Hello everyone! Today, we decided to step away from petting frogs polishing code for a moment to look back (and a glimpse on what is to come!). Throughout the history of Die in the Dungeon, we've gone through hundreds of features, art tweaks and mechanic reworks. Join us in looking back on that process:
The story of Die in the Dungeon didn't start in an office, but in the chaos of a gamejam: very limited time, tons of caffeine and our desire to create something new. We love deckbuilders and roguelites alike, and the goal was to put our own twist on those genres. The first iteration of the game was done in just a week: no relics, no potions, not even a map; just 1 character, 4 dice and 5 enemies (including a boss!). For fun, here is a very early concept from those frantic days:
The idea of insects as enemies and some UI elements did not come from this first mockup, but other than that it's pretty close to the final version, right?
We uploaded that first version to Itch, and the player reaction blew us away! It was a bit of a slow burn at first (we didn't even place particularly well in the gamejam lol), but in less than a month there were lots of comments, videos popping up on YouTube, and even fanart of the game! The feedback on Itch made us realize something: Die in the Dungeon was definitely an idea worth expanding.
After bringing that original version to Steam (later renamed CLASSIC), our next big milestone was the release of Die in the Dungeon: ORIGINS. This is where the game really began to take its current shape. We completely reimagined the pixel art and animations, increasing the resolution to fit all the new elements on screen. Suddenly, movements became smoother, and the game gained its signature vibrant color palette with thick outlines. Relics, new enemies, a new final boss, and of course a new character -Lisver- were also introduced here!
The Demo and Early Access launch were moments of truth for us. We listened closely to your feedback and weren't afraid to make changes (that's the whole point of Early Access, right?). One of the most noticeable shifts was replacing classic dice pips with digits. This allowed for bigger numbers and crazier dice combinations. We also reworked the map structure and introduced new dice shapes: D4s and D8s. More recently, Endless Mode and the new dice-rolling events were a huge success, making the game bigger and more replayable!
The journey has certainly been a ride, oftentimes difficult, but we're incredibly grateful to be able to work on what we love! We want to thank everyone who rolled the dice with us in those early versions, and of course everyone who continues to support us today.
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But it's not time to relax just yet! We're preparing something truly massive. Stay tuned for updates, you don't want to miss what's coming!
Thank you for playing! 🐸💚
- the ATICO team