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A jam submission

The Eternal DuelView game page

Solo Rogue-lite Duelist Journaling Game
Submitted by Haunted Picnic (@StuartH_VA) — 18 days, 15 hours before the deadline
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The Eternal Duel's itch.io page

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Comments

Submitted(+1)

Looks great and I love the roguelite + fighting game idea! Big fan.

Submitted(+1)

Congratulations on the game! I really like the sword upgrading component.  Oh, and Shatter Frame seems incredibly difficult to defeat!

Submitted(+1)

So I've yet to sit down and play this but I'm already impressed by what you've got going. First of all, you've done more with less when it comes to style and tone which is easier said than done. Brite Palette has already highlighted the collection of forsaken souls you will be fighting against as well as the illustration on the front page, however the piece of prose at the beginning is the cherry on top for me. The layout follows the same path, everything is easy to read and follow, however it feels like its continuing the style and tone set out by the illustration and writing. I don't really know how to describe it other than it feels right.

The mechanics are simple which is perfectly fine for a solo RPG, especially a one page solo RPG. However I feel like the enemies could have been given some more variety to their behavior, especially the three dice enemies. Maybe there could have been different behavior tables such a 'cautious' table which leans towards parrying and defense, a cunning table which prefers to parry, etc. Then again, this would add another dice roll that might not be needed (an enemy that can only attack will just attack regardless of behavior) , and I feel it would be difficult to add without impacting the layout negatively.

Still I like what I'm seeing here and I can't really think of many complaints or issues after a read through.  I can't think of anything else to say other than this an excellent entry to the Jam.

Developer(+1)

Thanks Tableplant, really appreciate such kind words. I'm really glad that it was easy to follow in a flowing sort of way, that's always my hope (and aim) when making games. I agree the addition of  behaviors at the very least for the 3 dice enemies would be help make it a better or engaging journaling game. 
Seems like I will definitely be revisiting and touching up this game~! (in a good way!) hehe

Submitted(+1)

I really like what you have here, it's something that I caught on to right away. And with one illustration and some deftly chosen enemies you set the stage for this world. You did something that others haven't routinely thought about for this Jam - you let the lightest part be the world and characters which leaves the players plenty of imaginative space to dictate their journaling. Many other left it open in the rules, but you swept that away and left us with something very clean. 

I can see what M. Kirin in saying, For rock paper scissor to work and not interrupt the immersion of the player it has to feel a certain way. What may be also true is...maybe you don't need block? Maybe block becomes something else like, "Charge" or "Gather Strength" so you can really BOOM your next attack, or your enemy can too. The issue there would be - what if you enemy just keeps doing it? You'd need something along the lines of what they mentioned where they wouldn't be able to choose that one the next turn or something. Thinking about this as I write, it seems that having what they do set IS the best way forward for the enemies. You may even be able to do that based on the weapon. What if Pokers ALWAYS attacked? 

But that's the smoothing portion of things, and as long as you're willing to re-work it I think you have a stellar entry. You're always miles ahead of others, so I hope you're feeling really good about what you've created.

Developer(+1)

Thank you soo much! I have been thinking about Block either generating something like rerolls or tiring the enemy // lowering their next roll , but I like charge. And you're onto something with the more specific enemies! Perhapse its more about mastering the weapons being used and knowing that, like you're saying, some ONLY attack. 

If I get some time this year I'd love to come back to it and touch it up! Thanks again for the lovely and helpful comment!

(+2)

First off, this game feels like it was made for me. The tone and setting are perfect. I love the idea of upgrading your weapon as you fight stronger foes. The art choice was sublime. I love the fact that you used icons/symbols, it made the game more visually interesting. You have something really good in here.

As a game designer myself, this system here made my brain think. Again, you have something really good here. That's why I felt the need to offer my honest criticisms. I found myself having trouble playing the game because the rock-paper-scissor intention of the game systems didn't really manifest. I feel like there is a piece of the puzzle missing in order to make everything click into place. At this moment, there is essentially no reason to ever choose block over parry/attack. Playing defensively doesn't advance the game state. Another aspect of the game that aggravates this issue is that foes act randomly. I really wanted to get into the flow of the game, envision my moves against my opponent's, but imagining my character ready to parry only to have the opponent block (or also try to parry) kept throwing me out of the fiction.

I don't know if it would be prudent to offer ideas, but I'll just toss my two cents. Feel free to ignore. In playing, I wondered if maybe having a resource (stamina?) that costs differently depending on what kind of action the player wishes to take would help? An incentive to keep players from playing defensively? As for the randomness of foes, maybe an "AI" table foes follow in order, kind of how bosses in action games have patterns players must learn? Again, just a few thoughts. Nothing more.

It bears repeating: I like what you created here, that's why I've gone out of my way to leave feedback. I would love to see you expand on this concept. Thank you for reading, and thank you for making this game!


Developer(+2)

Thank you soo much for such a thorough review. I really appreciate it!
Yeah the parry vs block thing should have been worked more. I think the idea of stamina is a great idea! 
The A.I table is also an excellent idea. I've never really tried or known where to begin with them but maybe now's the time.

If you have any examples of good like AI table enemies or games, pls let me know! I'd love recommendations :).

 I've heard of card drawing moves with certain games but that's all I know personally. 

Thanks again for the feedback. Fair, constructive and motivating. The best kind imo. 

Thanks M.K ~!