The Tale of the Malice King
When all was dark, he came in the night
And with him came gloom and fright
Atop his throne he proclaimed himself King
"It's the end of our days!" the bards would sing
With cries of pain, the world fell in his hand
For he was the king, and all was his land
No hero dared come to the world's aid
For he was the King of Malice and Shade
Download now and stop the Malice King!
Features:
-14 unique dungeons
-Over 400 items
-Full length game, 30-40 hours
-Play with 3 friends - difficulty and treasure chests scale with player count
-Explore dungeons to find bonus quests and secret rooms
-Face off against challenging bosses
-Customize controls using input from keyboard and up to 4 gamepads
-Strive to reach level 200
Default controls for player 1 are: arrow keys, z, x
Pressing "Escape" will forfeit the current dungeon
What is the most recent version?
The newest patch is 1.04. If the readme file included with the game doesn't say version 1.04 on the second line, you need to download the patch. Extract the patch into the Dego folder.
Download Patch 1.04
Can I use my old character?
Yes! In the old demo "Saves" folder you will find a file for each character and a save of your control config. Just copy and paste these files into the new Dego "Saves" folder. When you first load your character, the save file will be auto-updated to work with the new saved data.
How many items can I hold in my inventory?
You can hold 50 items.
Will you release an update or new content?
There was a lot planned for the game, but in order to make the release date, some things had to be cut out. That means there is extra content halfway made that is already in the game, just no way to access it. I would like to someday release this content, but there are currently no plans.
The game is too hard!
Try going back to previous dungeons. They are random and you never know what you may find. Quests and bosses are especially useful for gaining experience and gold.
How do I control the game?
If you're having trouble setting up multiplayer, you can use a program like GlovePIE, which lets you map wiimote buttons to keyboard keys. If you use the GlovePIE program, connect your wiimotes to your computer using bluetooth, load the controlscript.pie file included with the game, and hit run.
The game doesn't work!
The most common problem is missing or outdated DirectX 9 dlls. You can download the update from www.microsoft.com If it's a gameplay bug or another type of error, post it here, and I'll try to fix it.
Read More!
Story and Characters
The world is dark and bleak. Crime runs rampant; not even the nobles feel safe. The shadow of the Malice King covers the land. No one has ever seen the mysterious king, but they are sure he is responsible for all their problems. Many would-be heroes traveled the land, sword in hand, to slay the Malice King, but none have ever returned. Now it is your turn to walk in their footsteps. The world needs a hero!
Main Characters
The Envoy of Malice
The only one to have ever seen the Malice King. The Envoy is the king's trusty aid and gladly delivers the message of evil. He takes great pride in the fact that the King of Malice and Shade chose him and granted him a share of his limitless power. Wherever you go, he's always there collecting tribute for the Malice King. He will take as much money as possible for his services.
Zack
Zack is a man born with a sword in his hand. He lives to fight, constantly seeks out stronger opponents, and instantly becomes friends with those who walk the same path. He's out to defeat the Malice King and will gladly fight alongside you. He will take as much money as possible for his services.
Clifton
The wise old wizard. Clifton has always been incredibly intelligent and a prodigy at magic. His decisions are calculated and rational, always being careful to make the right choice. He feels he is one of the few strong enough to stop the Malice King, but will team up with you if it proves beneficial. He will take as much money as possible for his services.
Side Characters
Raymundo
A traveling merchant who has consistent bad luck with getting his bombs stolen. He specializes in selling his trademark bombs and exotic, high-priced equipment.
Brashington
A self-proclaimed world renown archeologist. He's always trying to one-up himself and seeks out the most dangerous expeditions. His poorly kept secret is that he would much rather sell his discoveries than study them.
-
Just wanted to squeeze in this last post. My main tester and I have been working all day finding and fixing bugs. I think we've done all we can do, so I'm going to compile the final project, do one last test run, and upload it. Check back in an hour or so. Read More!
Main Characters
The Envoy of Malice
The only one to have ever seen the Malice King. The Envoy is the king's trusty aid and gladly delivers the message of evil. He takes great pride in the fact that the King of Malice and Shade chose him and granted him a share of his limitless power. Wherever you go, he's always there collecting tribute for the Malice King. He will take as much money as possible for his services.
Zack
Zack is a man born with a sword in his hand. He lives to fight, constantly seeks out stronger opponents, and instantly becomes friends with those who walk the same path. He's out to defeat the Malice King and will gladly fight alongside you. He will take as much money as possible for his services.
