Scavengers Item Pack

Today I present to you the contents of the Item Pack! Feel free to comment and offer suggestions/revisions.

SCAVENGERS ITEM PACK

How do Item cards work?

• Before signature spells are chosen, each player draws 2 item cards from the item card deck.

• Item cards are designed the same way signature spells work, they have a one-time use and then must be discarded (unless otherwise stated on the card).
• When item cards are discarded, they go into the item card discard pile. Every player discards into the same item discard pile.
• During the standoff phase, you may spend 1 energy to draw a new item card. You may only ever have 2 item cards in hand. Thus, if you already have 2 item cards and draw a third, you must pick one of the three to discard so that you are left with only 2 item cards in hand.
• If the item deck is ever depleted, shuffle all discarded items back into the item deck.

Below is a list of all 40 items. Keep in mind these are not yet finalized (but they're pretty close!)

1.

Name: Witchcrafted Rile

Description: As you grasp this chamberless rifle, you feel it tug at your soul.

Use: Do not discard. 2 damage to foe, they must also discard 1 spell at random.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe

2.

Name: A Table

Description: Flip it over and take cover! Yeehaw!

Use: Use during the standoff phase. Team Instantly takes cover.

Target: Blue Banner, Team

3.

Name: Bag of Rock Salt

Description: Works great on food and your enemy’s open wounds!

Use: Play this card with WIND or ICE, adds +2 damage.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe

4.

Name: Bandit’s Booty

Description: Sadly, not that kind of booty.  

Use: Immediately draw 3 more item cards when this card is drawn.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

5.

Name: Bloody Summoning Stone

Description: Wiping off some fleshy remains, it reads, “Summon Ethereal Wurm”. What could go wrong!

Use: All must draw a number card to see if the Wurm attacks them. 1,2,3 = Take 3 damage. 4, 5, 6 = Wurm ignores you.

Target: Blue Banner, All Players

6.

Name: Bottle of Absinthe

Description: This’ll put hair on your chest...but it probably has better uses. Maybe.

Use: Play this card with FIRE, adds +1 damage OR use during the standoff phase, gain +2 energy.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

7.

Name: Bullwhip

Description: It may be a bullwhip, but that doesn’t mean you have to exclusively whip bulls with it...

Use: Foe takes 2 damage and you steal one of their item cards.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe

8.

Name: Crumpled Spell Scroll

Description: Ugh, wrinkled...it’ll never be the same. Contains incantations for “Abyssal Vacuum”.

Use: Use during the standoff phase. Every player must discard their items.

Target: Blue Banner, All Players

9.

Name: Defense Sigil

Description: You notice a faint blue aura around you when you clasp it in your hand. Fancy.

Use: Immune to all damage and effects this turn.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

10.

Name: Derelict Darts

Description: You’ve found a few discarded playing darts. Time for some target practice!

Use: Play this card with WIND, adds +2 damage.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe

11.

Name: Djinn Lamp

Description: A rather attractive desert spirit emerges from the lamp, willing to grant you one simple request.

Use: Use immediately when drawn, choose one: 1. +3 HP, 2. Draw 2 more item cards, 3. Reactivate all discarded / deactivated cards.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

12.

Name: Dual Colts

Description: You are now ten times cooler...at least until you run out of bullets.

Use: Draw a number card, do half the amount listed on the card (rounded up) in damage.

Target: Red Banner, All Foes

13.

Name: Engraved Crossbow

Description: “Pointy sticks guh here. Dun point at yuh face - Love, Turtle Woman”.

Use: 3 damage to foe.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe

14.

Name: Flask of Whiskey

Description: Smooooth...wait no, it tastes awful. But hey, all the other cowboys are drinking it.

Use: Use during the standoff phase, -1 damage from all sources.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

15.

Name: Pan’s Mirror

Description: Who is Pan? Great question...Clearly a mirror lover.

Use: Any spell specifically targeting you, you may choose a new target for.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

16.

Name: Mystery Potion

Description: Everyone loves a good mystery! Except ones that might kill you.

Use: Use during the standoff. Draw a number card. 1-2 = +1 hp, 3-4 = +2 hp, 5-6 = - 2 hp

Target: Blue Banner, Self

17.

Name: Unstable Dynamite

Description: Something's about to go BOOM! Hopefully not you...

Use: As soon as you draw this card, draw a number card. 1 = It explodes and does 5 damage to your team. Otherwise, play this card normally, does 3 damage.

