First, we can talk about Rogue Touch. As I look at the house of cards that is the Rogue Touch source code, I have to consider the best choices to make in regards to balance and playability. Those of you familiar with the original ASCII Rogue can see I've tinkered with the gameplay already, in some cases a bit too much perhaps.
What I want to see happen with Rogue Touch:
1) Fix for "level-dancing"
2) Fix for wraith HP exploit
3) Fix for Nymph stealing issues
4) Secret characters for everyone who's been patient in my absence (since the one and only contest this spring!)
5) A few more pieces of equipment (that I had in mind for a long time now!)
6) Some select good ideas from the request threads (I may just choose some, or present a list to vote on)
What probably won't happen in Rogue Touch:
1) A shop
2) A way to cheat perma-death
These two items would completely break the balance of Rogue, and if I adjust the rules of the game enough to compensate it is no longer "Rogue". I do have one way to implement a shop that is not a game-breaker though, and I would like to run this by you to get opinions:
Rogue Touch: Lite! - The premise here is simple. You are taking an "aptitude test" for the guild. This consists of diving into a small training dungeon of somewhere between 3 and 5 floors. The goal is to get down to that bottom floor and retrieve your starting equipment for the true game of Rogue (where you start with a +1,+1 Mace and +1 Ring Mail). When you reach the surface, you are graded for rank, speed, and how much loot you bring out. This gives you a certain amount of *gold/credit* which can be used in the guild's pro shop to buy interesting equipment. Once you do this, you can transfer this character over to the full game of Rogue Touch and start your quest for the Amulet of Yendor with the equipment you just bought!
This serves a few purposes- one, it allows people to start a character and build up their base rank and equipment a bit before entering the dungeons of doom. Two, it provides shopping in a clever way that won't break the game too badly. Three, it helps promote Rogue Touch! This would be one of the few games in the app store that you'd want to have the free, lite version and the full version installed at the same time! Of course, for purists, you can avoid the lite version and keep playing the way you do presently. Note that anyone using this proposed "lite" game to get a boost in starting capability would be treated as a special character for online ranking. Essentially this pairing would allow you to create your own special character because you could choose your starting equipment.
I'd like to hear your thoughts about this. I actually have a proof-of-concept bit of programming set up that allows me to transfer a character and pack full of items from a "dummy app" into Rogue Touch and start the game automatically. At this point I'd need to invest the time into creating the lite version, shopping experience, and wrap all that up for submission if it sounds appealing to everyone.
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Now, on to the future... the design of my next game. This new game will be a "rogue-like" game, with elements of several great games represented in it... think of Diablo II, Shiren the Wanderer, and perhaps some shades of collection games like Pokemon.
*Un-named ChronoSoft Project* will be a big leap forward in terms of what you think of when you look at rogue-likes on the iPhone or even in computer gaming. The graphics will be much improved, and everything will be animated. I've been working with a graphic artist already (who is also working on other iPhone contract projects, including the upcoming game Steam Pirates), trying to nail down character designs. Since this is not officially based on any existing game, I am free to model the rules as I see fit. This means that things like shopping, potential ressurrection, and other interesting gameplay mechanics can be designed in and balanced to the game correctly from the beginning. Dungeons will have a greater variety to them, there will be the potential for scripted and special events to occur in them as well.
I won't go into too much detail in this forum, as the new game really deserves it's own sub-forum for discussion. Before I finalize the design I may put up a thread to list some of the major concepts and take a few suggestions too. I don't want the new game to suffer from a "design by committee" feel, but it doesn't hurt to at least air-out some of my ideas and make sure it all sounds appealing to you, the player!
Please keep in mind that this new game will not be available for a while. The graphics alone will take a few months with several artists to complete!
Comments are welcome, Hopefully some of you will still be lurking around enough to read this!
) that you could take some good elements from Demon's Souls on the PS3, it has that come back for more feel that epitomises Rogue. 
