Dark Rock Castle
Dark Rock Castle
Unreal Engine 5 • Solo • PC/Mobile
Dark Rock Castle is a solo-developed digital adaptation of a tactical, cooperative dungeon-crawling board game. Inspired by the mechanical depth and tension of physical campaigns, the project preserves the spirit of tabletop exploration and combat while automating systems and enhancing accessibility through modern digital design.
This is a non-commercial passion project, developed without any licensing agreements and not affiliated with any IP holders but is heavily inspired by Blackstone Fortress by Games Workshop.
Design Goals & Intent
The goal of Dark Rock Castle is to faithfully recreate core tabletop mechanics — such as initiative-based turn order, dice-driven actions, and AI-controlled hostiles — while modernising the experience with procedural generation, visual polish, and accessible UI across multiple platforms.
I am developing this project solo to deepen my technical and design skills in Unreal Engine 5, mobile-first UX, and full-scale agile project management, therefore I am approaching this as though it is a fully commercial project.
Contributions
Designing and iterating on the full gameplay loop, including expedition, combat, and recovery phases
Building systems for procedural chamber generation and hex-based exploration
Developing a modular initiative and dice pool combat system
Implementing AI-driven hostile behaviours using behaviour trees
Creating scalable, mobile-first UI with accessibility features such as contrast toggles and screen reader support
Establishing a legacy-style progression system that evolves across campaign runs
Tools & Workflow
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Planning Tools: Agile production schedule with sprint breakdowns, using Trello
Platforms: PC, iOS, Android, PS5, Xbox Series X (planned compatibility)
Version Control: Local Git and GitHub
Accessibility: Designed from the ground up for mobile-first play, including UI scaling, motion reduction, and one-handed input support
Status
Dark Rock Castle is currently in development, with early prototypes functional and core systems under active construction. The project is being developed to professional production standards, with full documentation, cross-platform targeting, and a long-term agile roadmap.