Clifton
The wise old wizard. Clifton has always been incredibly intelligent and a prodigy at magic. His decisions are calculated and rational, always being careful to make the right choice. He feels he is one of the few strong enough to stop the Malice King, but will team up with you if it proves beneficial. He will take as much money as possible for his services.
Side Characters
Raymundo
A traveling merchant who has consistent bad luck with getting his bombs stolen. He specializes in selling his trademark bombs and exotic, high-priced equipment.
Brashington
A self-proclaimed world renown archeologist. He's always trying to one-up himself and seeks out the most dangerous expeditions. His poorly kept secret is that he would much rather sell his discoveries than study them.
-
Just wanted to squeeze in this last post. My main tester and I have been working all day finding and fixing bugs. I think we've done all we can do, so I'm going to compile the final project, do one last test run, and upload it. Check back in an hour or so. Read More!
Heathcliff's Battle Arena
While crossing the world in search of the Malice King, you'll come across the Battle Arena. It's run by a retired war general who gathers monster from all across the land to test people's combat skills. The tournaments here involve you fighting waves of monsters in a confined arena, and depending on how strong Heathcliff considers you, you'll have access to up to four different tournaments.
Additionally, there are a group of challenges designed to improve you skill level.
Challenges feature fighting a group of monsters while confused and going an entire battle without being hit. Not all the content here is unlocked the first time you visit. You'll want to return later to see what else is available. Read More!
Additionally, there are a group of challenges designed to improve you skill level.
Challenges feature fighting a group of monsters while confused and going an entire battle without being hit. Not all the content here is unlocked the first time you visit. You'll want to return later to see what else is available. Read More!
Unlock Shop
Many of you who played the demo have probably been wondering what the Unlock Shop is and why it did nothing when you selected it from the menu. The Unlock Shop is a personal shop for each player, where items never run out and the stock is based around what achievements you have unlocked.
Items are unlocked for doing things like killing rare enemies, beating bosses, and doing large amounts of damage. Everything you buy from the shop sells back for the same amount, so you can easily try out items. Read More!
Items are unlocked for doing things like killing rare enemies, beating bosses, and doing large amounts of damage. Everything you buy from the shop sells back for the same amount, so you can easily try out items. Read More!
Item Combos
Player's have four equipment slots allowing them to equip a weapon, two extra items, and an ally to fight besides them. This leads to a lot of potential combos! Here are some examples:
Combo 1
Weapon: Anything with sacrifice special (Lose life to deal a ton of damage)
Extra 1: High Speed Regeneration (10% HP Regen, -400 HP)
Extra 2: Legend's Armor (+200 HP, suffer 5% less damage)
The high regen rate lets players continually use the sacrifice special while gaining all the life back. The armor helps offset the -400 HP drawback.
Combo 2
Weapon: Anything with risk special (You do more damage the less life you have)
Extra 1: Empathy (Enemies who damage you are damaged themselves)
Extra 2: Magenta Teddy Bear (Do 25% more damage, but suffer 25% more yourself)
Empathy encourages a play style involving purposely getting hit, which just powers up the risk special. The teddy bear makes you do even more damage when you attack, and empathy makes the negative drawback(suffer 25% more damage) mean that the enemies suffer even more damage when they attack.
Combo 3
Weapon: Summoner's Staff (Summons a minion when near death)
Extra 1: Ally Medal (Summoned minions last 25% longer)
Extra 2: Overdrive (5% TP Regen, -400 HP)
This combo is perfect for a Necromancer. The high TP regen lets them repeatedly summon minions, while the -400 HP means the staff's ability will activity more often, leading to even more minions. And of course, all these guys stick around 25% longer.
This should give everyone a better understanding on how equipment combos work. Hopefully this will make discovering the hundreds of items available more fun! Read More!
Combo 1
Weapon: Anything with sacrifice special (Lose life to deal a ton of damage)
Extra 1: High Speed Regeneration (10% HP Regen, -400 HP)
Extra 2: Legend's Armor (+200 HP, suffer 5% less damage)
The high regen rate lets players continually use the sacrifice special while gaining all the life back. The armor helps offset the -400 HP drawback.
Combo 2
Weapon: Anything with risk special (You do more damage the less life you have)
Extra 1: Empathy (Enemies who damage you are damaged themselves)
Extra 2: Magenta Teddy Bear (Do 25% more damage, but suffer 25% more yourself)
Empathy encourages a play style involving purposely getting hit, which just powers up the risk special. The teddy bear makes you do even more damage when you attack, and empathy makes the negative drawback(suffer 25% more damage) mean that the enemies suffer even more damage when they attack.
