Dungeon Crawl - Final Revsions Update

[@Genghis-Pawn]

Just letting you know folks out here appreciate you take the time for an update!

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks for continuing to check in. Yeah, I probably waited too long to do an update. Just felt crushed under the weight of all the revisions and am finally coming up for air.

[@jasonmabry8526]

I'm new to this channel by way of random youtube suggestion, but now I am invested in this! Looks amazing!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks a lot! I mostly just see all the bugs right now. But it's good to know has has some curb appeal.

[@communis_]

Rich!!! All of these changes look incredible, dude. I think about LOW often and always get super excited to see new video uploads. You're getting so close!!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks a lot man! Feels close! Feels far. It's far-close... The next 4 weeks will be intense.

[@communis_]

@@bluebotic2327 sending all the positive iterative design and testing vibes your way

[@machinenoise9622]

I love the simplicity of the minis. They let my imagination do the work.

[@everettguermont5914]

I could go on and on about how much I love the ideas, thought, and care put into this. This looks like the boardgame I've been looking for my entire life. Simply amazing.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks for the kind words. It's been challenging to thread the needle and not let all the original idea run amuck. Hopefully it all comes together (soon) into something fun and playable and true to my original vision. I think it will.

[@nightbirdgames]

Amazing work! Everything I see here is an improvement visually and mechanically. I'm glad you chose to use the jumbo sized cards for Quest and Hero cards. Very useful for expansions that can fit in the small pro box. Excluding the Doom weavers in the base is a good idea I think. Especially if they are added into the wilderness expansion. Everything here just looks clean! I don't know if I ever said this, but I LOVE the color pallet for this game and I'm glad you chose to recolor the ingredients to green, they look great. Welcome back lol.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks man! I really appreciate it. I'm gonna try to get you a copy of the new version. We'll make it happen!

[@TARMHeLL]

Those cultist minis look perfect as is, it almost look like little wooden sculptures, they got a lot of charm, The hero mage needs a hat or something to differentiate it from the cultists. This game looks awesome.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks. Yeah they do a chunky woodcarved look due to the low poly modeling. Agreed about the Mage Hat. I thought of making it taller, more pointed-wizardly, or just heavier, more fabric etc.

[@torq21]

Just discovered this project. As I'm always on the lookout for my perfect dungeon crawler I'm very excited to see where this one ends up!

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks!

[@chrisholland9969]

Looking good, can’t wait for the final product!

[@bluebotic2327]

Chris! Welcome to the chaos factory! It's getting close! [as finish line accelerates away from me at a nonlinear rate]

[@michaelpeloquin6336]

Just recently discovered LOW, but very excited for the next steps!!!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks for you interest. Coming together slowly.

[@KyawThurein]

I could clearly see that you and all the testers have been putting so much effort into this game. A huge thumbs up!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks a lot. The alphas testers, beta testers, and continuous high quality feedback has been instrumental in getting this far.

[@dndstuffs_1492]

Minis look awesome. The scale really makes the small giant worm feel huge which is great. Can’t wait to see where you take this game!

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks. Also working on a standees add-on, which will be similar in scale but 2d upright.

[@j3errym]

Great progression, like the smaller minis.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks. The 3D minis prototyping is kind of a first step towards someday offering an official minis upgrade. We'll see.

[@Michael.Virtus]

Awesome evolution. It's getting better and better.

[@bluebotic2327]

At the very least, hopefully getting easier to learn without the designer in the room to answer questions. That's the primary goal now.

[@GrayArmyGaming]

Looks awesome! I am in!

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks!

[@raskolnikov6443]

Your video was just recommended to me. Absolutely love the designs and the box art is beautiful as well (looking at an older video). Such great work! I am a huge fan of dungeon crawlers so I’m very interested in this project.

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks a lot for your interest. It's been quite a ride getting it to this point.

[@drnoone3596]

Love the video. I enjoy watching the process

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks for your interest. I really appreciate it.

[@ike_d5402]

Holy cow, a fellow dungeon crawl fan who also uses a Surface Book! We must be the only two in the world! I subbed to stay updated, looking forward to learning more about the final product!

