Factsheet

Developer:
Terry Cavanagh, Marlowe Dobbe and Chipzel

Release date:
August 13th, 2019

Platforms:
Steam
itch.io

Website:
http://www.diceydungeons.com

Regular Price:

USD$14.99

About Dicey Dungeons

In Dicey Dungeons, a fast-paced and inviting new game from Terry Cavanagh (VVVVVV, Super Hexagon), Chipzel, and Marlowe Dobbe, you have been transformed into giant walking dice, and must use your skills to battle to the end of an ever-changing dungeon!

Play as one of six different characters, each with its own very distinctive playstyles and abilities. Fight monsters, find better loot, and level up your hero in this lighthearted deck-building roguelike. On each turn, thoughtfully balance your carefully planned strategy against the unknown of a dice roll - adapt your move to maximize your opportunities and minimize damage.

Learn, explore, and master each character's unique playstyle, ranging from the Thief, who gets to steal a random piece of enemy equipment every turn, to the Witch, who builds up a spellbook to summon powerful equipment, to the Robot, who gains dice by playing a push-your-luck blackjack game. Learn the nuance of each character class, while uncovering which one best fits your optimal playstyle. Balance strategy and planning against chance in an attempt to finally defeat Lady Luck!

Colourful, cheery artwork by Marlowe Dobbe and an upbeat, energetic soundtrack from Chipzel bring the strange, enchanting world of Dicey Dungeons to life, making for a deeply replayable game with a charming setting and a growing array of twists and secrets.

Behind The Dice

Cavanagh started working on Dicey Dungeons as part of the 7-Day Roguelike game jam in February 2018. His initial inspiration was to try a new take on deck-building roguelike mechanics, by balancing the tactics and strategy of deck-building against the explicit randomness of dice-rolling. He quickly realised there was much more depth to this idea than he could do justice to in seven days, and wanted to explore further. Starting from that single game structure, he found there were many different directions he could take, which eventually took shape in the six different character classes.

Cavanagh wanted to make a cast of characters that felt so distinctive from each other, that each one is almost like playing a different game. While the underlying mechanics don't change when you play as the different characters, the way you play with those mechanics themselves changes completely. Each character has totally different strategies and rules, bringing a fresh experience to each game.

Chipzel joined the project in summer 2018, bringing a catchy, upbeat soundtrack and expressive sound effects. Marlowe Dobbe joined shortly afterwards, bringing her bright, adorable and playful artwork.

Designed with the intention of creating a colourful and enchanting world that oozes with personality, the team hopes players will find themselves charmed by the characters and engaged in mastering their skills to conquer the dungeon and defeat Lady Luck!

Features

  • Six wildly different playable classes: Warrior, Thief, Robot, Jester, Inventor and Witch.
  • Dozens of enemies, ranging from Vacuum Cleaners that want to suck your blood, to creatures from Irish mythology, to suave malevolent snowmen.
  • A catchy, upbeat and energetic soundtrack by Chipzel (previously, the musician from Super Hexagon).
  • Beautiful and adorable artwork by Marlowe Dobbe.
  • Procedurally generated for endless play-throughs.

Videos

You Need To Play Dicey Dungeons (by Snoman Gaming) YouTube

Retromation Plays Dicey Dungeons (video series with 200+ episodes) YouTube

Northernlion Plays Dicey Dungeons (68 video series) YouTube

Launch Trailer YouTube


Images

download all screenshots & photos as .zip (86MB)
bambam.gif
crowbar.gif
warrior_alpha.png
warrior versus frog.png
thief you found snake eye charm.png
youwin.gif
amdicenow.gif
inventor make gadget.png
jester_alpha.png
inventor versus space marine.png
robot_alpha.png
robot map level 1.png
witch spellbook.png
warrior shop.png
DiceyDungeonsLogo_Large.png
thief versus magician.png
extradice.png
thief_alpha.png
robot trade.png
warrior level 2.png
witch_alpha.png
giant dice.png
inventor_alpha.png
robot shop.png
warrior backpack.png
youchooseyoulose.png
witch level up reward.png

logo

Awards & Recognition

  • "Winner of Indiecade's 2019 Grand Jury Award" Indiecade 2019
  • "Finalist for Excellence in Design at Independent Games Festival 2019" GDC 2019


Selected Quotes

  • "Dicey Dungeons is absolutely phenomenal fun [...] games like this don’t come around that often. 10/10"
    - Jake Vander Ende, KnowTechie
  • "The game is a form of numeric mediation and it has healed me."
    - Tycho Brahe, Penny Arcade
  • "That's a hallmark of Cavanagh's games: they're easy to understand right away, but they hide a trove of gameplay to discover under the surface."
    - Darren Nakamura, Destructoid
  • "I played enough of it to realise "Ohhh no... I've got work to do this week, I should do something else..."
    - Chris Thursten, The Crate and Crowbar Podcast #241

Request Press Copy

To request a press copy, please contact Dana Trebella! Her email address is dana@spokeandwheelstrategy.com


Road to the IGF: Cavanagh, Houston, and Dobbe's Dicey Dungeons (Gamasutra)
An interview with Terry, Niamh and Marlowe in the run up the the 2019 IGF. http:.

Dicey Dungeons: Terry Cavanagh interview (Wireframe)
An interview with Terry about the design and evolution of Dicey Dungeons, with Wireframe magazine. https:.

Design Diary: The v0.16 enemy audit (Terry Cavanagh's blog)
A detailed design pass on all the enemies in the game in preparation for alpah v0.17. http:.

Design Diary: The Jester (Terry Cavanagh's blog)
The step by step iteration of the design of Dicey Dungeons's final character, the Jester. http:.

How Enemy AI Works in Dicey Dungeons (Gamasutra)
An in-depth look at how the Monte Carlo Seach Tree powered AI works in Dicey Dungeons. http:.

Rolling in the Deep (Terry Cavanagh's blog)
A short blog post by Terry about the very early seven day roguelike contest prototype. http:.


Dicey Dungeons Credits

Terry Cavanagh
Designer

Marlowe Dobbe
Artist

Chipzel
Musician

Justo Delgado
Programmer

Lars Doucet
Modding Support

Dana Trebella
PR and Marketing Consultant

Holly Gramaztio
Writing


presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer) - also thanks to these fine folks