Bane of Antagon
There’s something magical about hexcrawlers, and I’ve always wanted to create a heroic fantasy adventure that can tell a story inspired by Bathory’s Blood on Ice, which was, obviously, inspired by the first (and only?) Schwarzenegger Conan movie.
Finally, I started working on a prototype to make this happen.
After many design iterations, I managed to craft a hexcrawl system that’s scalable and offers features necessary to explore an interesting and dangerous world. I also had to find how best to design and implement a version of dice poker for the game’s combat system that has a very strong tactical aspect but doesn’t require a pilot’s certificate to play.
And now it’s only a matter of weeks until I can show the prototype to everyone, on Steam, in a public playtest.
I’m hoping you’ll try out the game and let me know what you think.
Inspirations
- Barbarian Prince (the old-school fantasy hexcrawl)
- Runebound (the board game)
- Judgemint of the Realm Lords (the tiny board game, a love letter to Runebound)
- Rune (the soulslike PNP game by Gila RPGs)
- Dice Throne (the dice duel game)
- Bathory: Blood on Ice (the deeply flawed yet epic masterpiece, my initial spark for this project)
Planned Main Features
- High-tier foes featuring unique behavior and combat abilities that require clever tactics to defeat.
- True soulslike game loop. When the hero dies, respawn then try to recover your legacy from your grave. Only the Final Confrontation is the true end of the adventure.
- Story chapters. While the rest is procedurally generated (so replayability is high), there’s a main story inspired by the tale of the Bathory album “Blood on Ice.”
- Standalone scenarios.
Secretly Hoped Features
- Proper, commissioned artwork. While I have some artistic skills, my eyesight has been rapidly deteriorating. As a self-funded solo game developer, I can only hire an artist to create the visuals this game deserves if the prototype and demo gain enough attention: feedback and Steam wishlists. I’ve already published games on Steam, and my wallet is getting very thin, as I alone take the risks and always pay comissions fully and upfront. It hasn’t been a financially successful habit, but it’s a principle I won’t compromise.
- Proper, commissioned soundtrack. Reasons as above, except I know nothing about making music. But I know that the metal genre is the one which through our inner selves speak.