden received its full release in August 2026 and holds a Very Positive rating on Steam reviews.","CRYMELIGHT is scheduled for release on November 5, 2026.","Witch's Garden lead programmer Kim Minseu said the team assumes players are about 30% worse at action than the developers when setting difficulty."]}