Topics

1

7DRLs / Gem Acquisition Operative 7DRL

« on: March 17, 2015, 11:51:42 PM »

Well I finished so thought I would post it up here. I wanted to try something different so there are no monsters, and the game is based around balancing resources. I will try checking in here, and add some pictures later.

Download Here

2

Design / Spell system

« on: February 24, 2015, 09:48:12 PM »

Hey guys. working on a very new very small Roguelike.

so it will have deterministic combat, and a focus on "spells". I haven't decided if I want to do spells as actual spells or do them as items, something similar to Zaga-33. in my design a Freeze spell, and a Freeze item, would both operate the same. its just the method in which the player uses them that I am trying to decide on. I am slowly moving towards and idea of the player setting up their character somehow before they enter the dungeon though and I want very short dungeons so it would be almost like setting out for an adventure like an actual hero, instead of "Hope I find a better sword" which always irked me story wise.

Spell idea:
All spells cost 1 mana. Player starts the game with 2 spells. Each floor they gain 1 mana. I could do something where the player chooses a hero to enter the dungeon with, and that hero will always have the same set of spells. or I could allow the player to choose from an assortment of spells. I could also recharge each spell like a floor after its been used, perhaps meaning players wont need to worry about Mana.

Item Idea:
Player can find treasure chests with items in them. Player has a limited inventory of 4-5 items though. Also the player would be given 2 items to start the game with, or I can give the player 4 options and they can pick two.

Artifacts
The other idea I have is the player can find "Artifacts". each item has a spell associated with it. I could also do something where a player can outfit their character before entering a dungeon. So maybe they give their Mage a Freeze rod, and a Heal belt, to go along with his fireball spell. This also means I could do Passive gear. so Maybe "Vampires Charm" might give them a 10% chance of gaining 1 HP when killing an enemy, but they have effectively locked one of their spell slots. which could give an interesting mix of building your character. it would be possible to create a full melee character, with 4 passive skills.

3

Programming / I don't understand random seeds.

« on: March 05, 2014, 05:36:03 PM »

Can anyone explain seeds to me? I don't understand how people use it to generate random stuff. I use flash and I am not sure if it depends on language or not. I figure the best example might be something similar. Let's say I have two monsters. How does the seed effect the monster selection.

4

Design / RL idea: Murder RL

« on: February 15, 2014, 04:20:16 PM »

So I was thinking about this for a small RL. It probably falls in between roguelike and boardgame with random elements, but basically a murder has happened at an upscale mansion and the player must find the killer. I am thinking about similar board games that use these mechanics as I don't think many video games have. I am thinking like clue and 13 dead end drive. I basically wanted to start a discussion about it, planning so e stuff out and getting ideas, before I tried it.

5

Programming / Monster generation

« on: January 12, 2014, 05:44:29 PM »

So I migh have asked this before, but how do you guys usually go about deciding monsters for a level?

Right now I build an array of all the possible monsters but the problem is that I need to set how many times the monster shows up in the array in each level meaning I need to have a monster probability for each monster for each floor. Do you guys do it a different way?

6

Programming / Randomization in Combat

« on: November 14, 2013, 11:25:19 PM »

Hey guy so I am thinking about different ways to do whether a hit is a hit or not. I wanted to do something with a bit of random chance instead of doing deterministic like I usually do. One of the ideas I had was a dice based system like in boardgames. I actually wanted to show the dice, but it might slow down combat a bit much. I could also do a simple thing like a regular dice with an added bonus. I just want to show the player their chances and I want all equipment to add bonuses to that, but a simple +1 can be a bit boring. Any ideas?

7

Early Dev / Microgue (Updated 9/7)

« on: July 18, 2013, 12:50:50 AM »

So I have finally decided to go back to Microgue. I have been reworking it slowly art and design wise for the past months. I am starting from scratch though as the code for the original version is basically held together with tape. It was one of my first major games and the code is extremely poor.

