Recently we sat down with our Creative Director and the Lead Game Designer of ENDLESS™ Dungeon to talk about the First Run OpenDev and the feedback we got, and answer some of your burning questions. Of course, not everybody can make it to a live stream, so our little chat is now available as a video on demand to watch at your leisure.
If you want a quick idea of what we discussed, here’s a summary of some of the most important questions:
What do you think about the First Run OpenDev and the feedback we received?
We think the First Run went quite well. People were really excited to try the game and gave us a lot of great feedback. Of course, the first time you let players try your game is always a bit scary, because suddenly the game is no longer just your project. This was especially true with ENDLESS™ Dungeon, because while we take inspiration from Dungeon of the ENDLESS™, some core elements like direct control of your heroes and timed waves of enemies are big departures. These changes may feel counter-intuitive at first glance, but when you play the game, it just clicks for us, and it seems many players agree. Nonetheless, the balance of tactics and action is crucial for this game, and we’re still working to hit that sweet spot, so all the discussions about this are great feedback for us.
Some players were concerned about the pressure created by the timed waves. They felt rushed rather than taking time to think. How do you plan to address that?
To be honest, we don’t plan to go back to the purely door-based waves like in Dungeon of the ENDLESS™. The timed waves are important for the pacing of ENDLESS™ Dungeon, as they create tension and a rhythm between quiet planning and frantic action. However, the time between waves isn’t determined just by a clock ticking down; the actions you take when exploring the dungeon also affect the time until the next wave arrives. This should keep a good balance between action and time for exploration, but we are still refining this pacing.
In the First Run OpenDev, you only had a few different turrets you could build. How do you plan to keep the game tactical?
Where you place which turrets may be a big part of your strategy in ENDLESS™ Dungeon, but it’s not the only important tactical decision to make. Your important decisions already start with which doors you open: Can you perhaps funnel enemies into a well-prepared defensive position? Can you afford to open a side path looking for rewards, even if it might weaken your defenses? Then you also have to consider your economy. At first you might always favor industry for the ability to quickly build more turrets, but in the full game the individual runs will be longer than in the OpenDev, so you have to think about the long-term benefits of leveling up your heroes or researching new turrets. That said, we’re also working to improve the gameplay around turrets, especially early in the run. It should be a little easier to unlock new turrets in the future, and you will be able to simply replace existing turrets, so won’t have to hold back building your defenses.
Speaking of doors and defensive positions, some players missed the ability to manage your power like in Dungeon of the ENDLESS™. What are your plans for dark rooms?
While dark rooms and power management felt like a core part of the Dungeon of the ENDLESS™ experience, and we take a lot of inspiration from the previous game, they are a feature we weren’t sure we could add to ENDLESS™ Dungeon at first. Shifting your power on the fly just did not mesh well with the direct control and more action-packed core loop of ENDLESS™ Dungeon. It wasn’t until we tried making the decision permanent that things fell into place: You might not frantically redirect power in a tight spot anymore, but you have to plan your route and which rooms you need to power for resources or defense all the more carefully, as you won’t be able to recover your crystal shards once spent.
However, given the danger to your crystal bot when collecting them, powering a single room did not feel like an appropriate use of a crystal shard. So we will add Dust as a separate resource for powering rooms and found in various containers throughout the dungeon, while crystal shards will still need to be collected by your bot and are used to unlock upgrades. This means we can have more dark rooms, but powering them will still be permanent and Dust is still a limited resource, so you will have to choose carefully. And we may even have some surprises in store...
This should cover the most common questions, but we discussed several other topics during the stream as well, like balancing and progression or quality of life improvements, so be sure to check it out when you have the time!