Combo 3
Weapon: Summoner's Staff (Summons a minion when near death)
Extra 1: Ally Medal (Summoned minions last 25% longer)
Extra 2: Overdrive (5% TP Regen, -400 HP)
This combo is perfect for a Necromancer. The high TP regen lets them repeatedly summon minions, while the -400 HP means the staff's ability will activity more often, leading to even more minions. And of course, all these guys stick around 25% longer.
This should give everyone a better understanding on how equipment combos work. Hopefully this will make discovering the hundreds of items available more fun! Read More!
Dego Trailer
Yes, the big announcement was the trailer, and with it, the release date! Come August 13, you'll be able to download the final version from this blog. And check back every day this week, because I will be posting a series of articles talking about all that has changed since the demo. Read More!
Item Spotlight: The Wayfarer's Wand
This expensive, store bought wand has a very powerful ability. Instead of just one special attack, it uses a random magic special attack. One attack may be a powerful magic blast, while the next may steal health. There's even a small chance the staff may buff you! But of course, not all effects are positive, so you better hope luck is on your side.
Check back later this week for a big announcement! Read More!
Quest Spotlight: The Depths of the World and the Forgotten Scroll
While traveling through the deepest dungeon, you may discover a wounded mage struggling to move on and asking for your help. The setup for this quest is simple, buried deep underground is the tomb of a legendary mage, and buried with him is a forgotten spell scroll. The quest giver is too weak to move on, and asks you to venture into the tomb and retrieve the scroll for him.
The challenges you have to face in this quest change with the random layout of the dungeon. The screenshot shows off a scenario where you must traverse a deadly obstacle course to reach the inner tomb area where the spell scroll is kept. Read More!
The challenges you have to face in this quest change with the random layout of the dungeon. The screenshot shows off a scenario where you must traverse a deadly obstacle course to reach the inner tomb area where the spell scroll is kept. Read More!
Final Status Update
I've got all the hard drive issues sorted out, and I'm back to work with a bold claim, the final status update! I've worked the better part of this week, and finished up a good chunk of the endgame content. Now the to-do list has come down to 1-2 more quests, last set of items, and any final tweaks/bug fixes.
I'm really excited to soon be able to call this game complete. When I first came up with the plan for Dego, I wanted to finish development in a year, but now it's been 20 months! I'd like the thank everyone who has been following this project. I appreciate all the comments, feedback, suggestions, and most of all, stories of people's adventures in the game. It has taken longer than expected, but I want to remind everyone that this is a full length game with 30-40 hours of gameplay per character, and I want to release a final product that I believe is worth the wait.
On a side note, I'm really satisfied, almost surprised, with how well the character development turned out, considering a player can only equip three items. With each new tier of equipment, the game introduces new effects and passive abilities, and by the time you make the jump to endgame items, there is a huge variety of combos. Between dungeons, you can completely change how your character plays. I'm constantly trying to find new, horribly overpowered combos to make sure everything is properly balanced. I've found a theoretical combo that, with careful execution, can make a thief character permanently invincible. I already have 2/3 of the items needed; I just need to get a hold of an extremely rare item to make it happen. Still thinking of how to balance this one!
Here's a summary of some of the major changes made since that ancient demo I released, so long ago:
-Melee characters have inherent damage and defense boosts, plus a much larger attack radius. This helps them keep up with range and magic users, who have an easier time dodging. Some enemies will screw over melee characters, but be easy for ranged attackers, while other enemies will be a nightmare for magic users, but easily fall to melee weapons. This makes for better multiplayer, with each person having a more specialized role.
-Immediately threatening conditions like shock, freeze, and confuse are clear and obvious to spot. When you are frozen, your character in physically covered in ice. Trying to quickly move back and forth will crack the ice, causing it to shatter and free the player trapped inside. Confusion now reverses your controls, instead of randomly switching them. This lets skilled, experienced players be able to guide their character even while suffering from confusion.
-Content wise, the game is leaps and bounds from the demo. There are 28 dungeons, including hard mode, and over 400 items. Plus, there are quests all over offering unique monsters to fight and exclusive items to find. Each dungeons has hidden rooms stacked with treasure, mysterious NPCs who may join you or sell exclusive items, and a secret room with alternate, rare versions of monsters.
-Players can use their skills faster. You get more SP per attack, more SP when damaged, more SP while fighting bosses, and everyone has a natural SP regen. This ups the pace of the game and makes combat more strategic, putting a bigger impact on your class and the diversity of your party members.