So on to the actual design. I am going to try tossing out the dive in and return gameplay I think. I am going to try building the game similar to Auro where the score is based on how far the player gets. I am also thinking about doing away with the idea of stairs. instead it will be clearing an entire level to move on to the next one. I would also like to add some items or something to make the game a little more varied each playthrough.


if anyone knows how to host SWFs on a tumblr that would be great to know. I had some code but it didn't display in some browsers

8

Programming / Bosses in a Low Health System

« on: March 29, 2013, 12:51:51 PM »

Hey guys. So I really like roguelikes that have a low health systems, especially single HP ones. I also like the idea of boss fights. the problem is how do you add boss fights to a low health game.

some ideas:
- Bosses are invincible until a certain number of minions are killed, then they can be killed.
- Bosses have HP, but warp away, get pushed back, are stunned on a hit.
- Bosses are invincible, but there is something in the room that hurts them. (IE. traps)

any other ideas?

9

Early Dev / Dungeoneer (Temp Name)

« on: March 25, 2013, 05:58:50 PM »

hey guys, so I threw this together to test out an idea I had. basically I wanted to try out a system for spells similar to the Energy system used in the board game King of Tokyo.

Try It!

Overview:
by opening the inventory in the top corner. You are given three spells. each spell has an associated cost. you can also clear the spells for 3. Your money is kills. so killing enemies allows you to buy spells. There are only 4 spells at the moment, but I would hope to have a full deck of them (Like maybe 20 different ones) and also have them in different amounts like several potion spells, but only one heal spell.

controls:
- Arrows,WASD, Numpad to move.
- Use 123 for the Spells
- R to Restart

Remember this was just a test for the skill system. if this actually worked out I would probably expand the idea out and add a lot more Spells, and Monsters. I have also been thinking about code to build Randomized stories, similar to a D&D quest. (Hence the different environments)

10

Programming / Replayability

« on: February 21, 2013, 05:10:05 PM »

Hey guys, this is just a question I was wondering. Removing scoring from the mix, what keeps you playing a Roguelike you have previously beaten. Is it the wide variety of the gameplay? meaning each playthrough is pretty different. Is optional ways to play (Different Class? or Race)? Is it trying to improve a win ratio you have, to see if you can win more often, now you have won once?

11

Early Dev / Miner Prototype

« on: January 22, 2013, 07:51:46 PM »

Latest Build
1/27/13

Controls:
Move = Arrows or WASD
R = Reset

so on weekends I usually goof around with small game prototypes and I made this. You basically drive around a vehicle collecting gems and mining. You have an energy meter and can refill the meter by buying more energy at the little green box with crystals. there is really nothing to it yet, you don't die at zero as you should and there is no other areas to explore (Use space to reload the level). Just thought I might ask what you guys think. I might extend it into a full game. Not sure yet.

if I do extend it you would probably go from asteroid to asteroid mining. each move costs 1 energy and each rock costs 3 and the asteroids would probably get larger and with scarcer gems. and maybe a shop to help the player.

12

Traditional Roguelikes (Turn-based) / Dungelot

« on: January 22, 2013, 04:53:35 PM »

Hey guys I had a friend tell me about this game called Dungelot

Web Version

I really don't want this to devolve into a "Is this a Roguelike" conversation. Lets just call it a fun game and then everyone can be happy. Its has a lot of interesting design choices, though.

1. The level exploration idea is great, it reminds me of Desktop Dungeons.
2. Shop items (Hearts and Swords) are the same price and each purchase increases the overall cost, making shopping a little more compelling.
3. Consuming spells for HP instead of potions is a good idea too.
4. Finding your stash on levels you previously died on and getting the monetary value is a cool idea, plus gives a sense of progression as the player realizes they made it as far as they did last game.
5. Works great on my iPad.

13

Early Dev / Hunter RL.

