Roguelike Radio Episode 76: Dungeonmans
Jul 17, 2013
Jim Shepard, the creative mind behind Dungeonmans and a former AAA developer, dives into the tactical world of roguelikes. He shares the interesting journey of Dungeonmans, from its XNA origins to the challenges of resuming development. Brian Jeffers, an advocate for niche roguelikes, joins the conversation, exploring the balance of class rules and player freedom. They discuss the engaging Academy mechanics, where progression persists between runs, and the cheeky humor inspired by tabletop games. Get ready for insights into indie development and crowdfunding!
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Episode notes
Academy Balances Persistence And Roguelike Roots
- The Academy idea grew from wanting a home base and became a thematic way to persist progress between graduates.
- Jim intentionally designed the Academy to be optional so players can still play traditional single‑run roguelikes.
Preserve Risk With Selective Persistence
- Offer one‑time persistent rewards (like set pieces) that future characters can use to preserve roguelike risk/reward.
- Use museum/display mechanics to let players transfer specific valuable finds without breaking core item permanence.
Focus Beats Feature Creep During Kickstarters
- Jim prioritizes focused, demonstrable weekly improvements during the Kickstarter rather than sprawling feature creep.
- He aims to pick additions that clearly make Dungeonmans more interesting to current players.
