Grimnight Heroes - 16 Bit Fantasy Action Roguelike

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by breban1, May 13, 2022.

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  1. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    #1 breban1, May 13, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2022
    Howdy TA!

    Just finishing up my latest game, Grimnight Heroes, and thought I'd share it with you all! It's a 16-Bit version of a *ahem* recently popular vampire game. It has tons of undead, bosses, special effects, and non-stop action. It's free-to-play with 100% optional ads, controller support and 60 fps goodness.

    You can permanently upgrade your heroes attributes (health, damage, speed) using treasure you find while playing, which will help you on your quest to Dracula's Castle.

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    Official Trailer:


    The Finer Details:
    • Full 16-Bit Graphics
    • Original "Vania" Inspired Soundtrack
    • 4 Action-Packed Stages to Complete
    • Tons of Level-Up Skills
    • 4 Heroes, all with Unique Abilities
    • Unlockable Magical Tomes to Carry with you into Battle
    • Permanently Upgrade Your Heroes Using Coins Earned
    • One-Handed Gameplay
    • Controller Support
    • 60 FPS Smoothness
    • Unlockable Game Modes
    • Quests with Coin Rewards to Keep You Motivated
    • Free to Play Offline with 100% Optional Ads and Reasonable IAP

    I'm shooting for a June 16th release (US/Canada), and will try to post regular updates whenever I can.

    I also set up Pre-Order, so if anyone is interested, please sign up - it would be most appreciated! (Hopefully I did it right!)

    iOS: USA/Canada
    App Store

    Android: USA/Canada
    Google Play Store
     
  2. JackDerp

    JackDerp Well-Known Member

    Dec 15, 2015
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    It looks really well made. I like the idea of permanent progression in a Vampire Survivors type game.

    One thing I do reccomend if runs take 20 minutes is that the game automatically saves when you exit or minimize it.
     
    AltsKev likes this.
  3. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    Thank you so much for complements!

    Yeah right now the game saves after each run, but I will give some thought to saving state anytime. There's a ton of mobs so hopefully it's not too crazy to implement!
     
  4. AltsKev

    AltsKev Well-Known Member

    Nov 12, 2016
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    Any beta release on ios ?
     
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  5. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    I'm currently not doing a beta, but am considering it. Thanks for your interest!
     
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  6. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    Official trailer added!

    Also, I plan on releasing Open Beta on Android this weekend (possibly iOS too). If you are interested, please watch this thread for updates!

    Thanks all!
     
  7. luckystrikeguy

    luckystrikeguy Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Looks awesome and I like the music.
     
  8. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    #8 breban1, May 21, 2022
    Last edited: May 21, 2022
    I'm so glad you like it!

    All of the game music was composed by the very talented artist xDeviruchi (https://itch.io/profile/xdeviruchi)

    I also set up Pre-Order for USA/Canada, so if anyone is interested, please sign up - it would be most appreciated! (Hopefully I did it right!)

    iOS: USA/Canada
    App Store

    Android: USA/Canada
    Google Play Store
     
  9. AltsKev

    AltsKev Well-Known Member

    Nov 12, 2016
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    Hello i cannot preord it, its not available in ios french store :(
     
  10. Jstorm

    Jstorm Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2020
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    So, I don’t think it’s a secret that this game is heavily inspired by vampire survivors.

    The question is, what makes this game stand out compared to the original or other clones?
     
  11. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    I should have stated that the game will be available for US/Canada to start as I don't have any translations yet :(

    Is English okay to release in France?

    With that said, if anyone is up for translating ~100 strings to other languages, it would be most appreciated! It's a text file which is pretty easy to edit. Reply/PM me if interested!
     
  12. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the question!

    My reply is a long one, but I wanted to be thorough to make sure I hit everything that makes Grimnight special.

    Okay, so I originally played VS about 4 months ago, which I thoroughly enjoyed. After playing I thought, "This would be really cool in 16-bit", and that's when I started creating Grimnight Heroes. At that time, I didn't see any clones available on mobile, but I have played a few since. Here are some features that make Grimnight stand out compared to others that are out there.

    Hero Special Abilities
    I haven't played VS much at all since my original play, but I don't recall the characters having special abilities. The unlockable Heroes in Grimnight each have a special ability:

    Shade the Assassin has “Orbital Attack”, a proc/special ability that allows her to throw daggers in all 8 directions in rapid succession (auto fires every ~5 seconds.)

    Samson the Barbarian has “Reborn”, which gives him an extra life after dying. He also uses a Heavy Axe, which is not available to other Heroes.

