Devlog: The Creation of Mini Evolution Tower

Hello fellow gamers and creators!

It’s been an exhilarating nine days since I embarked on the thrilling development journey of Mini Evolution Tower, a strategic deck-building card game wrapped in roguelike elements, crafted during the Minifantasy community gamejam 3. Our theme was 'loop'.

Day 1: The Beginning (May 17)

The adventure began! I set up the project, dived deep into the mysterious world of card game mechanics, and integrated a Simple Card addon. Grappling with the addon consumed much of my time, but it was worth every second.

Day 2: Cards Come to Life (May 18)

On the second day, I brought the core gameplay into action. The deck mechanics were fine-tuned to deal five cards per round, allowing players to drag and spawn heroes from cards. I introduced the first set of heroes – a diverse range of humans wielding weapons from daggers to whips. Plus, we added a neat description popup for card interactions and a battle-ready button. It was all coming together!

Day 3: The Opposition (May 19)

What’s a hero without a villain? I crafted theenemies and their 'stupid' move system, setting the stage for epic showdowns.

Day 4 & 5: Sounds of Battle (May 20-21)

These days were all about adding visceral feedback through sound effects for both heroes and enemies, enhancing the immersive battle experience. I also added a debug button for spawning new enemies and refined the gameplay loop—defeat, learn, and evolve!

Day 6: It's All Coming Together (May 22)

The main menu took shape, and I tackled the implementation of wave mechanics, which came with its fair share of debugging fun. Remember, always check the debugger!

Day 7: More Choices, More Strategy (May 23)

Post-wave victory now led to a card selection menu, enriching the strategic depth. New enemies and orc heroes entered the fray, expanding the narrative and gameplay options.

Day 8: A World of Tiles (May 24)

I spent this day enriching the game’s visual diversity. Multiple tilesets were added, including various dungeons and a castle, ensuring variety in each wave’s environment. The audio bugs and additional orc heroes demanded some attention too.

Day 9: Final Touches (May 26)

The last day was a whirlwind. I polished the main menu, added music and SFX options, credits screen, and introduced three new heroes (druid, rogue, barbarian). More enemies were added to the mix, and I squashed remaining bugs and made necessary balance changes. After these adjustments, the game felt ready to challenge any daring player.

Over these nine days, I've put approximately 25 hours into developing Mini Evolution Tower. Every minute was a learning experience, a loop of creation and refinement. I'm proud of what I've accomplished and excited about the potential if i decide to develop it furthur.

Thanks and Future Plans

A massive shout-out to Krishna Palacio for the stunning Minifantasy art that brought the game to life! 

Potential updates could include more enemies, additional floors, new abilities, a detailed wiki, expanded hero cards, and varied campaign modes.

Your feedback is invaluable, so please share your thoughts on the itch.io page. Together, let's climb to new heights and embrace the transformative power of strategic deck-building!

Play, enjoy, and evolve!

Happy gaming,

SanderZW

Stay tuned by following me on Itch.