Development Started: The Portal Beckons

I’ve been dreaming about this game for months, and now it’s finally happening.

Picture this: you create a character—choose their look, roll their stats, grab some starting gear, and pick your poison for difficulty. Then you step through a glowing portal into the unknown.

What Lies Beyond

The portal spits you into a procedurally-generated dungeon. No two runs are the same. Fight your way through turn-based combat that actually makes you think (think NetHack, not mindless clicking), grab whatever loot you can carry, and make it to the exit alive.

Die? In hardcore mode, that’s it—character wiped, progression locked. In standard mode, you respawn back at the hub, but you lose everything you found on that run. Risk versus reward at its finest.

The World Takes Shape

I’m building this around a hub-and-dungeon loop that feels both familiar and fresh. Your character grows stronger with each successful run, but the dungeons grow deadlier too. Equipment isn’t just stat boosts—rare gear grants you actual skills and abilities.

The procedural generation is where things get interesting. I’m working with 64x64 grids built from randomized path segments and room shapes. Different biomes mean different challenges: stone caves feel completely different from forest valleys, each with their own enemy types and environmental hazards.

Early Progress

The core systems are taking shape. Character creation is functional, the turn-based combat feels weighty, and the procedural dungeon generation is producing some genuinely surprising layouts. I’ve got fog of war working, basic AI behaviors for different enemy types, and the foundation for the equipment system.

Next up: polishing the UI, expanding the biome variety, and adding those special encounters that make each run memorable. Think campfires for rest, mysterious NPCs, and that blacksmith you can convince to set up shop in your hub.

This is just the beginning. The portal is calling.