Presenting Dego

Dego Released!

2010-08-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

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The most common problem is missing or outdated DirectX 9 dlls.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.

Story and Characters

2010-08-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

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.

Heathcliff's Battle Arena

2010-08-12T15:40:00.000-07:00

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.

Unlock Shop

2010-08-11T21:37:00.001-07:00

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.

Item Combos

2010-08-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

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!

Dego Trailer

2010-08-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Item Spotlight: The Wayfarer's Wand

2010-08-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

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!

Quest Spotlight: The Depths of the World and the Forgotten Scroll

2010-07-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

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.

Final Status Update

2010-07-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

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.

A Minor Setback

2010-06-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

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?)

Item Spotlight: Bomb

2010-06-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

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.

Quest Spotlight: The Maestro

2010-05-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

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.

Item Spotlight: Fire Sword

2010-05-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

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.

Quest Spotlight: The Lost Sword

2010-05-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

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.

A Quick Update

2010-05-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

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.

14/14 Dungeons Complete

2010-03-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

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.

What could it be?

2010-01-22T21:57:00.000-08:00

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.

Title Screen

2010-01-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

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.

Thief Class Rebalance

2009-12-28T11:54:00.000-08:00

Due to popular demand(my friends yelling at me), the thief class has been rebalanced:

-Starting Stats-
HP: 125
Melee: 15
Range: 15
Magic: 5
Weapon: Dagger

-Skills-
Level 1: For 180 seconds, monsters drop 150% health!
Level 2: For 15 seconds, you attack 80% faster!
Level 3: For 180 seconds, monsters give 150% gold and exp!
Level 4: Cloak yourself. You are invincible for 15 seconds!

Over 150 Items

2009-12-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a screenshot showing a custom weapon made by razerx. Each set of weapons add new special attacks, giving a variety of ways for combat to play out. Many of the best items are found only as quest rewards, so always take the time to help an out NPC.

And keep a lookout! There just might be a secret shop hidden inside one of the dungeons.

500 Downloads!

2009-11-18T17:42:00.000-08:00

A special thanks to everyone who gave feedback, suggestions, and bug reports!

Here are the three big things left on the to-do list:
-Make the final area
-Update previous dungeons
-Add several minor features

It shouldn't be long now. The final version is just around the corner.

11/14 Dungeons Complete

2009-11-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

I have taken a long break from working on Dego, but now it is time to finish up the game. There are only a few dungeons left, but I want to make sure each area adds new challenges and AI patterns. The final dungeons take the most time!

I've made countless tweaks to the game mechanics and will be adding several new features to existing dungeons. Some changes include:
-New ally types
-Power Drive special now knocks enemies back - making it incredibly awesome
-Players are no longer repositioned after using a camp, unless they were dead

Keep checking back for progress updates!

The Catacombs

2009-09-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

I've begun working on the Catacombs, Dego's penultimate dungeon. This level features the strongest, most unique enemies so far and has the most drastic graphic change between dungeons 1 and 2. Just what is burried in the depths of the Catacombs?

Be careful, skeletons and zombies are looking to add your corpse to the unkempt piles. And keep a close eye out, who knows what else haunts these narrow halls.

Explore the crypts and the burial mounds. Just watch out for traps!

Think your character is strong? Face off against the deadly vampires, capable of sucking the health right out of you and then transforming into a bat to make their quick escape.

300 downloads!

2009-09-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Dego Demo has officially received over 300 downloads. Thanks to everyone who played and keep on spreading the word.

Yeah, progress has been slow...

2009-08-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been very busy for me, giving me only a brief chance to work on Dego. It didn't help that the NPCs for the latest dungeon required several new features added to the event scripting system. Not to mention the items given out as quest rewards required several new features to the item system.

Over 100 Items

2009-08-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

The game's database has finally reached over 100 items! As you progress through the game, there are more and more ways to get equipment - like a quest reward or by talking to a special NPC. I'm continuing to add new weapon abilities and specials, like the Vampire special that sacrifices large damage for a powerful health steal.

