Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines

I am happy to hear the UI is getting better.

I hope cutscenes are gonna fly after I add some artwork. I was debating for a long time if I should have any story at all, because I knew if I start, then I am going to have a lot of it, especially at the start of the game.

I don't really feel the concept

That's ok, thank you for trying it out anyway.

It could work with proper setup

I hope the gameplay is going to have more depth/variety after I add side objectives.

higher difficulty make the possible flaws more obvious.

I am interested what those possible flaws are. Even if you think your feedback is not meaningful, I really appreciate it.

If you look how search algorithm work, the execution time will be wildly different depending on how early it will enter the correct path. Same could be said here. You either are able to explore the whole dungeon in the time limit or you might be shit out of luck. Last demo it was very easy to finish all dungeons, but this time (starting with the demo day seed) in 3 runs I only found a single bedroom, so you can see where I'm going with this - the balance might be shaky if it's dependant on an arbitrary time limit.

Assuming I understand anything about the game at all, improving it could be done the systems way or level design way.

Timer might not be an instant game over, but just applying penalties/making the dungeon harder (or the other way around, giving bonuses for fast finish).

Level design way would be removing the single point of failure of not being able to find the objectives. It could show you where the objectives are (like from behind bars), but player still has to be able to find and reach the entrance. You could also take a tighter experience approach of removing most exploration towards focusing on platforming.

(+1)

I think I understand what you mean, but I think a lot of those things are already solved by Navigation Abilities (radars, x-ray vision, door sensing), as well as taking different exploration strategies.

in 3 runs I only found a single bedroom

Template "Baby Steps Day 1 - 3"  only has one path, and 3 heart rooms connected to that path, example pic below:

The fact you say you only found one heart room in those 3 runs is actually quite amazing given how unlikely it is.

If I misunderstood you, and by

(starting with the demo day seed)

you meant, you used the cheat code I gave, then yes the dungeons were harder than last time, because the cheat code advances ingame days, which also put you on harder dungeon templates, so sorry if I wasted your time explaining the beginner template above .

Time limit can also be increased directly by using Time Limit seals, or indirectly by using Seals that make exploration faster, easier, or narrow down where you need to go.

As for the instant game over, if running out of time was not a game over, I think the game would become too easy, and push players towards slowly collecting all coins and chests inside dungeon even after the time is up.

I still have some systems planned, which are going to change balance in future. On one hand there is going to be a skill tree, with passive upgrades  to make things easier the more you play, but on the other hand I am also going to introduce many side objectives, which are going to make things harder.

I see, that makes sense.

I still can't wrap my head around that while playing. I looked into seals, and it had already all the time limit increases. I also gave it another try. It didn't go well. Basically one whole side of the dungeon was empty, and despite trying to speedrun it the time run out some distance into the second wing before I managed to find anything. Is one of the wings always supposed to be optional? Is it possible to determine that before wasting time?

it had already all the time limit increases

You can unlock more Seals at The bathroom. As far as Positive Time Seals go, there are 11 (you start with 3).

As for your dungeon generation, it really depends on what templates you are playing on. Different Seals are more important on different templates.

Template descriptions are visible on loading screen, break room, and template tooltip in hub area.

You're talking about empty wings, so I guess you must be talking about either "Loop", or "Two Paths" templates.

Loop example:

Heart Rooms in Loop template can connect to either green path, orange, or both, so in theory, you could reach the Magic Mirror without ever seeing heart rooms, but that means to get there was just one room after the other, with every room just having 2 doors. On the other hand if you found them before you got them, you can easly narrow down your search later, as in you can decide if you can ignore one half of the dungeon. It's actually one of the easier templates.

Two Paths example:

That one is harder, because all Hear Rooms appear in one branch. If you take the green path, you would need to backtrack through it, and eventually find a room with 3 doors on the other path (the only room besides the room before magic mirror room with 3 doors). If you went with the orange path, you would need to remember which was the room you passed with 3 doors, and go back there after finding the mirror.

Is it possible to determine that before wasting time?

Navigation Seals help with that a lot. Radars, compasses, and x-ray vision can help determine which path to take often from the start of the dungeon. Door Sense ability helps in figuring out those rooms with extra doors even if you cannot see the.

Then there is of course familiarizing yourself with templates (some room types appear on different templates, paths, and branches).

Of course if you would like to try to get better at the game, I would advise to play from the start, without using the cheat code, because harder templates appear on later days.

It's also better to exit dungeons before time runs out. You don't have to finish all objectives every run.

I am happy to answer your questions, even though I feel like I am spoiling a lot. What seals you unlock is random, but can be narrowed down by what seal types you need. Different playstyles come to play depending on your unlocks, and what templates you get e.g. navigation seals are very important on e.g. Maze template, but pretty useless on Snek template.

I think I figured it out. I might have not added any guests. After adding a goblin there was a mirror, but the one heart I found was fucked up (probably not enough guests?). I really think those should be set by default, because the same happened to me last DD. This time I just had a bigger brainfart.

oh, if you play from the start (day 0) unlocking goblins is actually explained in the story now. As for the other hearts with no guests, chances are there were not for goblins, but for e.g. kobolds.

If you interact with a heart, you can check its requirements.

The way heart rooms work is not checking what you unlocked and spawning that, but spawning what was meant to spawn, and then showing players what they need to unlock.

If you play from the start day 0 is going to have no guests at all (reception not unlocked). After that, you are going to be able to unlock female goblins, and you are going to have guaranteed 3 days with goblins. From day 4 other guest types might be required to have any guests show up.