One prompt. Multiple models. How far can each one go?
Rogue is a deceptively hard target: it demands procedural dungeon generation, field-of-view, turn-based combat, inventory, and a playable game loop — all in one self-contained file. I gave every model the same prompt and let it run. The results below show how each model handled complexity, creativity, and correctness.
One-shot generation in Claude Code — but it verified its own work before handing
it back, fuzz-testing full playthroughs and checking dungeon connectivity in a live
preview. This one is remarkably faithful to the source: the full A–Z monster roster, unidentified potions
and scrolls, hunger, traps, and the Amulet of Yendor on level 26.
Of all the clones, this one feels most like the original (in both good and bad ways) so far.
Developed through an iterative back-and-forth dialogue. Multiple rounds of
refinement shaped the final result, with the developer helping the model course-correct, expand
features, and fix issues across the conversation.
This is the original prompt-test and still one of my favourtes to play (maybe mostly because I helped shape it, but I do appreciate Gemini's take on the design)!
My favourite faithful Rogue clone — a careful, by-the-book take on the original
that nails the feel without the rough edges. One-shot in Claude Code, no edits.
It edges out Fable's version for me, and at a fraction of the cost.
The odd one out — a modern retro take that swaps ASCII for flashy graphics. Most notable for speed: the whole thing landed in just over three minutes. Not without glitches, though — unidentified scrolls reveal their type the moment you pick them up, among other bugs. One-shot, no edits.
Generated in one shot, then given a second dedicated pass focused solely on fixing bugs. Relatively simple, but not bad given that it's generated by a purely local AI.
Pure one-shot output — no follow-up, no corrections. The prompt went in and
the game came out. A clean measure of what GPT-5.5 can produce with zero
iteration.
A bit simple, for my tastes, but fully functional and playable "out of the box".
Another clean one-shot attempt — same prompt, no iteration. Claude Opus 4.6 brings its own sensibilities to dungeon design, game feel, and code structure in a single unguided generation.
Not perfect - inventory management is particularly weird - but a pretty decent one-shot result.
A simple and perfectly serviceable one-shot — pasted the prompt into Cursor, no iteration. Composer 2.5 keeps it simple and mostly keeps up with the frontier models. Inventory management is simple but serviceable. The win-condition of standing on the 26th floor stairs is a little weird.
Generated in one shot, then given a second dedicated bugfix pass focused on inventory UX issues (Esc fullscreen conflict, key binding overlap, item list overflow). Polished result with strong dungeon generation, FOV, combat, and a full item/inventory system. Total cost: $0.06 USD.
Rogue (1980) was created by Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman at UC Santa Cruz, later refined with Ken Arnold. Distributed with BSD Unix, it reached a huge audience of university students and spawned one of gaming's most enduring genres.
The game rendered its dungeon in ASCII characters — @ for the player,
letters for monsters, # for walls, . for floors — and
pioneered procedural generation, permadeath, and fog-of-war. Every
playthrough produces a unique dungeon across 26 levels, culminating in
a quest to retrieve the Amulet of Yendor.
Its influence is immeasurable: Nethack, Angband, Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, Diablo, and countless modern roguelikes trace their DNA directly back to it.