"The Artistic create solutions to problems, and when there are none, create problems to make solutions for."

  • flavour text on the Artistic tab of the skill tree

The Games Foxes Play

(complete source code - mirror | view all previous posts | play 0.4.3 online in browser on itch.io!)

I am reaching the negative side of the perfect sine function that characterizes my level of discipline in relation to time since I started. I would like to take a moment to equally celebrate and blame the hard work of the DCSS developers for making their latest "Talisman" rework way too awesome and siphoning away the limited free time I can afford to spend in front of a screen.

That being said, I have done a few things.

I think I will be stepping away from the "traditional roguelike" ethos for a little bit - by reducing the random generation and trying to make a single level that is fun to play before trying to add variation to it. This project has went through about 12 identity crises in the last year, and needs to narrow itself down to a single root.

In this spirit, I will now be focusing on making one level, centered around the very cool Epsilon serpent boss I showcased a few months ago, with a predetermined structure and predetermined enemies. The "Soul Cage" now acts as a teleporter pad, granting access.

So, the plan is this. Place cool foes around this map from the pool I have already made (including Epsilon), let the player craft some interesting Axioms (spells) to explore the core game mechanic, and basically put them in a simple 5 minute challenge to go beat the giga-robot snake. If it's fun and it works, there will be plenty of opportunities to expand the formula and return to a more diversified experience.

This will allow me to actually push a new version to itch.io (the current one is starting to get very old), and to actually stop with the sprawling mental daydreams and endless void-staring that gets nothing done.

I am feeling frustrated and utterly confused as to how any indie game ever actually gets made, especially by hobbyists who have to depend on a main time-consuming income source. It feels like I am stuck in a "two steps forward, one step back" loop - yes, there is progress overall, but the slowness of it is painful.

Despite all this, I can say without doubt that this entire ordeal has taught me so, so much about intrinsic motivation, far beyond just technical know-how.