Skip to main content

Browse GamesGame JamsUpload GameDeveloper LogsCommunity
Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines
Drew Harry129 days ago(+1)

Cute and simple concept. I like how this turns “waiting” on its head. Part of what annoys me most in traditional roguelike combat is that there’s this gameyness about who gets the first hit in, and it’s either always the player (if the enemy is melee; you just wait and they come in range then you hit) or the enemy (if the enemy is ranged). I really like how “wait” comes with this risk of what side you’ll roll. Thematic and cool.

Maybe it’s my brain, but I had a hard time predicting/thinking through “oh I want a high pip number (or special pip like ranged), I should make this move then that move and I’ll get what I want and the enemy will be in position.” Maybe there is UI refinement that would make this easier to hold in my head.

The upgrades didn’t always makes sense to me, and some seemed great (ranged, especially) and others I didn’t really get how I’d use.

Reply
jere129 days ago

Thanks for the comment! I feel the same struggle predicting movement sometimes, but also that seems like part of the challenge and I worry that taking it away might trivialize too much of the tactics. Torn on that.

I think I'm OK if the player has to figure out how to best use an upgrade, but I definitely don't want its function unclear.

Could you tell me which ones are confusing (either in function or strategy)? Here are the other pips if it helps?

  • Heal - Heals 1 HP when attacking.
  • Sleep - Puts a full HP monster to sleep for 1 turn per SLEEP pip.
  • Poison - Applies 1 poison per POISON pip when attacking (ticks after monsters act).
  • Shield - Adds 1 shield when attacking. Decays when moving.
  • Blink - Teleports after attacking or being attacked (up to 1 tile away per BLINK pip).
  • Speed - Moving (but not attacking) is free.
Reply
Drew Harry129 days ago(+1)

It’s not that I don’t understand what they’d do mechanically. But when I stare at the list and think “do I want this?” I have different reactions.

Heal – 1 is not a ton, and the way I tend to die is facing big dice that for whatever reason end up on high pips and I don’t feel like I die much to 1s and 2s. Plus if heal is on a lower number, often the way I’ll get it to trigger is by having to take damage. So the way heal is valuable is if (1) I’m taking small damage regularly, and (2) I can get the heal side up, adjacent to an enemy, and that enemy either will die to my heal side directly OR it does less damage than I’ll heal.

This dynamic is at play with all of them in different ways. How much do I value a shield? Poison? Sleep? The situations where those are impactful are kind of marginal. So I value them a lot less than I value “do more damage.” Which is why I love ranged; it is both intuitive and always straightforwardly good.

Blink and speed feel almost … bad to me. If I was good, they might be powerful. But I’m already struggling to get on the right side, and speed in particular makes that harder to think about. It may be good, but for a new player it contributed to my feeling of “it’s hard to plan moves.”

I see your point about taking away the hardness. I would personally experiment with projecting the pip you would be on in the spaces around you and just see. Sometimes making the mechanical state of the world explicit can reveal deeper strategies faster. Your brain is not doing the basic prediction problem and then is doing deeper strategy. That may not be true. But it could unlock the item issues I’m describing if I can see clearly “oh I could maneuver myself into a state where I could hit poison on that big guy and get away cleanly” and then I value poison a lot more.

Reply
jere128 days ago

Really appreciate the detailed comment.

I'm slightly against trying to display more info because of potential clutter, but you're onto something. One way to solve this would be an undo system so you can just try out moves and see if they work.

I would still need a way to let you see the value of different pips (they're all super powerful but I understand the hesitation to try out something you're unsure on). Maybe some sandbox levels before the game.

Reply
Drew Harry129 days ago

It’s not that I don’t understand what they’d do mechanically. But when I stare at the list and think “do I want this?” I have different reactions.

Heal – 1 is not a ton, and the way I tend to die is facing big dice that for whatever reason end up on high pips and I don’t feel like I die much to 1s and 2s. Plus if heal is on a lower number, often the way I’ll get it to trigger is by having to take damage. So the way heal is valuable is if (1) I’m taking small damage regularly, and (2) I can get the heal side up, adjacent to an enemy, and that enemy either will die to my heal side directly OR it does less damage than I’ll heal.

This dynamic is at play with all of them in different ways. How much do I value a shield? Poison? Sleep? The situations where those are impactful are kind of marginal. So I value them a lot less than I value “do more damage.” Which is why I love ranged; it is both intuitive and always straightforwardly good.

Blink and speed feel almost … bad to me. If I was good, they might be powerful. But I’m already struggling to get on the right side, and speed in particular makes that harder to think about. It may be good, but for a new player it contributed to my feeling of “it’s hard to plan moves.”

I see your point about taking away the hardness. I would personally experiment with projecting the pip you would be on in the spaces around you and just see. Sometimes making the mechanical state of the world explicit can reveal deeper strategies faster. Your brain is not doing the basic prediction problem and then is doing deeper strategy. That may not be true. But it could unlock the item issues I’m describing if I can see clearly “oh I could maneuver myself into a state where I could hit poison on that big guy and get away cleanly” and then I value poison a lot more.

Reply
Drew Harry129 days ago

It’s not that I don’t understand what they’d do mechanically. But when I stare at the list and think “do I want this?” I have different reactions.

Heal – 1 is not a ton, and the way I tend to die is facing big dice that for whatever reason end up on high pips and I don’t feel like I die much to 1s and 2s. Plus if heal is on a lower number, often the way I’ll get it to trigger is by having to take damage. So the way heal is valuable is if (1) I’m taking small damage regularly, and (2) I can get the heal side up, adjacent to an enemy, and that enemy either will die to my heal side directly OR it does less damage than I’ll heal.

This dynamic is at play with all of them in different ways. How much do I value a shield? Poison? Sleep? The situations where those are impactful are kind of marginal. So I value them a lot less than I value “do more damage.” Which is why I love ranged; it is both intuitive and always straightforwardly good.

Blink and speed feel almost … bad to me. If I was good, they might be powerful. But I’m already struggling to get on the right side, and speed in particular makes that harder to think about. It may be good, but for a new player it contributed to my feeling of “it’s hard to plan moves.”

I see your point about taking away the hardness. I would personally experiment with projecting the pip you would be on in the spaces around you and just see. Sometimes making the mechanical state of the world explicit can reveal deeper strategies faster. Your brain is not doing the basic prediction problem and then is doing deeper strategy. That may not be true. But it could unlock the item issues I’m describing if I can see clearly “oh I could maneuver myself into a state where I could hit poison on that big guy and get away cleanly” and then I value poison a lot more.

Reply
AboutFAQBlogContact us
Copyright © 2026 itch corp · Directory · Terms · Privacy · Cookies