Update 0.3.7: Small Changes

It’s been a long time since my last update.

After leaving my job, I took a fresh look back at my journey as an indie game developer. I realized I’d been buried in work the whole time, rarely pausing to observe and reflect. Having worked as a programmer for years, I’m used to jumping straight into action.

So I decided to take a break during this period. I caught up on games I hadn’t had time to play before, and examined my own game from new perspectives.

As I settled down, my way of thinking gradually shifted, and I began to notice issues I’d overlooked in the past.

I started designing this game based on gameplay first, which resulted in a patchwork of disjointed elements. Each part was developed with its own separate ideas, failing to come together to convey a unified theme. For instance, I originally created story levels for every hero, but the development drifted off course. The storytelling became an end in itself — it neither supported the gameplay nor delivered a compelling narrative, so I eventually cut all story content. Looking back, if I had defined the core vision of the game from the very start, every individual component would have had a clear purpose serving the overall design, and I could have avoided a lot of wasted effort.

That said, I did have a vague concept in mind all along: a party-based roguelike tactical game focused on adventure. What I’m least satisfied with now is how the sense of "adventure" is portrayed. To me, adventure means stepping into the unknown, encountering constant new discoveries, facing dangers and reaping rewards along the way. Level design is where this feeling should shine the most. Unfortunately, the current levels are far from polished and fail to deliver that adventurous vibe. The problem is not a lack of content, but insufficient interaction between different elements and other gameplay systems, as well as poor pacing and structure in content presentation.

The third major issue lies in the UI, including its visual style and interactive details. My art partner is highly skilled, yet the interface falls short simply because I didn’t prioritize it early on, settling for something that "works". In truth, the UI is an essential part of the game’s overall expression. When it comes to interactions, we need to think from the player’s standpoint, instead of just following the developer’s own logic.

It’s easy to spot flaws in other people’s games. But once you step into the designer’s shoes, you tend to justify every design choice, and end up making decisions that go against players’ intuition. As the old saying goes: You cannot see the true face of the mountain when you are lost in its midst.

Now that I’ve identified these problems, will I keep working on this project?

The answer is yes. I truly enjoy the process of exploring and refining this game, so there is no reason to stop. I will just slow down the pace from now on — observe more, think thoroughly, and start developing only after I have a clear plan.

Of course, the first step is to solve the 3 issues mentioned above.

I’ve also been considering whether to start a brand-new game.

There is a well-known opinion that your first ten games will always be rubbish, so you should abandon them and move on to new projects. I agree that works made by beginners are inevitably rough around the edges. However, what matters more is gaining valuable insights from every attempt. Otherwise, even your eleventh game will not turn out any better. It is like exploring a dungeon: you can only find rare treasures if you venture deep inside. If you never go beyond the first floor, you will only ever come across common loot.

For this reason, I have no intention of starting over.

After all, the gradual exploration itself is exactly the kind of "adventure" I am after.

Optimization

-Rolling stone will no longer change direction randomly upon hitting terrain

From the start, I intended this to be a game with pre-random, where all random elements are determined when levels are created. A few exceptions remained as post-randomn, such as the rolling stone.

I have long hesitated whether to remove this mechanic. Now I’ve made up my mind: features that disrupt strategic predictability are best left out.