-The story is much fuller and has a proper resolution. There are a much larger number of NPCs, with each adding a personal insight into the world's conflict with the horrific Malice King. And with more dungeons to travel, there are several main, reoccurring characters who go dungeon hopping with you. The tale is still pieced together by the player based on who she meets in the randomly setup dungeons, but there are now a few forced cutscenes towards the end. Of course these are skip-able, for the adventuring party that has fought that boss a hundred times.
All this text and no mention of a release date? For that I say, sometime soon. Read More!
I'm really excited to soon be able to call this game complete. When I first came up with the plan for Dego, I wanted to finish development in a year, but now it's been 20 months! I'd like the thank everyone who has been following this project. I appreciate all the comments, feedback, suggestions, and most of all, stories of people's adventures in the game. It has taken longer than expected, but I want to remind everyone that this is a full length game with 30-40 hours of gameplay per character, and I want to release a final product that I believe is worth the wait.
On a side note, I'm really satisfied, almost surprised, with how well the character development turned out, considering a player can only equip three items. With each new tier of equipment, the game introduces new effects and passive abilities, and by the time you make the jump to endgame items, there is a huge variety of combos. Between dungeons, you can completely change how your character plays. I'm constantly trying to find new, horribly overpowered combos to make sure everything is properly balanced. I've found a theoretical combo that, with careful execution, can make a thief character permanently invincible. I already have 2/3 of the items needed; I just need to get a hold of an extremely rare item to make it happen. Still thinking of how to balance this one!
Here's a summary of some of the major changes made since that ancient demo I released, so long ago:
-Melee characters have inherent damage and defense boosts, plus a much larger attack radius. This helps them keep up with range and magic users, who have an easier time dodging. Some enemies will screw over melee characters, but be easy for ranged attackers, while other enemies will be a nightmare for magic users, but easily fall to melee weapons. This makes for better multiplayer, with each person having a more specialized role.
-Immediately threatening conditions like shock, freeze, and confuse are clear and obvious to spot. When you are frozen, your character in physically covered in ice. Trying to quickly move back and forth will crack the ice, causing it to shatter and free the player trapped inside. Confusion now reverses your controls, instead of randomly switching them. This lets skilled, experienced players be able to guide their character even while suffering from confusion.
-Content wise, the game is leaps and bounds from the demo. There are 28 dungeons, including hard mode, and over 400 items. Plus, there are quests all over offering unique monsters to fight and exclusive items to find. Each dungeons has hidden rooms stacked with treasure, mysterious NPCs who may join you or sell exclusive items, and a secret room with alternate, rare versions of monsters.
-Players can use their skills faster. You get more SP per attack, more SP when damaged, more SP while fighting bosses, and everyone has a natural SP regen. This ups the pace of the game and makes combat more strategic, putting a bigger impact on your class and the diversity of your party members.
-The story is much fuller and has a proper resolution. There are a much larger number of NPCs, with each adding a personal insight into the world's conflict with the horrific Malice King. And with more dungeons to travel, there are several main, reoccurring characters who go dungeon hopping with you. The tale is still pieced together by the player based on who she meets in the randomly setup dungeons, but there are now a few forced cutscenes towards the end. Of course these are skip-able, for the adventuring party that has fought that boss a hundred times.
All this text and no mention of a release date? For that I say, sometime soon. Read More!
A Minor Setback
For some reason, I decided it was best to handle all of my development on a nearly decade old computer, already one step past the edge of its life. Last Saturday, my old faithful hard drive decided its time was up. Now irreparable hard drive damage is the last thing you want to hear, especially when it contains the latest Dego build. Unfortunately, my most recent Dego backup wasn't all that recent. It was missing 50 new items, an extensive new quest, and a handful of bug fixes and balance tweaks - not anything I'd like to redo. Luckily, a friend and I managed to recover a significant amount of data from my little dead hard drive, and the data is resting safely on his external drive. Now all I need to get back to work is buy an external hard drive to hold all my backed up data and install all my development software on my laptop.
Not wanted to give all bad news, here's the remaining to-do list:
-Make reward items for 3 finished quest
-Make 2 new quests
-Make any extra items
-Make final tweaks
-Have a final round of testing
-And possibly add a secret dungeon (but I guess it wouldn't be a secret if I confirmed it, would it?) Read More!