[@bluebotic2327]

Ha! That's awesome! I LOVE my SurfaceBook2. It's like a Macbook Pro and an iPad Pro all rolled into one. Mine's over 5 years old. I really need a new machine but they don't make the SurfaceBook anymore. So I'll just keep cranking away on this one until it dies, but maybe it never will?

[@ike_d5402]

@@bluebotic2327 I have an i7 Book 3 15" and love it. But, I'm digging your game more than that right now 🙂

[@rondanuser1204]

Love the look and feel of the game! I'll buy as soon as it's out!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks a lot! Hopefully I can get this things shipped this summer! Finally....

[@TheDungeonDive]

Right on! Looking forward to this.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks Daniel! It's a huge mess right now, but I'm slowly getting it all put back together bit by cardboard bit. I've learned that making a playable game is one thing, but making a playable game that doesn't require the developer onsite to play it is a another thing. I'm hoping this revision cycle will transform my game from the former to the latter.

[@anjovimusic]

Everything's looking great! thanks for sharing!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks for your interest! I appreciate it.

[@Talliesyn]

I am in the process of creating the game myself. But as life goes on my project is put aside. Projects like this rekindle my interest and make me realise there's still stuff to be made that is both creative and interesting. At the same time this terrifies me, how well thought your game is, how big leap I need to make to be able to showcase anything at all.

[@bluebotic2327]

I think every project has its own scope and scale and development cycle. LOW is not really a blueprint for how to make a game. In fact, it might be a blueprint of how NOT to make a game. This game has taken forever to make for many reasons. You could easily make a great game in far less time and with far simpler, cleaner graphics and rules. Don't measure your project or progress against mine. I think the best thing you can do is exercise your creative brain. Spend time on it daily. Even if it's just keeping a notebook or sketchbook handy and devoting 20 minutes a day to creative thought. I went years without making anything--I just got busy with life, and that's okay. But then came back to it when I had more bandwidth. The creative spirit doesn't die, it hibernates.

[@optomix3988]

I am excited about these minis as well.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks!

[@brandonadams3914]

looks amazing! Great work so far

[@bluebotic2327]

thank you!

[@johnmiddleton4291]

I like it. Good to see the progress you have made in the last few weeks.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks John. I'll run the Upgrades/Paths stuff by you once I get it working. It's still wonky. Trying to figure out how to keep it simple but also compelling. With only 4 upgrade chits per hero and then somehow linking some of them to equipment....

[@neilgooge]

Hey its been a while... A few difficulties at my en that I am finnaly clearing up, but I am finally looking at getting on my own similar journey. Amd in doing so I revisted the channel to see how things are moving along. It look incredible. As always I have a thought. Honestly... I wouldn't have someone else resculpt those minisis. Your approach and end result 100% suits your games aesthetic. I would just stick with those low poly takes you have... really really nice work, as it was when I first found your channel... this is just so inspiring. :)

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks Neil! Good to see you. I hope your new creative journey is a good one too. Yeah, it might actually be my 3d printer that bothers me more than the actual models. Although, at the very least, I could subdivide/smooth them a tad more.

[@optomix3988]

Looks super cool. I love Dungeon Crawls.

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks!

[@optomix3988]

I subscribed so that I can get a copy when it is released. @@bluebotic2327

[@kkantele]

Keep it coming! When rewrite is finished send it to me - I am eagerly waiting to proofread/help you with this crawl!

[@bluebotic2327]

Definitely! I hope to have a new rulebook to share in the next week.

[@someguyynick]

i AM so looking forward to getting my hands on this!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks a lot! I appreciate your enthusiasm.

[@atmosinvest]

Amazing, very inspiring. Thank you!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks for your interest! I'm glad you find it inspiring. That's really the goal. Let's all make stuff!

[@allluckyseven]

All great changes and improvements!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks man. It's still a huge mess that I'm trying to put back together. My knuckles are bruised and bleeding.

[@allluckyseven]

@@bluebotic2327 Oh, yeah, it's A LOT of work! Honestly I thought it was crazy to try and do all that at this point, but you're pulling it off!

[@bluebotic2327]

@@allluckyseven I still think it's crazy. I think I'm crazy. But I'm just sort of rolling with it.

[@koshkapaintingstudio1140]

Wooooow love your work, I Will buy your game!

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks, I really appreciate your support.

