Dawnfolk News

IndieCade Europe was the first game development event I attended as a student. Meeting incredible developers there motivated me to pursue game development as my career. I'm deeply honored that my game has been nominated for IndieCade 2024.



For the occasion, I'm updating the demo with the version the jury will play until November 16th!. It features:

• The first story level in 3 difficulty modes, where you'll learn how to build your city and defend against darkness .
  
• The first challenge level, procedurally generated with a unique gameplay twist.
  
• The first puzzle level, focused on problem-solving and city optimization, plus a daily puzzle that changes every day.
  
• The endless level, a vast procedural map where your only goal is to survive and thrive (still very experimental).
  
• Tons of fixes and small improvements added over the past months and thanks to the latest open playtest (see results).
  

And if you farm a little blue light, you might even be able to play 2 more levels. ;)
It's only gonna be there for one month, then I'll put the previous demo back with less levels. You better enjoy it now!

Take care!

Darenn

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
I analyzed the playtest feedback during last livestream! You can watch the VOD or read the summary.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

I've been working non-stop on Dawnfolk. New levels, new modes, new buildings, new everything! So, it’s time for a public playtest to see if I'm heading in the right direction. And you can participate too, but more about this in a bit.
This test will include one level from each of the new game modes + all the bug fixing and tons a little improvements.

The Story mode guides you through the game’s narrative, introducing new mechanics and challenges as you go. You'll play the first level, Last Hope, which serves as both a tutorial and story introduction where you’ll build your first city and defend it from the darkness.

Puzzle mode focuses on logic and optimization. The first puzzle called Industrialist, will challenge you to produce as many materials as possible on a tiny map but with unlimited resources and time. You’ll earn a medal based on your production. Let me know if you get Gold, because you really need to think outside the box for this one!

I love the Puzzle mode because it pushes you to experiment with game mechanics in ways that aren't possible in Story mode. Even though I'm the developer, I’ve discovered new strategies for using terrain and buildings while trying to solve my own puzzles.

The Challenge mode is similar to a regular Dawnfolk game but with two key differences: it has a unique gameplay twist and it’s procedurally generated, offering a new map every time. In the first challenge level called Bad Fever,  the main character, Lueur, is sick. So whenever you try to illuminate a tile, another one lights up at random, making exploration trickier.

The Endless mode, features a huge procedurally generated map where your goal is to survive as long as possible.

The Progression in Dawnfolk has changed a lot. Instead of unlocking levels linearly, you now earn Blue Light by beating levels or optional objectives. You can spend that Blue light to unlock any level in any order. Plus, you can also buy modifiers, visual options, cheats, and other extras. I think it's pretty fun that you even have to illuminate the main menu of the game.

Btw you can also earn Blue Light by playing the daily puzzle, which changes every day. Here's a small tip: I will make all the other levels unavailable, but you can actually still play some of them if you're willing to collect enough blue light for it.

So do you want to give this new version a try? It would help me a lot and I'm sure you're gonna have fun. You can join the playtest by going to the steam page and clicking on this request access button here. I'll put the link to the page in the description. When you start the game, it will open a google form with all the explanations you need and a survey to fill in after you played the game. You have until the 1st of october 2024 to participate.

I'm looking forward to your feedback. Thanks, and take care!

Darenn

Early playtests of my city-builder indie game, Dawnfolk, revealed it needed more "exciting moments", so I came up with a unique solution that challenges traditional game design: collecting mini-games!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In this devlog, I'll walk you through why I added them, the design challenges, and how they transformed Dawnfolk from a perfectly predictable city-builder into something more surprising. Try the free demo on Steam and experience it for yourself.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the mini-games!

Take care!
-Darenn

Hey everyone! I wanted to take some time to say thank you to the wonderful organizations who have helped highlight Dawnfolk this year and last year!

Dawnfolk has been featured in:

• The Wholesome Direct AND the Wholesome Games Steam Celebration
  
• The Access-Ability Summer Showcase
  
• The Cerebral Puzzle Showcase
  
• Turn-Based Thursday Fest
  
• The Best Indie Games Summer Showcase
  

And I’ve got a fun surprise event coming up in October. 😈

Know of an event that I can submit Dawnfolk to? Let me know in the Discord!

Take care!
-Darenn