Target: Red Banner, All Foes

18.

Name: Rusty Saber

Description: It may not be sharp, but they’ll probably die of tetanus years later.

Use: 2 damage to foe, do not discard.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe

19.

Name: Revive Juju

Description: Hopefully whoever this belonged to realizes it’s missing.

Use: If your HP reaches 0, instantly be revived to 1 hp during the next standoff phase, then discard this card.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

20.

Name: Seer Stone

Description: Looking into the stone, you’re able to see 42 seconds into the future.

Use:  Once revealed, pass or replace this card with another from your hand (choose a new target card and deduct energy costs where applicable).

Target: Purple Banner, Self

21.

Name: Six Shooter

Description: Quick on the draw?

Use: Draw a number card and do that amount in damage to foe.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe

22.

Name: Shama Balm

Description: Old Lady Shama Mama makes the best balms!™

Use: Use during the standoff phase, +1 HP.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

23.

Name: Lost Lasso

Description: Fancy yerself a wrangler?

Use: Draw a number card. 1-3 = 1 dmg to foe, must pass next turn. 4-6 = You miss and shuffer shame. So. Much. Shame.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe

24.

Name: Robot Helper Monkey

Description: Don’t question it.

Use: Place this card next to your character card. You may now have 3 items in hand.

Target: none

25.

Name: Used Bandages

Description: Dirt and germs never hurt an open wound!

Use: Use during the standoff phase, +1 HP.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

26.

Name: Vulture Bait

Description: A disgusting, discarded piece of something fleshy. Should draw quite the fowl crowd.

Use: Use during the standoff phase, instantly take cover.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

27.

Name: Vial of Voodoo

Description: A rather unpleasant looking liquid. Smells like strawberries though.

Use: Use during the standoff phase. Reactivates all your discarded and deactivated spells.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

28.

Name: Wooly Ward

Description: You grab a wandering sheep because they make great sweaters and even better shields.

Use: Immune to all damage this turn.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

29.

Name: Jug of Spoiled Water

Description: Nothin’ like lukewarm water to quench yer thirst!

Use: Play this card with LIGHTNING or ICE, adds +2 damage to spell.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe.

30.

Name: Lightning in a Jar

Description: You should be thoroughly impressed with whoever managed this feat.

Use: Play this card with WATER, adds +2 damage to spell.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe.

31.

Name: Temporal Gravitational Amplifier

Description: You only know what this is because your Grim told you 5 seconds ago.

Use: Play this card with EARTH, adds +2 damage to spell.

Target: Red Banner, Single Foe.

32.

Name: Aetherius (sword)

Description: According to your Grim, this was crafted by the Iron Witch himself.

Use: Do not discard after use. Can play this card with any spell. +1 numeric value to that spells effects where applicable, spell will cost 2 more EP.

Target: none.

33.

Name: Mana Anchor

Description: Looks just like a blueberry...which you know for reasons you’d rather not discuss.

Use: Do not discard. Effect always active. If your energy is depleted, do not suffer depletion damage.

Target: None.

34.

Name: Energy Tap

Description: According to your Grim, this trinket can be used as temporary energy source.

Use: Play with any spell. That spell’s energy costs will be zero.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

35.

Name: Ancient Spell Tablet

Description: Good thing your Grim reads ancient jibberish. Incantations for “Eye of Entitlement”.

Use: Look at any foe’s item cards and take one, discard all others.

Target: Red Banner, All Foes

36.

Name: Mana Worm

Description: A mutated organism from the Temple’s Waste. Clearly you should eat it!  

Use: Use during the standoff phase. +2 energy.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

37.

Name: Energy Stabilizer

Description: Your Grim seems quite enthused about discovering this.

Use: Play if in a face-off. Instant apex, no need to draw more number cards.

Target: Blue Banner, Self

38.

Name: Tattered Spell Page

Description: You manage to decipher a spell for “Trickster’s Trick”. What a clever title.

Use: All Cards played now target “Self” instead.

Target: Red Banner, All Foes

39.

Name: Unlit Fuse

Description: You’re not sure where the fuse leads to, but you assume to something awesome and explodey.

Use: Every player must draw a number card, then take that amount in damage.

Target: Red Banner, All Players

40.

Name: Secret Stash

Description: Not so secret anymore!

Use: Draw 2 item cards immediately.

