Writer Otsuichi Releases Free Roguelike Minimal Rogue Made With Claude Code
Writer Otsuichi has released a free browser roguelike titled Minimal Rogue on his itch.io account. The game was made with Claude Code, an AI coding tool, and its music was generated with Suno AI. It is a traditional roguelike in the lineage of the original Rogue, with the player character represented by the single character '@'. Players move with arrow keys, attack by pressing toward enemies, and defend with the space bar. Items and equipment found in the dungeon strengthen the player, and the goal is to descend through floors toward the lowest level. The game reaches a tentative ending at the 100th floor, which Otsuichi said takes about 3 to 5 hours of play. The deepest floor, however, sits at around 180 septillion floors, and reaching it would take an estimated 13.8 billion years of continuous play. A true ending is prepared for anyone who manages that feat. Otsuichi said on his note that he began experimenting with Claude Code around spring this year and found the process had a fun similar to RPG Maker. The source code is published on GitHub under the MIT license, and the game supports Japanese and English. Otsuichi recommends playing on a PC screen, noting smartphone support was halted midway.