What it takes to like Rogue-like games

To this day, I still can't quite get into old-school ASCII roguelikes. Is it something you have to pick up as a youngster, or can the taste be acquired? John Brownlee (formerly of BB Gadgets) explains his love for an "unattractive, sociopathic, schizophrenic" genre. The system requirements: imagination, an unbelievable tolerance for failure, and "a morbid and self-deprecating sense of humor." [Gearfuse]