Target: none

Grimslingers Review by Corin McDonald

The following is an unpaid, in-depth review of Grimslingers by Corin McDonald.

Corin was playing the Tabletop Simulator version (identical to the physical version) of Grimslingers with myself and several other strangers from around the world for a few hours on several evenings.

If you are interested in Grimslingers, there is no other review out there that describes the game so well and touches on it's many subtle nuances. It's a lengthy write-up, but it's worth reading!

Thank you so much Corin for writing this!

Grimslingers is an excellent card game for 2-4 that mixes strategy, luck, and planning. Each game is about half an hour (give or take time based on how long people spend thinking). I had an opportunity to play with the developer, and I had an absolute blast!

The game itself is fairly simple, but there's a lot of thought and depth that goes into it. Your objective is to either work in teams or as individuals to eliminate all your enemies by reducing their health to 0. You do this with a set of base spells, as well as your selected three "Signature Spells," which together make up your hand. Before I go into more detail about what makes this game so fun, however, you'll need to know a bit more about how the game works.

Grimslingers operates in two phases: Standoff and Aftermath. During the Standoff, players have the chance to take several unique risk/reward-type actions, including sacrificing health for energy (which you need to cast spells), attempting to hide from enemy attacks, or "surging" to make your attack more powerful at the cost of more energy. Players then select a spell and target to play from their active hand. This is actually where the depth of the game comes in; each spell has a unique effect, and is weak and strong against one other element.

During this short period, you have to figure out what your opponent(s) will play, and who they will target. And of course, each player could also be playing one of their signature spells, which can have a huge impact on the turn. But once all players have made their decisions, the spells and targets are revealed. And the ever-so-aptly-named Aftermath phase then begins.

During the Aftermath, players resolve spell effects based on their targets and spells selected. Damage is dealt, the energy costs are paid, and if two players are slinging spells at each other, then they have a blackjack-style showdown to figure out who bests the other, unless one of the player's spells is weak to the other (IE, lightning beats water). After that, all the used spells become inactive (or, if a signature card, removed from the game), and the round restarts.

The fun (and challenge) of this game is in reading your opponents and using your cards/actions wisely. There's also an element of resource management, as using a spell not only takes energy, but will either render it inactive for the next turn (which will make one of your other spells not as powerful), or remove it from the game (if it was a signature spell). You have to balance what you need against what you think your opponent will be playing. For instance, do you play the Earth spell, which reduces incoming enemy damage as its bonus? Or do you try to deal more damage with a lightning spell? Or, perhaps, you could try to recover some health with a water spell; but do they have its weakness on the table in front of them? These are the sorts of things that will go through your mind. And if you enjoy that kind of thing like I do, it's glorious.

The signature spells I've mentioned can really help swing the tide of a game, and add a lot of flavor and replayability. These spells can do anything from healing your character, to reflecting an attack, to some of the more interesting effects, like transferring the damage you take into health or energy, or even simply "vanishing" for the next turn. But they come with expensive tradeoffs. I misused several signature spells which are designed to counter enemy abilities when no one targeted me, and I both wasted the spell and most of my energy. But when used well, they are intensely satisfying and rewarding. In one particular 4-player free-for-all, there was some inital snickering as all the targeting cards showed they had aimed at me. They laughed and were very sympathetic until I simply grinned and pointed to the spell I had played, Redirect, which let me turn any spells cast at me this turn at new targets.

Cue the maniacal laughter.

I would like to emphasize, however, that these spells in no way upset the balance of the game. There were several times that I received the brunt end of a redirect, or had my energy sapped, or was otherwise foiled by an unexpected play. But again, careful planning and awareness of what my opponent and I both needed helped me prevail, even though I was at a disadvantage. The game's energy system also does a great job helping to ensure that these cards remain fair and balanced. The powerful cards all have high costs, and might leave you wide open for a counterattack!

Gameplay aside, the game also looks fantastic. The art was done by the designer himself, and it looks professional, sylized, and is well-themed. The visuals do a great job helping to distinguish and guide players through color-coding spells, weaknesses/strengths, and determining what resolves first. There's also a lot of smaller, loving touches that have been put into the game which gives it real character that many others lack. A quick example of this is that your energy and health indicators both have two separate sides, each with their own personality/quips that show as you get beaten up (or use up energy). Although this doesn't change the game at all, it's small details like this that really show that the developer has put a lot of thought and love into the experience, and I can't applaud him enough for it.

