Rogue-like Base Builder Concept #
Game is played on a square grid in two phases.
Setup Phase #
Here, the player uses resources they’ve accumulated to build a base defending their sage (you). This includes:
- Building walls
- Deploying units as archers/warriors
- Digging moats
- Making traps
- Building farms or other buildings that do not help defend, but accumulate resources for next round.
Buildings/units would be purchased from a store like Autochess/Underlords, with many options and synergies. If you purchase multiple units of the same kind from the store, they combine just like in Underlords. The store system in SNKRX is great inspiration here.
Combat Phase #
After setup, the base is attacked by a wave of enemies. At this point, the player has no control, and just gets to watch their design work (or not) in real time (like TABS).
Turn Based Combat Option #
The automatic combat is done is waves, where the entire enemy team moves/attacks at once, then the entire friendly team moves/attacks at once.
Goal of the Game #
Survive X number of waves. Perhaps the more waves you survive the more interesting the game gets (or there are multiple endings).
Progression #
When starting the game, you can choose from multiple “biomes” or “campaigns” that play out in a predictable way. I want the player to feel like they are learning with every defeat, just like in every time loop in Outer Wilds. I want to avoid unfair/random mechanics that many roguelikes utilize to perhaps artificially extend the game and make it more grindy.
Categories: Game Ideas, Gamedev