Roadlike - what exactly is Death Roads: Tournament?
Welcome back to Death Roads: Tournament dev updates! Today we will discuss in more detail a unique blend of design building blocks that we have used to create our game. We have dubbed the genre “roadlike”, but its full description reads “turn-based tactics roguelike deckbuilder”. We know - it’s a mouthful, so let’s dive straight in!
Battles in Death Roads: Tournament mix elements of card and tactics games. These genres are turn-based, so the first part of our genre description is pretty straightforward. You control your car that is placed on a road sectioned like a grid. Unlike in regular tactics games, your sweet ride does not have any inherent actions. All the options are stored in different types of cards. Driver cards are available for a singular use each turn, and they make sure you are always able to perform the most basic actions like moving, changing gears and swapping other cards.
Engine and Steering cards have varying sets of actions depending on the gear your car is currently on. Weapon cards let you attack opponents, provided you are in range to use them. Cards have their cost in Handling, and if you ever lose all of it, you enter Skid, drawing cards from a special deck and being at the mercy of chance. Each turn is a complicated puzzle and a balancing act between positioning, attacking, changing gears, influencing your hand and planning for future maneuvers.
In order to become the top dog of futuristic vehicular skirmishes, you need to prepare your deck beforehand. The deckbuilding aspect appears here but with a twist on the basic blueprint. Instead of simply adding and removing singular cards, you build your deck by choosing components to be installed in your car that provide sets of cards and modify the vehicle's statistics. Each car has its body component that cannot be swapped, so make sure your additions fit the base you chose before the run has started!
Finally, we arrive at the last part - the roguelike element. Each attempt at succeeding in the Death Roads: Tournament has a different map outline, sets of enemies you encounter along the way, random events and components that will be awarded after winning battles. Also, if you fail, there is no trying again - you need to start from scratch.
We have designed Death Roads: Tournament to feel unique and familiar at the same time. We are very excited about what we have created and we can’t wait to hear your feedback. Good luck in the upcoming races!
A little bit of tactic…
Battles in Death Roads: Tournament mix elements of card and tactics games. These genres are turn-based, so the first part of our genre description is pretty straightforward. You control your car that is placed on a road sectioned like a grid. Unlike in regular tactics games, your sweet ride does not have any inherent actions. All the options are stored in different types of cards. Driver cards are available for a singular use each turn, and they make sure you are always able to perform the most basic actions like moving, changing gears and swapping other cards.
…add a pinch of cars to it…
Engine and Steering cards have varying sets of actions depending on the gear your car is currently on. Weapon cards let you attack opponents, provided you are in range to use them. Cards have their cost in Handling, and if you ever lose all of it, you enter Skid, drawing cards from a special deck and being at the mercy of chance. Each turn is a complicated puzzle and a balancing act between positioning, attacking, changing gears, influencing your hand and planning for future maneuvers.
…mix with the deck builder…
In order to become the top dog of futuristic vehicular skirmishes, you need to prepare your deck beforehand. The deckbuilding aspect appears here but with a twist on the basic blueprint. Instead of simply adding and removing singular cards, you build your deck by choosing components to be installed in your car that provide sets of cards and modify the vehicle's statistics. Each car has its body component that cannot be swapped, so make sure your additions fit the base you chose before the run has started!
…and sprinkle the roguelike - that's how roadlike was born!
Finally, we arrive at the last part - the roguelike element. Each attempt at succeeding in the Death Roads: Tournament has a different map outline, sets of enemies you encounter along the way, random events and components that will be awarded after winning battles. Also, if you fail, there is no trying again - you need to start from scratch.
We have designed Death Roads: Tournament to feel unique and familiar at the same time. We are very excited about what we have created and we can’t wait to hear your feedback. Good luck in the upcoming races!