For anyone who likes mind games, strategy games, card games, and/or games for small groups, I couldn't recommend Grimslingers more. I'd highly recommend at least trying it once if you get the chance. Looking forward to getting my hands on a physical copy soon!

Introducing: Bo's Bluff

Howdy 'Slingers!

Today I am pleased to announce Bo's Bluff! A prequel to the mobile edition of Grimslingers, being developed by myself and Jeff Faust.

WHAT IS IT??

Bo's Bluff is a free-to-play, two-player, online mobile game based off of blackjack. It takes place in a saloon owned by Bo (some of you may be familiar with him as the narrator of Grimslingers).

Bo owns a saloon in the Forgotten West, frequented and supplied by the Iron Witch. Folks from all around the Forgotten West seek refuge from the dangers of the land in Bo's humble saloon. Resources are slim and Bo's made up a card game out of what few cards he can find.

You will experience the game as one of many characters playing Bo's piddly card game. Folks in the Forgotten West are dirty scoundrels, criminals, liars, and cheats. So Bo teaches you how to cheat and spot a cheat to level the playing field.

Therein lies the hook of the game. Cheating.

GAMEPLAY SPECIFICS

Base Game: The basic game consists of drawing from a 10 card deck. There are 3 rounds, and within each round you are attempting to reach 11 points, or as close to it without going over. Each round, cards are put back in the deck and shuffled.

Players will choose to "push" (draw a card) or "hold" (refrain from drawing). If both players hold in a row, the round ends and your hand total (total value of all cards in hand combined) is added to your score total (score total is all rounds combined). If you "bust" (go over 11 points) you'll lose all your points for that round.

Score Multiplier: Reaching 11 points is called "apexing". Both players have a separate score multiplier that takes affect when you apex. If you don't apex in a round, your score multiplier will increase by one. The multiplier starts at doubling your score, and can increase to quadrupling your score (if you didn't apex the first two rounds, then did the third round).

The purpose of this feature is to allow someone that is behind to make a comeback in each successive round. Thus there shouldn't be any earlier quitters, who think they have no chance of winning. As a side note, your final score directly relates to how much in-game currency you will earn, so quitting early is going to cause you to earn less/no currency.

Cheating: When a card is drawn, players have the option of switching it for a more desirable card up their sleeve (shown as three cards popping out from behind your character). You'll need to be careful though, because if you get caught cheating you'll automatically lose that round and all points accumulated that round.

(early demonstration of cheating, placeholder effects used)

Tells/Accusing: Each Character will have different "tells". Tells are things like an intermittent twitch of the character card, beads of sweat dripping off, shaking, etc.

Spotting a character's tell is how you'll know they are cheating (there are others ways too, but this will be the main way). Tells don't always indicate that someone has cheated though.

If you think someone is cheating, you can accuse them. You can only accuse someone once per round. Be careful though, because if you accuse them and they didn't cheat, it means you've lost the ability to accuse for the round, and they can cheat all they want after that.

Emote/Chat System: A big part of Bo's Bluff is immersing players in the lore and feel of the Forgotten West. Players will be able to select from 10 emotes/chat options by dragging up and down on their character card (some of the 10 options access a much larger pool of random emotes).

The emote/chat system allows you to roleplay your character, shoot the breeze with your opponents, insult them, and ultimately accuse them of cheating.

(chat text shown is just placeholder, and will not be in the final game). 

Online Multiplayer: Bo's Bluff is mine and Jeff's first attempt at cross-platform multiplayer between Android and iOs. The goal is to allow players to play random strangers or directly challenge friends through game center and google play services. 

Single Player: Much of the details for offline play are still in the works. At the moment, the goal is to have a repeatable double elimination tournament style experience, with a jackpot of in-game currency at the end. 

Free to Play: The game will be free to play, and the plan is to feature intermittent video ad offers through unity's ad system (much like Crossy Road). Watching ads will earn you in game currency (just playing the game will as well) which can be used to buy new characters, personalities, and ornaments for your character card.

WHY?? 

Jeff and I decided to make Bo's Bluff so that we can build and test every (or most) of the systems we will need for Grimslingers, but with a much lighter game. This means we can learn the ins and outs of app development and our business setup without the burden of such a content heavy and complex game like Grimslingers. 

