Gem Roguelike: August 2021

What happens if you take a classic gem-collecting boulder-dodging action puzzle, make it turn-based, and add in roguelike elements like skills, monsters, and procedurally-generated levels?

This:

This is a prototype (mostly getting game systems working with placeholder or simple art) which I toiled away at for the last 30 days. Currently, it includes almost all the core systems:

• Collect gems, dodge boulders, and make it to the exit without dying
• Environmental elements to avoid, like explosive falling mines and lava pools
• Procedurally-generated levels (five completely different level types)
• Monsters, melee fighting, and two skills: an explosive fireball, and a stopwatch that lets you stop time for five turns.

What's missing? My favourite roguelike element: the ability to spend gems to buy permanent upgrades and unlock new skills.

My current vision is something like a cross between Boulder Dash and Hades. You pick from an assortment of unlocked and upgraded skills, make a run, die, upgrade and pick an entirely different set, and try again. I planned 100 levels across ten different biomes, each with their own unique set of monsters and environmental dangers to deal with.

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