Hello everyone! Hope your holiday festivities are going well. :)
We can't believe that it's already been nearly two months since we released DemonCrawl on Steam - what a wild ride!
We've been eager to write this blog post for a while now, but we needed a good opportunity to catch our breath and organize some of our thoughts. We finally got the chance.
History
Let's kick this off by providing some background about DemonCrawl's development:
We had the idea for DemonCrawl about 5 years ago when we were watching Path of Exile streamer Kripparrian discuss his love of minesweeper. It suddenly occurred to us that the mechanics of minesweeper would translate very well to the progression-based framework of an ARPG.
As time went on, we refined our ideas, but had trouble adapting some ARPG mechanics to DemonCrawl. Eventually we got addicted to indie darling Nuclear Throne and realized that the roguelite genre was a much better fit for our project.
The thing to know about minesweeper is that it has a component of risk management that sets it apart from many other puzzle games. We like that. The fact that it is statistically impossible to win every round is not a mark of bad design. In a game of chance, the goal is to maximize your average winrate over time through pattern recognition and a solid grasp of probabilities - Poker is another good example of this sort of game.
In our opinion, the luck factor is the main reason why minesweeper lends itself so well to the roguelite genre.
The element of chance is what gives items their meaning. When a board is 100% solvable, the optimal method of play is to ignore all items, coins, health pickups, etc, because they only slow you down; solvable boards demote loot to an unnecessary crutch, only retaining their value to those who don't yet understand how to approach the various patterns in minesweeper.
On the other hand...
Since its launch, DemonCrawl has been showcased by many awesome YouTubers and variety streamers, the reception to which has been incredibly positive and enthusiastic, beyond our wildest expectations.
We cannot express how grateful we are for all your support - just know that we strive to return the favor by continuing to develop our game in a direction that excites most players. Not with crap microtransactions, but with quality content and engine improvements.
We were certain that DemonCrawl was going to be received as a niche product, but it turns out that many people who had no prior interest in minesweeper ARE interested in our game. And for some of those players, the element of chance is a big source of frustration - we can understand why.
After giving it some thought, we believe we have come up with a solution that will alleviate the frustration without infringing on our core design principles...
Casual Mode
We are planning to introduce a new Casual difficulty that fundamentally alters the DemonCrawl formula. While this mode will be aimed at beginners, we expect that players of all skill levels may find it enjoyable from time to time.
Here is our current vision for Casual Mode:
- All boards 100% solvable without guessing.
- No omens from chests. (We recognize that this chance-based feature is another dealbreaker for some players.)
- Ongoing, experimental changes (such as a stage mod blacklist) that seek to eliminate any aspect of gameplay perceived as stressful.
In short, Casual Mode will provide a new, relaxing way to enjoy DemonCrawl while retaining some sense of progression as you venture through the 5 quests.
We don't have a timetable for this feature yet, but it is definitely a high priority.
The interesting thing about solvable minesweeper boards is that, as far as we understand, you can't generate them programmatically. You have to generate a regular board at random, then use an algorithm after-the-fact to determine if the board is solvable. If not, throw it out and try again.
What about Tokens?
Another common criticism we've seen is that of Token acquisition. We have a somewhat mixed view on Tokens. If you disagree with any of the points we're about to outline below, feel free to comment with your thoughts - we are absolutely open to constructive criticism.
Presently, our view is that 1) earning Tokens is too slow in the early game, and that 2) many cosmetics are a bit too expensive.
However, we feel that the prices of gameplay-related unlocks are actually quite reasonable. We can't help but notice that most of the critical feedback we've received in regard to Tokens has not accounted for numerous methods of acquisition, such as:
- Daily Missions unlocked at level 25.
- 10x Tokens every 10 levels.
- Around 15,000 XP worth of achievements.
- Prestige bonuses that increase level-up rewards from [1-3] to [4-6] Tokens.
- Daily Hero Trial worth 10 Tokens after Hard Mode.
- Rare chance to find Mega Tokens worth 10-30 Tokens.
It's also important to mention that Masteries are one of the only Token purchases that have any impact on gameplay. Each Mastery costs 60 Tokens, but they are split into 3 Tiers, meaning you don't need to acquire or spend all of the Tokens at once.
Cosmetics, on the other hand, are probably in need of a price reduction. Holographs and Inventories are 100 Tokens a pop, and while we do like to think of them as "luxury items," there are many to collect, and we plan to introduce many more. A better pricing model is in order here.
Also, we definitely recognize that earning Tokens in the earlygame can be a bit difficult sometimes. Leveling up relies on completing stages, which is a tough task if you don't have a Mastery or much experience with minesweeper.
We think Casual Mode will help with this to some extent, but we're brainstorming other ways of aiding new players with their Token funds. One idea we're toying with right now is providing ~30 Tokens for completing the Tutorial.
Speaking of which...
Better learning tools
Since we were convinced that DemonCrawl would only appeal to minesweeper veterans, we spent as little time as possible constructing the tutorial.
Players have been quick to point out that there are all kinds of wild mechanics in DemonCrawl--as well as minesweeper fundamentals like chording--that aren't mentioned in the tutorial. We're going to fix that, probably by splitting it up into multiple missions.
We are also looking to improve the various tooltips shown in the Help interface. If you come across any language that seems unclear or vague, please let us know and we'll work to refine it.
Bonus FAQ
Before we go, we want to quickly address a few more questions we see popping up a lot in the forums and on Twitch streams:
Will DemonCrawl be ported to other platforms?
We are aiming to port DemonCrawl to Switch, Mac, Linux, iOS, and PS4 in due course, but nothing's official yet. We're hoping that we can make 1 or 2 of those ports happen in 2020.
Can I download the OST somewhere?
A lot of the music in DemonCrawl is royalty-free material and as such we're not 100% confident if we can distribute a standalone soundtrack. However, all of the audio files are accessible through localappdata after you install the game.
Are you going to add microtransactions to the game?
No.
Much love,
Eric at Therefore Games