I'm sure you've noticed that Bo's Bluff looks nearly identical to Grimslingers. Almost everything we develop for Bo's Bluff will be used in Grimslingers later on. 

WHEN??

Bo's Bluff will take a fraction of the time to develop that Grimslingers would/will. As of right now, it looks like we'll have a playable demo within a month. The majority of development will be taken up by designing / testing monetization and cross-platform play. 

We look forward to releasing a demo and getting all your feedback very soon!

Be a Cheerleader

...and I don't mean sport the mini-skirt pom pom combo. 

What I mean is be someone who cheers others on.

This post is written to Indie Game Developers, but it applies to everyone. 

HARSH BARLEY BRO

Game development is tough. It's tough for verterans and noobs alike, and so the point of this post today is to rally the troops, the community, peoples of the interwebs, to be cheerleaders. 

I spend a fair bit of time on IndieDB. The great thing about that site is they are willing to publish just about any game's article on their front page. I love it, it's unbiased (to my knowledge) and gives every little indie a chance. 

One thing you'll see though, is 0 comments on 90% of the articles posted. Many of those articles directly asking questions and seeking feedback. 

This isn't a problem directly isolated on IndieDB, but in many other areas of the internet and indie community. I get it, time is precious. Or, a game simply doesn't catch your fancy. That's ok! 

But I think all of us game devs know how awesome it is when someone engages with our content. Even just a "hey, looks great" or "keep up the good work!". When it happens to me, I honestly don't care how sincere they are, I take that tidbit of motivation and run with it. 

RISE SIT UP, OH NERDS!

Take a few minutes out of your day to comment on someone else's content. Go through IndieDB's main page and offer an encouraging remark on a post with 0 comments. You don't need to really be excited about their game.

Rather, be excited for an indie trying to make their dream come true. Indies need each other, we're a family, let's act like it and show some love!

Finding Balance

CONFIDENCE

Grimslingers features a very balanced player vs. player experience.

I've said it before and today's post is a detailed explanation of why I can say it with confidence.

IMBALANCE

I personally dislike imbalanced game mechanics in player vs player (PVP) games. It's ok in a player vs. enemy situation (PVE) because naturally imbalance is a core function of those types of games (i.e. bosses being ridiculously hard and overpowered). 

But, just like in every aspect of life, we generally prefer to be on even ground with our peers, especially when in a competitive environment (well, some people prefer imbalance... if it's in their favor). 

Imbalanced game mechanics create a distaste for the game in which it occurs. It's one thing to be frustrated because you lost to a player who has more skill than you, it's another to lose because the game favored them in some way. 

For instance, let's talk about our beloved Hearthstone (I actually do think it's a great game, I promise). 

Player 1 fights Player 2. Player 1 gets to go first, and draws a great first hand from the deck at random. Player 2 goes second, and gets a crappy hand randomly from his deck. This continues for the entire fight. Even though Player 2 played his hand perfectly every turn, he lost. 

The game gave player 2 a disadvantage over and over, and gave player 1 plenty of advantages. These are unfair game mechanics. It would have been one thing for Player 1 to have played so well that they gained an advantage, or another if Player 2 played so poorly he gained lots of disadvantages. However, this wasn't the case. Both players played their hands perfectly, but the game favored one player over the other. 

This is an imbalanced game system. Randomness can be a great game mechanic, but when used too heavily in a pvp situation, it throws balance out the window.

BALANCE

Chess is, in my mind, a balanced skill based game. Each player has the exact same pieces, and the only difference is ones own skill, EXCEPT for the fact that one person goes first and one goes second.

Going first means you get to act, and going second means you get to react. Both can be beneficial (studies show that going first in chess is better. However, for most of us the difference is probably imperceivable). 

Rock-paper-scissors is my idea of another perfectly balanced game. Both players go at the same time, and each player has the same options. Though, the game itself does not allow player skill to get involved (excluding the ability to read your opponent), and ultimately that's why RPS gets boring after 3 goes.

Grimslingers was born out of these two games. Let's get into the details:

BALANCED FOUNDATION

Each player has the same 6 element spells. Consider these your "chess" pieces. Thus, your spells provide no advantage over your opponent's spells, all that matters is how you use them.

NO TURNS

The game technically has turns, but players take their turns at the same time. Just like in rock-paper-scissors. 

This means that no one has the possibility of gaining an advantage by going first or second. 

