Garnett,

As a long-time Roguelike fan, it bothers me that you (and others) try to take away this descriptor from something like FTL because it doesn't match your preconception of the genre.

Now, it's true that FTL doesn't look much like Rogue, but many modern Roguelikes have moved away from the classic fantasy dungeon crawl that originated the genre. The main thing that sets FTL apart from most RLs is the real-time combat, but the ability to pause and give orders offets this somewhat, though it's probably enough to push it into the category of Roguelike-like along with games like The Binding of Isaac and Spelunkky.

In every way that matters, FTL is a Roguelike and the things that people are finding engaging about are the things that Roguelikes have to offer. The sense of discovery and consequence. The stories that come out of fighting your way out of a dire situation. The unexpected interactions that you couldn't have predicted. These are all things that are characteristic of the Roguelike experience. So when you enjoy a game so much but try to separate it from it's brethren, I find that insulting to the genre.

People often find the permadeath aspect of Roguelikes to be too punishing. But this misses the point. Without permadeath, you would miss out on so many of these experiences. In a game where death means nothing, you'd never get yourself into a horrible situation, have to think of something clever to escape and possibly go on to victory. You'd just reload from a previous save point and avoid the catastrophe altogether. Permadeath doesn't exist to punish you. It is there to give your actions consequence. To make every decision matter. I'm sure you noticed that in FTL.

And in a game where you can play from start to finish in a couple hours, as you can in FTL and many Roguelikes, starting over isn't a big deal. And not to be too cliche, but the point of a Roguelike isn't really about getting to the end anyway, it's the journey. Though it's true that finishing a Roguelike can be one of gaming's most satisfying experiences.