New Demo is online, showing off the thing I have been working on throughout 2022. This is supposed to be the final build, until release of the full game, hopefully later this year. There will not be another Demo (except for the occasional Hotfix)!

You can find the official announcement here.

Initial vision was to just deliver an homage to that classic game "Kalawaum" I keep rambling about, but extensive testing (plus most valuable feedback from  you guys) made me realize, that a lot more was possible with the formula ... mainly expanding on the Roguelike potential, that is.

Classic "Kalawaum" was a rather static experience: despite random Monster placement, and other shuffling of procedural parameters, you were always exploring same maps in same order. One thing I wanted to preserve from that game, though,  was to deliver a conclusive experience: "The Ruins of Calaworm" shouldn't be an endless Crawler with things eventually getting so hard you can't help but die and save your Highscore - it should have a definitive ending, climax and epilogue, complemented by a whimsical story you're free to discover (or ignore).

The road to there, however, should provide ample replayability, and the way I'm hoping to achieve this, is this:

The world now consists of Cells, randomly assembled in logical, spatial manner. There are several layers, an Overworld where you start your adventure, Dungeon Areas below, and (not included in the Demo), the icy "Plateau of Leng". Each Cell is represented by Region you'll have to conquer: first two Regions are 100% procedurally generated, afterwards handcrafted Maps are picked from a pool. Each Map has various Entry Points, each tied to a set Key/Lock-Configuration; the generator will pick a map and choose a configuration, then  proceed connecting them with  any adjacent Cells.

Demo comes with  6 custom Maps, but only 3 are needed to assemble a full World Module, so chances are, when you reroll the World Seed, you're going to end up in different locations. The way Cells are connected in the Demo, is hardcoded in a manner as to provide a climactic experience (full game will be tuned to allow for a lot more wild results, though).

Some things are still missing, but will 100% be included in the final release, like the advertised custom Difficulty Sliders, and the possibility to freely configure Controls. Also story is only teased at, and the whole Sanity Mechanic has been disabled (and tons of content, which I already finished, but isn't included here); however, the game lets you know, once you've achieved requirements for beating the Demo: a corresponding Text Message will be displayed!

In case you've already downloaded the current build from the "Ninja Launch" a couple days ago ... together with this write-up an updated version of the Demo is now available! You can read the Patch Notes here. Mind, though, that previous save games aren't compatible anymore! However, since the patch does not include any major updates, nor were there any gamebreaking bugs to fix, you're safe finishing whatever run you're currently on, and only then update to the latest version.

And that is that. There's nothing more to say, really, except that I'm sort of stumped I made it this far! Thank you, guys, so much for your ongoing support! Play the Demo, and if you happen to like it, tell your friends - if you don't, then that's fine, I understand I made a weird niche game which might not appeal to everyone. And, last but not least, if you've got any constructive feedback, I'll be sure to listen with an open mind.

Just don't ask me to make it 3D or Multiplayer. <3