SKILL BASED

Because the system provides you no advantages, how you use your spells is what makes all the difference. 

In rock-paper-scissors you have no idea what the other person is going to choose. Thus you can't strategize against them in any real sense. 

Grimslingers faces a similar issue. You do not know what the other player is choosing, so how is this skill based, and how do you strategize? 

Luck?

Yes, there is an element of luck/randomness to the game (which I find adds excitement) but there are many things still in your control. You may not know what your opponent is choosing, but you can choose the outcome if you do succeed. 

For instance: I choose to play ICE so that if I succeed, you lose energy. Or I choose Earth which has a "blue" banner effect (guaranteed to occur) to prevent damage if my spell fails. Or I choose FIRE so that if I succeed, you'll lose a card, making it easier to tell what you will/won't play next turn. This also touches on another important aspect, mitigating luck. 

Mitigate it!

Discards and Deactivations allow you to mitigate luck and have greater success in guessing what your opponent might play. You know they only have 6 cards, so when you discard one of their cards, you'll know which one, and your odds of succeeding improve next turn.

Wind allows you to deactivate 6 of your opponents spells, effectively disabling them for a turn giving you free range to attack. 

Also, whenever a spell is used, it automatically gets deactivated for a turn. Thus you know they can't use the same spell twice in a row, giving you a better idea of what they might play. 

Along with auto-deactivation after use, elements have "synergies". Meaning, unless a specific element is active, your spell will not get a special effect. Ex: if your WIND is deactivated, your FIRE loses it's discarding ability. 

So, you'll be better able to tell what your opponent won't play, based on what was previously played, which also goes along with my next point:

Situational Awareness

Because each element has various abilities and traits, each serves a different purpose. For instance, if you want more energy, you'll need to use WATER to get HP to sacrifice for energy. If you're low on HP and need to avoid damage, EARTH will do that for you. If your opponent is low on energy and you want to deplete them, ICE does that. 

Different elements for different situations. Because of this, you'll be able to better guess what your opponent is likely to play, based on the situation. 

Face-Off

The elements have strong/weak relationships to each other, like rock-paper-scissors.

WIND > FIRE > ICE > WIND, and EARTH > LIGHTNING > WATER > EARTH.

When opposing elements are played that don't have a strong/weak relationship, you have a "face-off". Face-offs are about pushing your luck and resembles Blackjack. 

When a face-off starts, each player is automatically given a card from the top of the deck. The player with the highest card goes first. The higher card is slightly more disadvantaged than the lower card, which is made up for by allowing the high card to go first.

Face-offs work like this: Try to get 11 points or as close to it without going over. Players take turns drawing numbered cards (or not) until it's resolved. Here, your skill will involve counting the deck (which only consists of 10 cards, two of each number (1,2,3,4,5) and knowing when to draw or hold.

THE BIG PICTURE

All of these features combined create a fun, luck based, skill based, well balanced pvp game. 

Don't agree? Explain in the comment section! 

Remember to check out the print-and-play or the playable web demo @ www.GRIMSLINGERS.com

Time To Play

COME FORTH!

'Slingers, I know you've been waiting patiently...in the dark of your mothers' basements (I know I have!). Well your time has come! Watch the video announcement :)

PUBLIC TEST BUILD RELEASE(ed)

We've officially released our "test build" for the app of Grimslingers. This is a Unity web demo that will allow you to play the core elements of the game (namely, a 2 player duel).

There are 4 opponents each increasing in difficulty. It'll take a true Grimslinger to defeat the Coven Overseer, the most difficult opponent.

We now need YOU to test it out, find bugs, experience the duel and let us know what they think of the mechanics.

BUT...IT'S SO UGLY!!

Yes, and we've aptly named it, The "Ugly" Prototype.

Many developers will share pre-fabricated videos of their game to build hype, but the content of those videos isn't actually real gameplay. Or they'll spend a lot of time building the more pretty parts of the game so they can show it off earlier.

Well, we decided to forgo that strategy and build the core game itself. This way, we would know if the game itself was worthwhile, and could fine tune it's awesomeness.

You should all know by know the game WILL be beautiful (just check out the gifs below), but for now, we want to make sure the game is fundamentally fun (pun intended).

Don't get me wrong, visuals make a game more fun, especially for an artist like myself, but if the gameplay those visuals are wrapped up in sucks, the visuals are pointless in the end.

www.GRIMSLINGERS.com