[@devinpalmer617]

Super excited, big fan of the bigger stat track board especially. Quest cards look great.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks. The quest cards took a lot of iterating. Still not perfect, but time to move on (to the other 500 tasks, hehe)

[@GeekGamers01]

Great update! I’m excited about this.

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks a lot GeekGamers. I look forward to sharing V1.0 with you.

[@GeekGamers01]

@@bluebotic2327 ♥️

[@dustinwilkinson828]

I look forward to the release!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks! Me too.....

[@KellyBC]

Looks great! I like the warning chits (reminds me of Magic Realm). Plus I like that some of them have goals (diamonds) on them. I am really looking forward to playing this when it is ready to purchase!

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks! I appreciate it. Yeah, the game is loosely inspired by several games, Magic Realm being one of them. But it plays quite differently.

[@beeldspraak]

Came across this video by the holy algorithm. Well I can say I am very interested where your project will lead to! Will subscribe to you channel to follow!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thank you for your interest in my game. I appreciate it.

[@PriNcEoFSpAcE009]

good luck with the project.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thankyou!

[@kirkyoung4147]

I cant wait for the final product :)

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks!

[@Mortis2405]

Greetings from UK. Stumbled across this vid and I’m really interested in this, looks awesome. What’s the plan for funding? Crowdfunding or online order? Good luck with the remaining design 😊

[@bluebotic2327]

Version 1.0 Will hopefully launch in September, and will for sale on TheGameCtrafter. Print on Demand. If that goes well I'll look into something more UK/EU friendly. I'd love to make LOW available across the pond, it's just tricky for a one man operation. A print and play version will be available. And probably a TTS.

[@sebastianheyer2109]

I realy cant wait for this. I will buy it as soon as it hits TGC. Cool thing that you will support this Game with Expansions. This will be something special for sure. Thank you for your hard work. :)

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks for your interest! I hope to continue making this game better and better long after v1.0 ships. After a short break. So many ideas, so little time.

[@sebastianheyer2109]

@@bluebotic2327 I realy see the Passion you put into this and i think that chances are good, that you will reach your goal. For an Indie Game you already have a great Community which eagerly awaits your Game, including myself. :) One question for the Expansion you have planed (wilderness and city of thieves): do you plan to add more rare loot and charakter upgrades for more variety in the future? Keep up your great work and thanks for bring your vision toour tables. :)

[@bluebotic2327]

@@sebastianheyer2109 Yes, I do plan include more loot, rare items, and hero path upgrades with each expansion. And I could potentially release small box expansions with more items and upgrades. Hopefully once the engine is stable I can focus more on content.

[@sebastianheyer2109]

@@bluebotic2327 Thats sounds realy good. I wish you the best for your Game. Cant wait to play it myself.

[@RonBlankenbeckler]

How will we be able to purchase this when it comes out? I just stumbled on this and love the way it looks

[@bluebotic2327]

V1.0 will be for sale at TheGameCrafter.com, a Print on Demand board game manufacturer. Hopefully in September.

[@Tedpikel]

Looks like nice and chonky game mechanics! Sorry if you have already answered this, but where did you get the rounded corner cutter you use at 8:47 ?

[@bluebotic2327]

I got that corner clipper from Oregon Laminations. I wish it had an odometer on it. It's clipped thousands and thousands of corners.....

[@WystandeValera]

Towards is misspelled on your monster sheet (top by group monsters)

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks. Yeah that document was only for my own personal use as I was sorting out the game counter refactor. I noticed some misspelling too once I printed it. That sheet and the notes on it will not ship with the game.

[@primafacie5029]

Glad i found this

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks!

[@yaroslavvaliev5012]

Awesome style. Minis and board are oozing style. I do not think you should hire anyone in this department if you have time to continue in this vein by yourself with other minis.

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks for your feedback. I'm realizing that my displeasure with the game's minis so far might have to do more with my 3D printer than my models. And also my sloppy paint jobs. I still think I could subdivide and smooth my geometry a bit, but I sort of agree that the basic vibe of the minis is pretty close, if you ignore the print quality and the paint job.

[@yaroslavvaliev5012]

@@bluebotic2327 I believe a bit of jankines adds them unique daring life. Like carved pagan occult figurines made by some hermit. I believe that whichever direction you'll choose it will be stylish and vibrant

[@jamesflames6987]

Looks awesome.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thank you!

