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[Gregory]

I just released a Flash game called Necropolis.  This is the first game I've released in years, and I'm really excited. 


Play Necropolis.

It's a steampunk-themed combat-less dungeon-crawler.  The game was, in part, the game I learned Actionscript 3/Flash on, so it's a bit shaky... but I know I can do even better with the next one.

One thing that should be of specific interest to Tigers is that I've actually had a pretty decent sponsorship bid on the game.  I'm not sure if I should disclose the exact amount, but if you divide it by the number of hours I spent on the game, it comes out to more than minimum wage! And that's before ad revenue.

So, yeah, I'd appreciate folks letting me know what they think.  And let me know if you have any questions about the creation or sponsorship process.

10-18-2008: Updated with tweaks and bugfixes.

[Reiss]

Impressive.

I wish the trap disarm worked more than like...  30% of the time, though.  A lot of the time it felt like it was just safer to walk on top of the spikes and test my Dodge skill.

[team_q]

One caveat, you cant turn on a square, you can only move using a backwards forwards rocking motion, which is weird, and makes it hard to position yourself.

Other issues:
It sucks disarming flame gout traps because you can get hit from any angle.

I have experienced slow down a couple times where the game play freezes but the music still plays.

Why would anyone use the negative modifier clothing?

It feels weird that getting gold in a chest is a bad thing, because it prevents you from having nessisary health tonics and tools.


FINAL STATS:

Code:

Equipment:
Head: Nothing.
Body: Apron Dress (Health +1)
Hands: Gardening Gloves (Disable +1)
Head: Sensible Boots (Dodge +2, Detect +3)

Inventory:
Patented Health Tonics: 0
Disposable Tools: 7

Gold Collected:
733

Level Reached: 7

Third time around I didn't bother trying to disarm any traps, it seemed to work out pretty well.

Code:

FINAL STATS:

Equipment:
Head: Shiny Derby (Disable +1, Detect +3)
Body: Sturdy Pantsuit of Science! (Health +8)
Hands: Heavy Work Gloves of Excelsior! (Health +8)
Head: Patent Leather Pumps of Distinction (Dodge +4, Detect +2)

Inventory:
Patented Health Tonics: 0
Disposable Tools: 74

Gold Collected:
3584

Level Reached: 20

[Gregory]

I wish the trap disarm worked more than like...  30% of the time, though.  A lot of the time it felt like it was just safer to walk on top of the spikes and test my Dodge skill.

Given equal skill, it's always easier to disarm than dodge.  I debated disarm difficulty (alliteration +5 points) quite a bit; too easy, and during testing I found myself alternately cruising through trap rooms and being totally out of tools.  Too hard, and, well, you might as well just test your Dodge skill.  I think I erred on the side of difficulty.

One caveat, you cant turn on a square, you can only move using a backwards forwards rocking motion, which is weird, and makes it hard to position yourself.

I found that constraint made it feel more puzzley, which I liked, but it's a matter of taste.  You're right that it's totally arbitrary and unrealistic.

Why would anyone use the negative modifier clothing?

You gotta have cursed equipment in a dungeon crawler.  In later levels, prefix and suffixes can make it so you can have, for example, -1 Dodge +4 Detect, which is an interesting tradeoff.

It feels weird that getting gold in a chest is a bad thing, because it prevents you from having nessisary health tonics and tools.

It's a deep commentary on the futility of our capitalist values. No, really it's because gold is the scorekeeping mechanism of the game.  I tried to balance the difficulty so that you never had a drastic surplus of tonics and tools; every leaf room without a big chest or lever has at least one small chest, and there's a set percentage chance for tonics, tools, or gold.  I was aiming for making the game hard, but I don't think it's as hard as the roguelikes that inspired it.

[team_q]

Maybe if you use a tool you still have a chance to dodge. Right now, it seems to make more sense to max dodge and ignore trap disarmament. Though this might make it easier, but I found the game to be pretty easy, so maybe if you decrease the chances as a whole.

I dunno, otherwise its pretty fun.

[Gregory]

Maybe if you use a tool you still have a chance to dodge. Right now, it seems to make more sense to max dodge and ignore trap disarmament.

Maybe... although that means that the optimal strategy would be to max dodge anyway, and try to disarm every trap as well, since it couldn't possibly hurt.  Dodge would still be a dominant stat.  Hmm.  It's a tough problem.

[azeo]

Fun game, got to about level 19. And, I agree, disarm seems to be a bit underpowered.