Descend - Old-School, First-Person, Grid-Based RPG

[geppetto]

Hey all,

My name's Steve J. and I've recently started up my own little solo games house called Geppetto.

I wanted to take a moment to introduce my first major game release for iOS (and likely Android).

The game is called Descend, and I've created it with a very specific audience in mind. Are you someone that loved those old classic RPGs like "Dungeon Master" and "Eye Of The Beholder"? If so, Descend might just be the game for you!

I've worked really hard to get this thing together, and in the process I've actually made the decision to ONLY produce these old-school RPGs under the Geppetto label, so if you're a big fan of these games like I am, you've definitely got some new titles to look forward to!

Descend is in the final days of testing and should be on the App Store within 4 – 6 weeks. Right after that I'm diving into the development of another RPG that's already starting to come together in my head.

In the meantime, let me know about some of your favourite first-person, grid-based RPGs. Why you love them, and some of your favourite moments playing them.

Here's a few Descend screenshots - would love to hear your comments.

[undeadcow]

Looks amazing! Can't wait... good luck with your development studio and future games!

[wilflare]

this game reminds me alot of Doom or Dark Messiah
my interest is piqued

[squarezero]

That looks really great.

[geppetto]

Well that's encouraging so far

I'm going to try and fix up those screenshots when I'm back home later today. They look pretty blurry.

[sofaking]

just beautiful! Will there be physics and or gore?

[undeadcow]

I think this is the first iOS first person dungeon crawler that allows for parties of more than one character; that sounds like a promising design choice.

In the first picture what looks like character portraits seem too cartoonish and generic; I'd suggest making them more realistic and grittier to match the below screens.

[geppetto]

Originally Posted by undeadcow

In the first picture what looks like character portraits seem too cartoonish and generic; I'd suggest making them more realistic and grittier to match the below screens.

That's a really interesting comment; generally, the first thing people praise about the game when I show it to them is the character art

I've always really loved the character portraits. They were done by an excellent 2D artist named David Hattori.

Now you've made me nervous

[geppetto]

Originally Posted by sofaking

just beautiful! Will there be physics and or gore?

There will be neither - this is old-school all the way

Physics don't really have a role in a game like this.

I originally had blood spatters during the combat, but I didn't like that way they looked. I opted for simpler "stagger" and death animations and just some nice impact and "hurt" sounds. The result is good - you'll like it, even without the gore...

[venasque]

The screens look great. I hope you have a lot of success with your start up and your first release.

Originally Posted by geppetto

That's a really interesting comment; generally, the first thing people praise about the game when I show it to them is the character art

I've always really loved the character portraits. They were done by an excellent 2D artist named David Hattori.

I actually like the character art.