Rogue Fable III

Rogue Fable III is now in Steam early access and so I will be using this site to document my vision for the game and the road map for early access. This will be a continuous work in progress as I try to organize my scattered notes and ideas into one unified place. I'll be starting with overviews of my plan and vision and then gradually adding details and concrete descriptions.

Player Character

Balance and Mechanics

Dungeon

Development Goals Overview:

This is the overview of how I'd like to expand and improve the game throughout early access.

  • Increase the physical scope of the game i.e. the size of the dungeon but increase the amount of content at a faster rate so that the game becomes both larger and more varied. The length of the game will be increasing though not to such an extent that the game loses its streamlined focus. The average length of a successful run is currently 45 minutes to 1 hour assuming a full clear. The goal will be to bring this up to something like 1.5 - 2.0 hours.
  • Increase the raw amount of content generally i.e. more classes, races, gods, items, enemies etc. I'd like to approximately double the content from where it currently stands. I will be focusing on actual new content that adds some new mechanic to the game rather than just palette swapping and adjusting stats.
  • Continue to make the game more complex by focusing on increasing the number of simple elements and adding more ways for them to interact. Don't just start throwing tons of stats and arcane formulas everywhere.
  • Add more of a strategy layer to the game i.e. provide more opportunities for the player to make strategic, longer term, choices and decisions.
  • Continue to improve the interface of the game. Automate anything tedious. Provide shortcuts for everything. Provide as many options as possible for the player to configure.
  • Balance all the elements in the game. This will be rough during development as I don't believe in achieving perfect balance when the next addition may throw everything off. Rather I will try to maintain 'good enough' balance throughout early access and then make a final big push at the end.
  • Continue to improve the aesthetics of the game while retaining the clean, easy to distinguish style it currently has.


Core Design Principals Overview:

These are the guiding principals which I want to maintain while expanding and improving the game. Each new addition or change to the game will derive from these core ideas. Details are likely to change many times but these core principals will remain the same.

  • Create depth and complexity from the simple interaction of many simple mechanics rather than lots of numbers and complex forumulas.
  • Limit scope to tactical combat, character development, and strategy. Don't get bogged down building an everything simulator.
  • Variety is critical both between and within runs. A shorter, more varied game is better than a long homogeneous one.
  • Aesthetics and interface are just as important as the underlying mechanics.
  • Design and balance for the expert player while providing support for new players to progress to experts.

Core Design Principals Details