Episode 2: Crystal Skulls – Permanent Progression series

This document presents a new design iteration for the Permanent Progression of Curse of the Dead Gods.

To give players tools to unlock new items and boons during their journey, let us introduce a new currency: Crystal Skulls. Unlike Gold, Crystal Skulls are a currency that persists after death. Players can accumulate these one run after the other.

Where to find Crystal Skulls:

Crystal Skulls are to be found during core gameplay as a collectible.

+ Regular enemies have a small chance to drop one Crystal Skull when killed.
+ Elite enemies always drop one Crystal Skull when killed.
+ Champions & Boss always drop a large quantity of Crystal Skulls when defeated.
+ Extra Crystal Skulls may also be found in some chests or hidden places.

Underworld and cycle of Death:

+ Crystal Skulls are meant to be offered to the Dead Gods to permanently restore a portion of their power.
+ Whenever a player fails to finish the game (they die), they meet the Dead Gods in the Underworld, an ethereal place where they can offer Crystal Skulls to get persistent boons.
+ After offering Crystal Skulls and unlocking new elements, the character will be resurrected by the Dead Gods at the start of the Temple

Unlockable Conditions:

Every Unlockable in the game has conditions to be accessible for payment:

+ Starting Upgrades will unlock right after the first Death of the hero character
+ A majority of upgrades are hidden at the start, but their existence is known to the player. The game will tip the player with a more or less cryptic clue on how to unlock them.
+ Some Upgrades can be linked to others to form chains of unlockings, meaning players have to unlock one item first to be able to unlock the next one(s).

🡲 Once unlocked, the upgrade may be purchased by the player if he can afford it with enough Crystal Skulls. Bought upgrades are persistent for all next runs.

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We hope you enjoy those new ideas and this series! Those features are not implemented in the game yet but should be a part of an upcoming update. If you have any feedback or question, drop a comment in the comment section below.

Next episode will dive into Weapons & Relics upgrades, stay tuned!

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