DEEP DUNGEON has returned!

Almost exactly one year ago, I released the original DEEP DUNGEON. It was my first game built in GB Studio's new 2.0 beta, and was a response to a reddit post that said roguelikes couldn't be made in GB Studio. I wanted to prove them wrong, and so I set out to create an RPG that randomizes your adventure.

Ultimately, I was OK with what the original Deep Dungeon was. It's an odd game, with a poor difficulty curve, and its' map designs leave a lot to be desired. But I felt that I did a good job translating a tabletop ruleset to a gameboy game. Fully customizable character stats, a spell system, and more were still things I hadn't seen implemented in many GB Studio games. But it's still a very early user's game, and its' cracks definitely show.

I eventually moved on to other projects, trying out different GB Studio features and challenging myself to learn more, but DEEP DUNGEON was always in the back of my mind. I wanted to make it better, I wanted to make it a game I wanted to play. When another community member approached me about the possibility of publishing Deep Dungeon, I jumped at the opportunity to revisit the game and improve it.

DEEP DUNGEON DX was that project - a fully rebuilt version with new art (no more placeholder assets ripped from Hexen!), a cohesive aesthetic, more player controls, and now featuring character classes. Still inspired by tabletop games, and drawing inspiration from Apocalypse World dice systems, DEEP DUNGEON DX attempted to have a more straightforward challenge with a preset map and puzzles, but harder difficulty.

However, I consider DEEP DUNGEON DX a failure. It's far too punishing, its' map layout is uninspired, and it was never published. On top of that, it was released to itch hidden from search results by accident, resulting in it never getting exposure. To make matters worse, a hasty update introduced a major game breaking bug, and I've since lost the original files to edit it and correct the bug. 

I moved on from DEEP DUNGEON, bitter about the experience, but still seeking to improve my GB Studio talents. 

When GB Compo '21 was announced, I noticed that the deadline in September would mark an anniversary; it's been over a year since I've started using GB Studio. I still haven't released a game that scratches the itch of replaybility and challenging, so I decicded that for the Compo, I'd return to the DEEP DUNGEON once more.

This time, Deep Dungeon is a more traditional rpg, with a party system and more classes than ever. The new version ditches first person adventures for a 1 bit, classic style, and your battles are more like a standard turn based JRPG. However, behind the scenes, the mechanics are still tabletop inspired - now moving towards classic D20 based roleplaying systems. Your stats are not customizable, but your party is, and you have many more options for gear and items. A difficulty system was soon introduced, changing up how forgiving or punishing your character creation will be.

DEEP DUNGEON (2021), originally called the Anniversary Edition, also saw my first major collaboration - Mr. V provided excellent music for this game, and without his rigorous playtesting, this game would likely not have ever seen the light of day. DD(21) was certainly a challenge, and we've squashed many bugs, cut a lot content, and scaled back scope to bring you the game you're playing today.

A year has passed, and I think I've leveled up in the dungeons of GB Studio to finally bring you the best roguelike experience I can, but time, and GB Compo '21 will tell.  And with GB Studio 3.0 on the horizon, have I truly escaped the Deep Dungeon?