« on: December 05, 2012, 03:43:08 AM »

Hey guys,

I threw this together Sunday and Monday, after I finished a prototype for forest generation. This is a SUPER early build, but it gives you a good idea of what I wanted. Hoping for a 7DRL. I still dont have a good name so that will change, It will have something to do with winter and probably of Viking origin.

Premise:
You are part of an guard that protects small villages from the dangerous beasts that lurk in the woods. there is a new monster and you must destroy it.



Currently you can walk around and kill enemies. the enemies are all the same just with random sprites which don't really fit the snow exterior. Mushrooms heal you 5. There are 3 Weapons Axe, Sword, and Staff.

Staff - when striking will also hit one behind.
Axe - also Strikes Behind you in an attack
Sword - attacks the two diagonals also

Try it

Goals:
This idea started as an experiment in character building. using assigned skills and traits to tell a backstory. so the idea I had was 3 "Heroes" are generated with different weapons, skills, and traits. one must be selected to defeat the beast in the woods. from that I hope to do something simple. No equipment, so the player is basically taking these heroes on a quest.

A characters story will be told through their traits (these will also effect their stats)

Example Traits:

Old One      ( -2 Max Health )
Herb-wise   ( better chance of finding herbs and mushrooms )
Wolf Bane   (Does Double damage to Wolves )
Wolf Dread  ( Takes Double Damage from Wolves )
One-Eye      ( -1 Max Health )
Wood Brat   ( Gain +2 Health from mushrooms )

I am hoping to use these to define a character and I want to weight them so they go together for specific themes

So a character with Wolf Dread, One-eye, and Wood brat. probably lost that eye to a wolf, hence the fear of them. of course their will be a better explanation then I have here for each trait. hopefully fleshing that out more.

And finally I hope to actually make the enemies interesting. I think Wolves will be the basic grunts and then from there I will create enemies that each do specific things like a Ranged class, perhaps one who buffs. I want the Enemies to have very specific purposes and feel unique. We will see though.

Any and all feedback is welcome.

14

Programming / Need some Help with small Maps

« on: November 28, 2012, 03:17:27 AM »

Hey guys so I am trying to figure out a way to build pretty small maps, but still get some curves and pillars in them.

My level is basically 10x8 tiles with a tile border around it. I want an entrance on the left and an entrance on the right. A good example might be something similar to Zaga-33 levels. I have no problem building rooms that are all connected, but I dig them out similar to caves. My current Process is

1. Start with a map of walls
OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOO

2. Pick entrance and Exit
OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOO#
OOOOOOOOOO
#OOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOO

3. Pick Center and connect there
OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOO####
OOOOOO#OOO
#######OOO
OOOOOOOOOO

4. Dig out surrounding area
OOOOOOOOOO
OO#O#O####
OO######OO
#######OOO
OOOOOOOOOO

so this was the basic thing I used before and although it gives nice caves and always has connections, It doesnt have a lot of pillars which I was thinking might be nice for a more strategic combat. I am not a great programmer and I am using my usual Flash, so Any basic steps I could take to maybe fix this?

Maybe Locking certain Walls that are next to the original Path, so they can not be dug out?

15

Programming / Procedural Plot

« on: October 31, 2012, 03:00:30 PM »

Hey guys. I am thinking about ways to create a Procedural Plot for use in an upcoming game. I want the plot to be something similar to what you see in small JRPGs ,Zeldas, and Original D&D Modules.

"an Evil has arisen you must get a mcguffin to help you defeat it."

Has anyone done anything similar? The basic idea I have is:

1. Generate Main Character ( Class, Look, Starting Place)
2. Generate an Evil Monster ( Monster and Area of location)
3. Generate a Mcguffin (Based off evil monster and main character)
     Ex. If the Monster is the Evil Yeti and the Character is a barbarian then the Mcguffin is the Flame Sword
4. Build a world with 3 areas. (Starting area, Boss Area, Mcguffin Area)

So think it could work? this is obviously pretty basic and will require some extra stuff to make it seem actually interesting.