[@AymericGA]

Great update, congrats on the progress! One small comment: you have some rounded corners to the counters and I don't have a corner puncher so my print and play version would have white corners on the counters. I suggest leaving the corners square.

[@bluebotic2327]

Totally, the print and play version will have full bleed square corners. You will still be able to corner clip them after you print them out, but that is totally optional. The art will not contain rounded corners.

[@carldanescd]

Excellent work. Would you do commission work? Ive had a game in development hell for ever.

[@bluebotic2327]

Right now I'm not doing any commision work, but thanks for your interest! I really appreciate it.

[@axtmann]

I think even if you outsource mini sculpting for a release version you should hold onto that low-poly aesthetic. Those minis look almost whittled from wood and give more room for the imagination by being 'less realistic'. If that makes sense. Standee's as the boxed default are great and I wish more games were into using compact minis.

[@bluebotic2327]

Agreed. These mini prototypes are very close to what I'd want as the official minis. Maybe just. 25% more refined, but still 'wood cut'.

[@axtmann]

@@bluebotic2327 nice, glad to hear you are embracing the really strong aesthetics you already have established. Congratulations on finishing your game design!

[@ModerateHipster]

So, was this a Kickstarter I missed? Or will it be in the future? It looks awesome and I'd totally buy a copy if I knew where to go....

[@bluebotic2327]

Nah, I’m just a dude making a game. It’s almost done. Release in September, maybe. Initially, it’ll be available for purchase on TheGameCrafter (print on demand). I’ll also release a print and play version. And eventually I’ll figure out to sell in UK/EU.

[@cakesmasher487]

I like your game a lot! Thank you for posting the process. Where would I go to buy this when it's done?

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks for your interest! v1.0 will be for sale on TheGameCrafter.com, probably in Early September, depending on how much more testing I do after these final revisions. If v1.0 gains enough interest, then I'll look into making the game more easily available outside the US.

[@stex816]

I'd love to be able to get the STLs once everything is finalized, to print them on my resin printer. The quality of gamecrafter printed minis is not good enough for me

[@bluebotic2327]

I'll definitely make them available, probably on BoardGameGeek's LOW files section. And on an external website as well. The STL files are currently optimized for FDM printing. They do not contain supports etc. Does your resin printer slicer software add supports? I have always been curious about this.

[@stex816]

@@bluebotic2327 oh yeah, its really easy to add supports for resin prints, I prefer it greatly over FDM. I use Lychee Slicer and these models seem so low poly that the automatic supports are probably even enough

[@klausjessen5014]

looks amazing

[@bluebotic2327]

Thank you.

[@coskunkocagoz792]

Recommendation: why not use iconagraphy that resembles to the behaviour instead of more abstract shapes. Example: for dread there is moving towards player involved, then use a running feet icon or such maybe?

[@bluebotic2327]

Yeah, makes sense. But then I'm like, how do I draw running feet. And at such a tiny scale, will the running feet look like running feet, or will they read like a little blob. And will the blob be less discernable than a stick figure. And are they suppose to represent the Dread's feet or the Hero's feet? If Dread's feet, the dread all convert to demons, and all the demons in this game float and are not humanoid and don't have feet. And if hero, why not draw a hero icon or humanoid icon. What you're saying makes sense, these are just the endless conversations I have in my head about every graphic design decision.

[@idontwanttopickone]

These are great, I like the simple design of the minis! But I can see them being knocked over a lot with them being so small and close together. Have you considered making it possible for people to magnetise the minis? A hole in the bottom of the mini for a standard-sized neodymium magnet and a bit of metal on the back of the dungeon cards would stop things from getting knocked over. Also, there are a lot of symbols and names on the dungeon tiles. Could you reduce these down? Clean them up a bit to make the tiles usable in other scenarios you want to make in the future. I would also move all the items onto cards. I just watched your playthrough videos and it seems like a bad idea to require players to constantly have to look up items in the rulebook. Better to have one set of cards with all the item rules on them. Then you just place the item card by your character and when you use it you discard it.

