One of the most popular pokemon romhacks you can play right now combines creature trappers with the roguelite genre. Although PokeRogue recently reached a major milestone with the release of the fan game’s final sequence, the creator of the project is stepping back to refocus on faith, family, and work.
PokeRogue is Pokemon as you know it, but with procedurally generated worlds so the map and encounters change with each playthrough. You won’t find the kind of permadeath popularized in roguelikes or Nuzlockes, but you’ll need to be on top of things like resource management because who knows how things will turn out. It’s gained some serious popularity, especially among the Pokemon streaming community, but that’s not stopping its creator from backing out of the project.
“I understand that the growth of this project continues to accelerate and there is still so much potential to be achieved,” explained PokeRogue creator Flashfyre on Twitter.
“To many, this would seem like the worst possible time to leave. I had so many ideas that I know people would enjoy and the experience would be even better. However, after much consideration and consultation with family and close friends, I believe that being better for me and for the continued growth of the project so that I can leave on a good note.”
Flashfyre goes on to say that they always wanted to work on a project like PokeRogue, although I don’t think they would have ever anticipated how big it would become. They share that the project started by taking a 10 year old project and combining it with roguelite influences until it started to look like what you see today.
They worked on the game solo for nine months, but in the end PokeRogue became a community project as its popularity attracted many people who were only too happy to contribute.
“It really blew away my wildest expectations and I thank you all for being a part of it,” they say.
Despite the good times, the Pokémon fan is moving on “because a project like this is not compatible with my intended life trajectory.” Flashfyre explains that they found it “impossible” to moderate the time they spend on PokeRogue and other things in life take a hit.
“As a hobby, it became too important and overwhelming for me and inhibited the things I value most, including my faith, my family and my work,” they say. “I am primarily a man trying to follow God’s way for me in life, and I should spend my short time in this world serving Jesus Christ rather than feeding my own ambitions.
“I assume that by resigning I am giving back to the world what belonged to the world in the first place, so I am not responsible if it changes in any way that is inconsistent with my personal values, rather than choosing to stick with what is now a community project by of my personal standards in an effort to maintain a clear conscience.”
Mind you, Flashfyre is happy to express their affection for the project, saying that it “really hurts” to leave it behind given how much time they’ve put into it. However, if you’re worried about the future of PokeRogue, don’t worry. Although it started as a solo developer passion project, it has become a community collaboration. Several other fans who have dedicated a lot of time to the project are now running the Discord and handling the big decisions. Even if it’s the future without Flashfyre, it’s still the future and not the end.
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