Dude, was this game on phuban's livestream at TIGJam when he was walking around showing everyone there? If so, this thing looked glorious.
If not, it still looks good.
I guess it was? It was on his route as he went around the room pointing his laptop at things.
...So, thanks!
Wow, the void looks really pretty.
Maybe, in this version, the void should be more mechanically/story-wise than just a blank space on the map? Maybe you have to build to keep the void from seeping in and destroying the town at the center of the world? Maybe enemies come from portals to the void, and areas farther out are more enemy-infested because they hop right out of the void? It would make building new areas more dangerous, so there's some risk there.
An idea to put some purpose behind the void could be interesting. I don't know what the best way would be to handle such a concept, but I'll definitely keep it in mind.
I suppose even just having strange, void-based enemies seeping into void-adjacent screens would be a pretty neat peril. And an incentive to build.
Really excited that you're still working on this. New art looks really lovely. I'd like to be another voice saying that I really liked the collaborative feel of the original; not sure competition needs to take place.
Well, there would still be a collaborative feel within each team, I'm sure. Nonetheless, noted.
okay so I finally read the stuff. Personally I love the idea of adding a competitive element between players. Perhaps there could be another goal that everyone could be working towards as well, though? Like eventually you'll reach zones that can't be claimed or conquered by any team or something, filled with Terrible Creatures.
Enemies not being able to hurt players in claimed zones seems like it would make a huge area of the area surrounding the spawn places very boring? What if it were a more passive bonus like taking less damage or dealing more, or lower shop prices or something?
Also as far as players surrounding their bases with things only they can surmount, what if there were very expensive or non-base-dungeon-loot one-use items that could be purchased that allowed players to temporarily traverse such obstacles?
Yeah, "enemies don't hurt" isn't really the best of ideas for claimed areas. Those passive ideas would work pretty well, though.
As it is right now, the ultimate goal would be a final dungeon somewhere in the middle of the map, where players aren't allowed to enter until they've conquered the other three teams' dungeons. Were you thinking something more overworld-y, though?
Items that allow players to get past ability-specific obstacles (other than the hammer, which will hopefully work about how it did before) are a thought that I had had, but are also something I'd rather avoid if possible. I don't want them to be able to trivialize the actual abilities, or ruin potentially challenging screens, even if they would be expensive or limited.
...
Alright, here's my current idea for handling different teams/abilities. Let me know if it sounds too ridiculous/confusing:
Each team's players would start off with their team-specific ability, but it would start off very limited. You would initially only be able to use it on screens that have been deemed "cleared", with the treasure placed and opened (by anyone), and all screen exits accessible. The player would get a per-screen indication as to whether he could use the ability. Otherwise, the player only has a dumbed-down version that's just slightly helpful (like, instead of being able to straight-up swim, you would only not take damage from falling in the water).
Upon beating another team's dungeon, you would not only receive their team's ability, but also some power-whatever-thingamajig which you can take back to your temple. Upon returning it to your temple, you (or maybe every member of your team?) earn your upgraded power that you can use anywhere, without limit.
Furthermore, if you bring a second team's power-whatever-thingamajig back to your temple, you get a sweet little bonus addition to your team's ability (maybe something that turns your power into an attack? It'll have to be something worth getting that doesn't alter the game too much). So you sorta build on your team's original ability by conquering others' dungeons, as well as gaining their abilities.
...The drawbacks, of course, are that it's confusing, and not particularly intuitive. You have this unique ability but you're not allowed to use it? What is that? And although the later players will get a smooth ride when everything around their base is already "cleared", there would still be little problems here and there (like going off the edge of a screen while swimming? What if you end up in a non-cleared screen?)
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