Colosseum of Rogues: 7drl 2014, Turn based fighting game COMPLETE

[Vanguard]

Hmm. How do you recommend I tone it down?

I don't know, I barely understand this game.  All I know is that I started using rising dragon every turn on every enemy and I kept winning.

[Vanguard]

I guess the problem is that it has a very fast startup time and it usually stuns people for long enough that you can do it again before the other guy can react.  You want the stun to be long enough that you don't get hit by anything big before your recovery frames end, but not so long that you can do another rising dragon before they can defend themselves.  Or you could come up with some kind of anti-infinite mechanic or do the knockdown thing you mentioned.

Really though, I don't think risky fast startup/long recovery moves translate into turn-based play very well.  The vital reflex factor isn't there.

It would be interesting to see this game's mechanics in situation where the player has multiple opponents.  Crowd control via hitstun could open up a lot of new possibilities.

[deepshock]

Part of the reason I did this is to experiment and find out how to translate these concepts into something they're alien to (like roguelike mechanics), so what you're saying here really, really helps. Thanks, Vanguard! I'll apply your suggestions next time I work on the game.

Alternately, I think I can replace Rising Dragon with a different sort of move that's high risk/high reward, but isn't about fast startup/slow recovery.

When I make a post-7DRL version, I'm adding more playable characters for sure, with very distinct styles, so there's plenty more learning about the transition to turn-based play to come.

[deepshock]

I'm definitely going to do an expansion on this game because there's a consensus on what about it works and what doesn't (given reviews, forum replies and 1-1 feedback).

As such, I'll prioritize fixing the UI, the balance, and the other problems mentioned in that feedback (and I'll rebalance from the ground up, adding a number of original characters).

The balance issues detracted from the fun factor in a big way, so that one is priority #1 for me. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and replied here and in PMs for your input.

I'll either kick some sense into the Rising Dragon move somehow, or replace it outright with a high startup, low recovery, knockback move.