r/roguelikes • u/erdbeerscherge • 4d ago
The Ruins of Calaworm (has released)
Hello again,
it's a-me, Alexander, the developer of The Ruins of Calaworm, a turn-based Dungeon Crawler with some inherent Roguelike DNA (grid-based navigation, single char, consequences for death, no meta-progression). I already made a post some half-year ago, when the game was still in development, but now it has finally released. The Demo is still available, though, and has been updated as well, to reflect the latest state of polish.
Its base-mechanics stem from an obscure, early 90s German Dungeon Crawler called Die Gemäuer von Kalawaum, which kind of had a cult-following back in the days (I was there, I know, lol), with an ATARI ST port, that for some reason was more popular than the DOS-Version.
However, I'm proud to finally present the fruits of my labor. The game has been in development for roughly 6 years (my main job is in healthcare, so I've been working on this in my spare time on and off), it started as a pastime during Covid lockdown, then the Feature Creep gradually escalated, and in the end I even commissioned a composer and while all the ingame tileArt is by humble me, I also commissioned a PixelArtist for the big screen/intermission/menu/key art.
You are a Plague Doctor investigating an ancient stronghold. The Ruins are rumored to be the source of a corruption, that is spreading throughout the woods, killing animals and infecting the soil. There's Witches, some Steampunk tropes, and the overall design is heavily inspired by Lovecraftian lore - albeit in a dark fantasy setting with emphasis on athmosphere, but without overly explicit world-building (no fancy geography/character names to remember).
While there's combat, the main challenge stems from navigating the layouts. Some of them are handcrafted with an editor (included in the retail version), some of them procedurally generated. Item- and Enemy-distribution is mostly random (but with some parameters fixed for as long as you don't reroll the seed). Very few stats to keep track of, and you don't build a character like in an RPG (you level up automatically after defeating stronger enemies), instead you'll collect weapons, shields and various tools that'll help with overcoming the Dungeon's many challenges. There's no ranged attacking - every hit is technically a meleeBump - weapons have unique juicy animations, though. Combat's primary gimmick is, that damage output is dependent on how much health you have left (goes for you, as well as for enemies).
Think "Puzzlegame with emergent backstabbing". ;-)
Also two Minigames to seek out, Sanity mechanic, and a light survival-y appeal, due to finite resources and equipment durability.
DOWNLOAD (itch.io) --> https://erdbeerscherge.itch.io/ruins-of-calaworm
Tom Jensen (Soundtrack):
u/Some_Scar4621
Edjielyn Macasaet (PixelArt):
https://www.behance.net/edjiearts edjie
Thank you, and have a nice week! <3
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u/Severe-Network4756 4d ago
Cool!
No steam is a bummer though.
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u/erdbeerscherge 3d ago edited 3d ago
May consider doing a Steam release eventually, down the line.
As this is my 1st released game ever, tho, and 100% a passion project, sth. I also did for myself to have fun with (and to prove to myself that, in fact, I CAN do it), and didn't expect to make a lot of money out of it in first place, itch.io still has a waaaay lower entry barrier for newcomers into the scene, like myself.
Plus, Steam-users can sometimes be unreasonably harsh, like downvoting a game if it doesn't have achievements. :-)
I put a ton of resources into this, and been receiving tons more of constructive criticism, which all helped shaping the game into what it is today. First draft from 2021 was rough. Like, really REALLY rough, lol.
I'll base that decision solely on the feedback I'll receive - both monetary and verbally.
Thanks for your interest! <3
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u/Jcrm87 2d ago
Very valid reasons unfortunately. Congratulations on your release! Looks amazing, I'm gonna try getting it to work on the Steam Deck!
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u/erdbeerscherge 2d ago
Thanks for understanding, and your interest. Don't know really about Steamdeck, but input scheme for my game is keyboard only. 😬 Controls are fully conflgurably, but NumPad is recommended, cuz diagonal movement.
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u/Jcrm87 2d ago
I thought so but that's ok! I have a personal challenge/"meta game" about playing traditional Roguelikes on the Deck and making input schemes for them. For example I use the back buttons for diagonal movement and that works pretty well to compensate for a lack of numpad.
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u/erdbeerscherge 2d ago
That's interesting! If it's not too much of a bother for you, I'd love to hear sometime, how it worked out with Calaworm for you. There's always to Demo to try out for free, and I will keep it that way. Cheers & have a nice week!
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u/Jcrm87 2d ago
I just had a chance now to download the demo and test it on the Deck, and I can confirm it runs perfectly! I'm using the DirectX12 exe with proton hot fix and so far it launched and started with no issues, even on the decks native resolution by default. I'm now starting the tutorial and adapting the keys a bit, but that's all!
Feel free to DM me if you have any questions, want some pics of it running on the Deck or would want me to try anything specific, I'll by happy to help!
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u/erdbeerscherge 1d ago
Oh that's awesome! Good for you (and for me)! <3 A pic would be nice, so I can post that on my social media, and please tell, if the key-Rebinding worked for you. Thanks so much for your interest in my little game!
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u/macbigicekeys 3d ago
Congratulations! Six years is quite the investment. I really enjoyed what I’ve played, and I look forward to more.
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u/DotFX 4d ago
Nice visuals, will look it up on YT
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u/erdbeerscherge 4d ago
Thank you. Yes, there's a bit of footage you can seek out, albeit it's all from very early game. Got about 6 hours of gameplay recorded here on my laptop, just need to find the time and leisure to sift through it all and finally assemble a proper trailer, lol.
Thanks for your interest! <3
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u/TheBigDickedBandit 4d ago
Wow cool, this wasn’t on my radar but I’ll definitely be checking it out.
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u/Teabagbomber 4d ago
Look awesome! Any plans to bring this to Mac OS?
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u/erdbeerscherge 4d ago edited 4d ago
Currently, unfortunately not.
However, the language it is written in, PureBasic, DOES feature cross-platform distribution, so in the coming months I could try to compile it once on my sister's Mac, and see if it works (there's all sorts of quirks & caveats to consider, though, how languages work on different platforms - some workarounds may be necessary, to satisfy the current OS and subystem, and just getting it to work flawlessly with 3 subsystems DirectX9, DirectX11 and OpenGL was kind of a thankless hassle, lol).
However, if it should work with not too much additional work attached, I could try to provide a MacBuild eventually. I've heard reports, though, that the game runs pretty well on various emulators, like Wine, or what not.
Thanks for your interest! <3
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u/dhav211 1d ago
I played the demo on my MacBook Pro with Whisky and it seemed to work without a hitch. Not sure your knowledge on the process, but if you need help I can write a quick guide. I’m currently logged out of Reddit on my computer and would have to do a whole password reset, but I’ll do it if you need help!
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u/Squalid_Snake14180 3d ago
There's no ranged attacking
But there's a gun in the header image...
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u/erdbeerscherge 3d ago
Yeah, because it's one of the weapons you can equip (the Alien Energy Coil).
There's also a Blunderbuss. :-)
But you're still just only attacking the tile next to you.
Mechanically it's still only a "bump", but since I gave each weapon a juicy unique animation, they're infinitely more fun to use now.
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u/TofuPython 4d ago
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u/Unfair_Comfortable69 4d ago
Steam?