Gaming off the Beaten Path

While traditional platformers aren’t all that common anymore, many games have taken elements of their gameplay and spun them off into other genres, like rogue-likes. I should back up for a second, because even though Spelunky has randomly generated levels, it is technically not a rogue-like in the strict definition as it doesn’t not have most of the role-playing elements the genre calls for (It's also not really that new, having come out in 2008). It is what some people call rogue-lite, as it lacks a level system or a turn based gameplay.  I wouldn’t call it that though.  In doing research for this game, I learned that some in the community have yet another name for games like this: Procedural Death Labyrinth.  I couldn’t think of a more appropriate description of Spelunky if I tried.  Gameplay wise, it is pretty simple.  You explore a mine filled with various enemies in a free range, 2D platforming style.  You have two goals, stay ...