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks for your feedback! Much appreciated. I've added starting item jumbo reference cards in this revision cycle so that should help a lot. Originally the game was intended to be much more lo-fi and require looking lots up in the rulebook and using lots of tables. Spellbook and concoctions recipes have also been moved to Jumbo reference cards. Good idea on magnetizing. But, I doubt 5% of the people that buy this game are going to print the minis, and I doubt half of that 5% would take time to magnetize. I plan to play test with the minis and I'll see if knocking them over is an issue. Because the poses are so static, the center of gravity of the minis is pretty low and stable. I've revised the map tile icons in this revision cycle. But, there's really just Warnings, Doors, Discoveries, Torch, and secret doors & passages. Even in future scenarios, there will still need to be all these trigger points. In the beginning I tried to completely extract these triggers from the map tile art and baked them into some sort of procedural mechanic with more dice rolling and randomization, but at the end of the day, baking these triggers into the map tiles themselves just flowed better. Future scenario-specific rules can ignore some or all of these. But the new map tiles will be easier to grok. They are cleaner than what you see here.

[@carlosr6462]

it's looking really cool

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks!

[@Rathammergames]

I love this!!

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks a lot! I appreciate it.

[@andersand6576]

Have returned after several months have have to watch the backlog. Looks great, the larger score boards makes it less clunky and the 3d minis really makes the game pop. Have you considered 3d tokens for torch, health, sanity and will? On a small foot they could be easy to grab and move around withput stacking. Great to hear you are thinking expansions, looking forward to hear more.

[@bluebotic2327]

3D tokens would be cool. I never even considered that. I might make them available as part of the STL minis add-on or something.

[@grimskald]

Love it

[@bluebotic2327]

Thank you!

[@PijamasGagarin]

You got me very intrigued. Will you be selling it in Europe?

[@bluebotic2327]

Version 1.0 will be for sale on TheGameCrafter (in September, hopefully) which I understand does not have great support for sales outside of the US. But, if the initial release goes well, finding a way to distribute the game in Europe is very high on my wishlist. I would LOVE to make this game available in the UK and EU and beyond. It's just tricky for a one-man studio.

[@PijamasGagarin]

@@bluebotic2327 totally understand and defiantly hope that this game will get a success. Have you thought about PDF distribution?

[@bluebotic2327]

@@PijamasGagarin Oh yeah, for sure. I forgot to mention that! I will make a Print & Play version available shortly after I reach v1.0, so anyone in the world can play the game if they are up to the crafting challenge. I will also likely make a TTS version available.

[@Warghoul]

Very cool

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks!

[@SandorHQ]

Well. You haven't been idle. I'm honestly unable to pick which one of these improvements are my favorites. However, when you've placed that space marine on the board... my imagination just exploded... But I'm NOT suggesting anything! :) Seriously: incredible job on the refinement of game components and streamlining of the rules.

[@bluebotic2327]

Sandor! Thanks man! Been thinking about you and hoping WoY is going well. I'll shoot you the new rulebook once I get it done-ish...

[@SandorHQ]

@@bluebotic2327 Thank you for keeping me in the loop, I'm super interested! :) WoY is scheduled to be released in October, but I'm already working on my next one. I'll show you once I have an MVP but it's too soon to say more.

[@bluebotic2327]

@@SandorHQ That's great! Can't wait to see WoY on the open market and very curious what your new project is all about.

[@Warghoul]

When will this be available for pre order or just order?

[@bluebotic2327]

Probably just straight orders on TheGameCrafter. Print on Demand. But I need to look into their 'Crowd Sale' option that is more like pre-orders to get enough buy-in to lower the price etc. If the initial release goes okay, I'll look into expanding into UK/EU. It's just trickier to navigate that.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

Dungeon Crawl looks like a good game.

[@bluebotic2327]

Hey thanks!

[@danielwilliamson6180]

@@bluebotic2327 Do you have names for your characters?

[@bluebotic2327]

@@danielwilliamson6180 yes. I’ve gone back and forth about naming them for final release. But as of now, the hero cards still have hero names.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

@@bluebotic2327 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmGnfnh9jrehd7M

[@georgiewen]

i don't know what this is but that is cute

[@bluebotic2327]

Thanks!

[@adamjc9167]

Very interesting. Where and when is this getting released?

[@bluebotic2327]

I hope to do a another round of final testing in August and release v1.0 in Early September on TheGameCrafter. It's getting very close. If the game does well on that platform as a 'Print On Demand' game, then I'll look into making the game more widely available outside the US.

[@40zed]

neat

[@bluebotic2327]

thanks