I've made another round of small, mostly unnoticeable updates, like a 20-50% FPS boost! The biggest change is a tweaking of melee characters. Many players complained that range and magic attackers had an advantage, so now melee characters have a slight attack boost and damage reduction. Additionally, they have extra attack range to make it easier to get multiple enemies with a single strike.

8/14 Dungeons Complete

2009-07-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

A small progress update: over half the game's content is finished. I'm working hard to make each dungeon better than the last and to fill them with interesting enemies. It shouldn't be much longer before the final version is ready!

I'm constantly doing minor updates and bug fixes as well. One of the things added was a special graphic to the confuse and freeze conditions. Players can now easily notice when they are confused, and the controls are properly reversed. When players get frozen, they can physically see themselves inside a block of ice. If the player changes directions quickly, the ice will shatter and the condition will end early.

Introducing the Ice Temple

2009-07-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

The Ice Temple is a multi-part side quest. This is the grandest, most adventurous quest to date - featuring an entire bonus dungeon designed solely for this challenge.

Click Read More for the entire update!

Players team up with five archeologist to excavate the old Ice Temple.

What you'll find is a massive raid featuring extra large monster groups, extra large treasure spawns, and rare, bonus items designed only for this quest.

New Video

2009-07-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

Check out the latest gameplay video:

The video plays through a couple rooms of the game's newest dungeon.

Dego Demo V1.1

2009-07-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

Dego Demo Version 1.1 Released!

Features:
-4 dungeons, 60 items, and a ton of monsters
-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

Click Read More for entire post!

Can I use my old character?
Yes! In the old Dego Beta "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 Demo "Saves" folder. When you first load your character, the save file will be auto-updated to work with the new saved data, included an additional page of character statistics.

Hint:
If a dungeon is too hard, don't keep trying forever. Completing previous dungeons, and the quests inside, can earn a lot of exp and items.

New Feature: Trade with other players!
Make sure to test out this new system! Two players at a time can trade by selecting it from the Shop sub-menu. Three star items are incredibly rare, so if you're playing with greedy friends, trading might be your only option!

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 multiple gamepad and wiimote buttons to keyboard keys.

All controls can be changed ingame, but default controls for player 1 are: arrow keys, z, x
Pressing "Escape" will forfeit the current dungeon

The game doesn't work!
The most common problem is missing or outdated DirectX 9 dlls. You can download the update from microsoft.com

If it's a gameplay bug or another type of error, post it here, and I'll try to fix it.

Screenshots For All!

2009-06-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

A set of screenshots showing off a variety of areas in the game. Click "Read More" to see the entire set.

First Gameplay Video

2009-06-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

Here's the first Dego gameplay video! This was a quick clip of me playing in an early, never released test level. Much has changed since this video!

Concept Screens

2009-06-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the first released screenshots. These are early concept maps used to test the level editor and test out future level ideas.

"If we travel past the horizon, what do you think we'll find?"
"I don't know, I don't care. Just as long as we walk together..."

What is Dego?

2009-06-30T17:53:00.001-07:00

The mysterious Malice King has conquered the land; rumors of his hatred race from ear to ear. Knights and nobles who dare challenge their new king are dispatched side by side; their haunted souls feeding the Malice King's might. The world cries for a hero to stop the unstoppable, to bring hope back to the land. Challenge evil alone or gather three heroes to fight by your side!

Dego is a dungeon crawler for 1 to 4 players. This action RPG revolves around exploring and collecting, and features a simple, pick-up-and-play combat system that emphasizes player skill and teamwork over stat points.

- Create a custom character -
Choose your hair, clothing, accessories, and class. Battle monsters to earn stat points and find more clothes inside treasure chests.

- Collectible equipment -
Dego features three main types of weapons: melee, range, and magic. Each weapon will have different bonuses and special attack.

- Dungeons -
Dungeons are random and feature multiple paths, hidden rooms, puzzles, and bosses. There are plenty of secrets to find!