Hell Quest - Dice-Roller/RPG Hybrid by smuttlewerk interactive

[smuttlegiaco]

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Hi everyone!

I'm happy to give you a first glimpse of our upcoming game:

Hell Quest

Inspired by the "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri, a 13th century classic, this game is a blend of skill and chance. Anyone interested in learning more about this cultural treasure should visit this great site featured by the university of Texas at Austin.

We used rules from the poular dice game "10000", also known as "Farkle", modified them, added a pinch of smuttlewerk to it - et voila: a dice-rolling-roleplaying game emerged! It took us long months to come to the point where we were satisfied with what we show you now. If you had seen the first prototypes of the game (based around a lusty Succubus) - we ourselves couldn't have foreseen what the game is about now.

Players will fight their way through the circles of hell, battling demons and sinners and collecting beautifully crafted special dice by fighting the guardians of the different circles. Each boss has 2 special dice and one very-rare die. All of these can only be obtained by defeating the boss. The dice for each boss all look differently and have special values, like, for example, two symbols on one side.

Before anyone asks: of course you will have the chance to test your skills against Lucifer himself!

Here's a quick info on how the game works:

You have 8 dice on your hand. If you cannot choose a die worth points, your turn ends and your score is reduced to zero. You need to choose at least 1 die to continue rolling. 2 of the 6 sides feature symbols worth 10 points each, the rest of the symbols are only worth points if you have a double. The better the double, the more points you get.

Once you and your enemy have finished their round, points are compared. The difference is the damage received by either you or your enemy.

Skills can be used during combat. You have 3 skills for each character, for instance, "Cross of Healing". Each cross rolled is worth a certain amount of hitpoints, so if you have enough mana you can heal yourself each time your roll features at least one cross. Mana regeneration is higher if you finish your round faster than your opponent. His regeneration will stop completly after a while. This twist gives room for different tactics.

The game will be free to play and universal. No money is needed to play the game, but you can speed up progress by buying premium features or using "Souls" to reduce wait times for certain game mechanics.

In total players will be able to play with 7 different characters: Man of Faith, Protector, Saint, Spiritual Being, Paladin, Prophet and Angel. Each one has 3 attributes (hitpoints, mana regeneration and reserve dice), 3 active skills (Thaumaturgy) and 2 passive skills (Blessing). The maximum level for each character is 70.
The active and passive skills for are unique for each character, so each has a different playstyle.

In the beginning, all circles of hell have 3 basic enemies and one boss. The power of the skills and attributes of your enemies are calculated randomly before each battle.

Multiplayer is planned, but won't make it into the release of the game.

[smuttlegiaco]

Let's begin with your first character: Man of Faith



Active skills:

Cross of Healing
Each cross heals xx hitpoints.

Enfeeblement
The current result of the enemy is reduced by xx.

Elicitation
The current reserve dice of the enemy are lowered by xx.

Passive skills:

Rootage
You receive xx mana for all active skills at the beginning of each battle.

Sanctuary
xx of your result survives if your last throw didn't feature a valid die.


The first battleground:

Inside the Gate of Hell: Cowards

The cowardly souls, those who were neither good enough for heaven nor evil enough for hell, are tormented by vermin and swarms of insects. In the distance you see the Acheron, the boundary river of hell. The ferryman Charon relentlessly transports the souls of the sinners to the opposite bank.

Basic Enemies:


Lukewarm Soul
This one has only one skill, called "The Great Coward", which will reduce damage inflicted to him.


Evil Soul
Evil souls can be mean enemies. They have an attack skill which will instantly reduce your hitpoints.


Insect Swarm
The skill of these little bloodsuckers will replenish their hitpoints every time they inflict damage to you.

Boss:

Charon
Charon is the first boss. He features two skills: an attack skill, just like the evil soul and another one which will reduce the speed with which your dice turn. By slowing you down, he can finish his round before you and thus force you to either loose points by finishing quickly or by getting more mana if you decide to play on.

Here's a screenshot of a battle situation:


As you can see the lukewarm soul was very lucky with his roll. He rolled 5 lightnings, which will give him 150 points once he has selected all of them. At the time I took this screenshot, he has chosen 3, giving him 50 points.

My roll wasn't as lucky. I have 2 skulls and 2 bones, equalling 40 points. If I would continue playing, I'd choose only one die (either skull or bone) and continue rolling, hoping I'll be able to get a double. I still have 3 reserve dice (the number in the lower right), so if I choose on die, my next roll would again be with 8 dice, but my reserve is lowered to 2.


Ok, enough for the first post. The next one will explain some more game mechanics and feature more battle situations.

Have fun and take care!

[undeadcow]

Will this be iPad exclusive or might there be iPhone/iPod compatibility?

[smuttlegiaco]

it's universal. although older devices (iPod4/iPad1) with 256mb won't work.

[undeadcow]

It's unfortunate that this will be free-to-play; there are so many bad freemium models that I'm adversed to it although I'm sure Smuttlework will be fair.

Originally Posted by smuttlegiaco

...It took us long months to come to the point where we were satisfied with what we show you now. ...Multiplayer is planned, but won't make it into the release of the game.

How close are you to release?

[smuttlegiaco]

we plan to release the game in March. perhaps we will also do a test run in some minor markets to check things out and tweak before we go live worldwide.

F2P: as I wrote above, you don't need to pay. paying customers will just grind faster.

[smuttlegiaco]

here's a little video showing my Man of Faith fighting an insect swarm. the graphics aren't final. I've recorded with an iPod in my hand, so the video is a little shaky.


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I'm playing quite fast, but I wanted to show you something today. next time I do a video in slomo!

[BazookaTime]

Looks awesome, I love dice games.

[smuttlegiaco]

thanks BazookaTime!

we pimped the game quite a bit since my last post. It really looks beautiful now. I will post a few screens later this evening or tomorrow.

[BazookaTime]

Originally Posted by smuttlegiaco

thanks BazookaTime!

we pimped the game quite a bit since my last post. It really looks beautiful now. I will post a few screens later this evening or tomorrow.

Awesome...looking forward to this.