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[phoenix26]

I've been working on a prototype for this game for a little while and have to decided to pursue it as a full project, so here's how it stands at the moment:



Spell-Caster is a light/casual RPG with a spelling based combat system. As the player navigates the environments they'll encounter enemies which they'll battle by forming words from a (mostly) random grid of letters. The battles take place in real-time which puts pressure on the player to make words as fast as possible. The levels will be procedurally generated and I'm not sure what the meta-game is going to be at the moment. Different enemies will have different attacks and abilities which may alter the board state. The player will also find new abilities as they progress. A lot of this may change, but that's the general direction anyway.

Much of the art is placeholder (as you can see) since I'm still trying out ideas and working out exactly what this is going to be and how it's all going to work.



Playable Builds:
Windows
Web

I'd really appreciate any and all feedback - even if you don't like it. Want to make this the best it can be so I need all the play-testing I can get.

More screenies:



Thanks for playing/reading and any feedback!

[tgramsus]

I tried the Windows version and I thought it was fun. I liked the main character, could see some interesting stories there.

Notes and questions:
- Are the levels being generated right now? I didn't notice any variations from one level to the next.
- Will the word spelling only affect attacks? I could see it being used for defensive purposes as well. Maybe even for puzzles.
- It can be very easy to avoid enemies. I cleared the stages multiple times in a row without having to fight enemies.

[Highsight]

Did a quick playthrough, here are my thoughts as I played.

======= IN GAME =======

I like the way that items float to me.  It was very smooth and juicy!
The menu tweening effects are nice.
Battle Transition was nice, but I'd rather see the camera change angles and zoom straight in on the player an opponent, instead of move them to a new plane.
  Think Chrono Trigger style battles, but with a camera transition.
An enemy card? Interesting...
First Strike works EXACTLY as I hoped it would.
  It looks like the 2nd enemy was intentionally placed to be first striked?  Well done, that's great conveyance!
Another card!  I know more about how enemies work, very cool.
Bug: A health potion flew out of a defeated enemy and off the map.  The wall did not stop it.
Instant kill words?  AWESOME!
Enemies should no longer drop cards when you have unlocked all their stats.
  BUG: The card won't go away... I can't make it leave the screen, and I can't move.
  Perhaps this is because there is nothing left for it to unlock?
  Can still click potions.
  Had to click the restart button, back at the beginning now...
Potion system feels tacked on.  There must be a better approach to HP management.
  Perhaps certain words, or the use of certain letters during battle can heal you?
  Potions can still be in the game, but make them immediate use instead, have most healing take place during battles.
Enemies are EASILY turned around.
The stats at the end are nice!

======== BATTLE =======
When audio is added, I'd like to see an audio cue before an enemy attacks.
  I know there is a visual cue, but I can't be staring at the timer while I am trying to make a word.
Exit transition is weak.
  Try to make it more like the battle start transition
The shield is a cool idea, I like it!  More things like this!
Try to make it more clear when a word works.
  I see that the button changes colors, but it's not a big change, sometimes it's hard to tell.
  Perhaps don't show the damage a spell will do unless it's a valid word.
"Weak" and "Strong" are strange descriptions.
  What exactly is strong or weak?
  Are my spells strong or weak?
  Is the enemy's resistance strong or weak?
  Consider different descriptors.

[phoenix26]

Awesome! Thanks for the feedback.

@tgramsus
The levels aren't being generated right now. That is a generated level, but it's static until I figure out what makes a fun level/game. I have ideas for other usages for the word creation mechanic, such as opening some doors/healing/generating a shield, etc. The whole avoiding enemies thing is a problem I've noticed cropping up a lot. I need to incentivise the battles, but I'm still thinking about how to best do that.

@Highsight
Thanks for your in depth feedback. Very helpful.
I wanted to keep the battles in the game map, but the problem of getting the actors positioned nicely in the world without clipping and get a camera angle that wasn't obscured by anything was a problem more complex than I was willing to solve at the time. I'm not married to the transition thing, but changing it is a nice-to-have at the moment.
Haha! I can't claim the second enemy placement as designed conveyance, just dumb luck. I do plan to have that sort of teaching later on in the project though, so it's nice to know that'll work
Thanks, for the bug reports! Annoying about the potion and good to know about the card thing. Don't suppose you saw if the potion went over or through the wall?
What do you mean by enemies are easily turned around? Do you mean you can easily lose them?
There will be an audio cue before an enemy attack, but I feel that the visual cues/information isn't strong enough either because the player is focusing on the word grid. Maybe an attack timer bar above the grid?
Yeah, I know "Weak" and "Strong" are poor descriptors. My brain went soggy when writing those Good to know my suspicions about them weren't wrong. I need to find a better way to convey that information entirely, 'cos I don't like how it works now. When there are more than one type of effect happening it all breaks down too

[Highsight]

The potion flew over the wall and into the abyss below.  Adding super high invisible walls above your current walls should solve that problem for ya.

When I said enemies could be easily turned around, I meant you can literally circle strafe around an enemy and they will lose track of you very quickly.  If done correctly, you can approach them from the back, even while they are chasing you.

[phoenix26]

Ah ok. Thanks for clarifying