Not wanted to give all bad news, here's the remaining to-do list:
-Make reward items for 3 finished quest
-Make 2 new quests
-Make any extra items
-Make final tweaks
-Have a final round of testing
-And possibly add a secret dungeon (but I guess it wouldn't be a secret if I confirmed it, would it?) Read More!
Item Spotlight: Bomb
This weapon was suggested by Dawnbomb, and I thought it was a really neat idea so I made sure to include it. Instead of a direct attack, the special attack of this item sets down a bomb. It counts down from 3, then blows up, damaging anything nearby. Even players suffer damage from the bomb, so make sure to stand back! This weapon is very useful for clumping monsters together and hitting them all at once. The bomb is quite special and can only be bought from an in-dungeon merchant. Read More!
Quest Spotlight: The Maestro
This is more of a minigame than a quest. The Maestro is a master composer known throughout the land, and lucky for you, he is willing to offer his services. He is willing to train anyone interested in music.
There are seven notes on the floor. The Maestro will play the middle note for reference, followed by a random note. Players must choose the right note to gain a point; choose wrong and you lose. Once you earn ten points, the party wins a reward, and the highest scoring player wins a bonus. Read More!
There are seven notes on the floor. The Maestro will play the middle note for reference, followed by a random note. Players must choose the right note to gain a point; choose wrong and you lose. Once you earn ten points, the party wins a reward, and the highest scoring player wins a bonus. Read More!
Item Spotlight: Fire Sword
This unique burning sword can shoot a powerful fireball attack. When a hero picks up this weapon, they have the versatility of switching between melee and range attacks at a moments notice. And being a sword covered in flames, it naturally has a chance of setting enemies on fire with each attack. No merchant can get a hold of one of these elusive blades, but treasure hunters say you might be able to spot one in the Catacombs. Read More!
Quest Spotlight: The Lost Sword
Since I'm working on quests and items, a couple people have suggested I post some updates showing off some of the quests and items in the game. So here is the start of short series of updates that will last until I'm ready to release the final game.
This shady, villain-like man asks you to pick up his lost sword, but refuses to explain why he is too afraid to do it himself.
The task seems simple enough. The sword is resting on the ground, surrounded by four inanimate stone statues. I bet nothing bad will happen when you pick it up. Read More!
This shady, villain-like man asks you to pick up his lost sword, but refuses to explain why he is too afraid to do it himself.
The task seems simple enough. The sword is resting on the ground, surrounded by four inanimate stone statues. I bet nothing bad will happen when you pick it up. Read More!
A Quick Update
I completely underestimated the amount of time it will take to finish this project! I know I said my next update would have a trailer, but I want to post this quick update to make sure everyone knows this project isn't dead, and I'm still working as often as possible.
This game is heavily item based, giving players the chance to put together countless equipment combinations to customize their character. Right now there are 300 items, a good portion of which offer something unique. Most of my time right now is going into making these items and testing it all. Additionally, there were a couple quests and minigames I had planned, but still needed go back and add in. So basically, quests, items, and testing left to do. Don't know when Dego will be finished. Read More!
This game is heavily item based, giving players the chance to put together countless equipment combinations to customize their character. Right now there are 300 items, a good portion of which offer something unique. Most of my time right now is going into making these items and testing it all. Additionally, there were a couple quests and minigames I had planned, but still needed go back and add in. So basically, quests, items, and testing left to do. Don't know when Dego will be finished. Read More!
14/14 Dungeons Complete
Today I got to beat the final boss for the first time (personally, it needs to be harder)! This means the bulk of the game's content is done, which is a huge sigh of relief for me. There is still more to do, like go back and fix up some loose ends/unfinished quests in previous dungeons. Maybe add some secret levels? You'll have to play to find out!
Now there's just a few finishes touches left, and of course, having a play through to make sure everything is balanced. I'm hoping to put up a trailer as my next update. Read More!
Now there's just a few finishes touches left, and of course, having a play through to make sure everything is balanced. I'm hoping to put up a trailer as my next update. Read More!
What could it be?
What is this strange monster?
It took away over half my HP while trying to take a screenshot! You'll have to be at full attention if you want to come out of this challenging battle alive. Read More!
It took away over half my HP while trying to take a screenshot! You'll have to be at full attention if you want to come out of this challenging battle alive. Read More!
Title Screen
Ashingda 27 was kind enough to draw Dego a new title screen!
The title features a party of four facing off against a group of monsters, led by the Envoy of Malice. Read More!
The title features a party of four facing off against a group of monsters, led by the Envoy of Malice. Read More!