Hello Hellraisers!
Huge gameplay update incoming:
The ‘Wit’ mechanic is gone, the game format is switching to a one-life roguelike experience, and one last thing – it’s hecking awesome!
The novel ‘wit’ mechanic, where the character with the highest wit in the trade wins the insult (à la Top Trumps), was interesting enough but still somewhat in its infancy. There is always a risk when creating new mechanics that the player won’t immediately understand them, and this particular set up left players feeling dejected if they couldn’t work out how to raise their wit efficiently. While I still have faith in the original mechanics, I think they are better suited to casual gaming rather than the more hardcore experience I’m intending to create.
So what is replacing wit? Instead of dealing damage if your wit is higher, attacks now have specific damage values that work without fail (in most cases). It was very limiting having around 5 health points to work with, so health totals have been upped significantly to make ability balancing an easier task. This makes the game more accessible, enjoyable, and recognizable to fans of the genre. Classes will no longer have one special move and three generic abilities (attack, defend and pass) - instead, they will be themed around mechanics suited to their aesthetic, such as a Character Assassin who has devastating insults, or a People Pleaser fitting the role of team healer.
Instead of pre-assigned levels that are posed as sorts of puzzles, the new gameplay can be better described as a roguelike, requiring you to think on the fly and come up with strategies as you go, reactively adapting to the enemies you face. This gives the game a lot more longevity and replayability and empowers players, giving them free reign to choose their own strategies, discovering the best combinations of abilities and characters, rather than shoehorning them into one solution that they have to find in order to complete a level. Much better!
The game aesthetic remains largely the same – slanging matches, roast fests, flame wars. Rather than taking place in the stuffy Regent Era, the game is now set in modern day and the insults won’t be quite as flowery (though still nothing explicit). Don’t worry – you’ll still be able to disrespect the hell out of your foes whilst applying other manipulation tactics – intimidate, horrify, doubt, charm and guilt your opponents to victory!
Thanks for all your feedback. I’m always looking to hear from players so if you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know in the Discord.
Cheers,
Maybe Later Games