    Hero Progression
    I personally wasn't a huge fan of being able to reset your coin upgrades at will in VS, and I also never felt “connected” to any given character. Grimnight has permanent attribute upgrades on a per-hero basis: Health, Damage, and Speed. Once you find the Hero you like, you can concentrate on upgrading them to feel that connection. Right now there are 3 heroes but I plan on adding more after release.

    Feel/Framerate
    Although this may be obvious, having precise controls and 60fps makes a huge difference when playing action games like this. I put a ton of time into hitting 60fps consistently going all the way back to iPhone 7 on iOS, and Galaxy S7 for Android. It will probably be 60fps on older models too, but I don't have those to test on. I also kept the 8-direction controls - which game feels great IMO.

    Fair and Reasonable IAP/Ads
    Grimnight Hereos is free-to-play, with *optional* ads.

    The ads portion is a coin-doubler which will allow you to upgrade your heroes attributes a little bit quicker than if you didn't watch ads. Again, not required, but it supports me as a developer.

    The unlockable heroes can either be earned by using the coins you find in the game, or by paying a reasonable fee to unlock them if you want them sooner. The most you can spend in Grimnight is $3 USD.

    Continued Play: Extreme and Insane Mode
    After the first time through all stages, Extreme mode unlocks, which adds more mobs and increases their speed/health. Because the leadeboards are based on # of kills, this will allow you to raise your rank if you are good enough. After completing the game in Extreme, you unlock Insane mode, which does the same, just more difficult.

    Music
    Even though this is more opinion than others on the list, I have to bring it up. The music is awesome. Each song is inspired by Castlevania tunes, so if you like “Vampire Killers”, “Heart of Fire”, etc., you won't be disappointed. The songs are so good they get stuck in my head... which can be a curse at times, but for good reasons.

    If you want a sneak peak, here's a snippet of the tune from the final stage (Dracula's Castle):

    TL;DR
    The game runs smooth as silk, feels great and sounds amazing, has hero progression and fair IAP/Ads (which I feel is rare nowadays)
     
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  13. AltsKev

    AltsKev Well-Known Member

    Nov 12, 2016
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    Sure its ok, there are a lot of game in the french store not translated.

    But some use can give you one star just for that :(

    for example Imbroglio is full english and many other in french store

    So its up to you
     
  14. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    Yeah, that was my worry... I guess I'll start translating sooner than later!
     
    AltsKev likes this.
  15. luckystrikeguy

    luckystrikeguy Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Do you plan on having a disable add option?
     
  16. Jstorm

    Jstorm Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2020
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    Thanks for a detailed reply.

    I haven’t played VS or other clones myself, but I will be getting yours with the IAP since I felt your passion towards your game.

    I am not sure if a global leader board is something worth putting an effort though.
    I’ve seen cheaters just ruin the leaderboard, causing more trouble than good to devs.
     
  17. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    Actually, I never thought of it because the ads are optional. If I added a "remove ads" option, I guess you would get free double coins after each game? Do you think that would be worth it to you/others?
     
  18. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    Truly appreciate that you are considering IAP, but please only buy if you really like the game and feel it is worth it :)


    I am not sure if a global leader board is something worth putting an effort though.
    I’ve seen cheaters just ruin the leaderboard, causing more trouble than good to devs.


    I'll give some thought to maybe adding some other incentive for finishing the different difficulties if that's the case. It stinks that we even have to think about cheaters :(
     
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  19. Jstorm

    Jstorm Well-Known Member

    Feb 2, 2020
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    A quick question.
    When stats are maxed out, do heroes end up with the same health, damage, and speed? or the values differ between characters.
     
  20. breban1

    breban1 Well-Known Member

    #20 breban1, May 23, 2022
    Last edited: May 23, 2022
    Okay, so I've changed this a few times during development, but a quick answer to your question:

    Currently, the *unlockable* Heroes can max their attributes out and will be the same, but William (the base Hero) will not be as viable long-term as the unlockables.

    Here are the current starting values:

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    So all of the Heroes have different *starting* attributes.

    William the fighter (base Hero) is kind of low across the board.
    Shade the Assassin is quick on her feet, so she gets a nice boost to speed, and a smaller boost to the others.
    Samson the Barbarian is strong and burly so he starts with more health/damage, along with some xtra speed.

    Because you earn the 2 other Heroes, I wanted to make them a bit better and more special ability-wise.

    At one point I remember having Shade's health/damage capped at around ~80%, and Samson's speed capped ~70%, but I didn't want players to feel "cheated" after all the time they put in.

    I hope that helps!

    Loving the questions - keep 'em coming!
     

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