Hey friends! Warning: prototype inside. We arrived at our second project BuildyCrafty milestone. This time around, we finished a prototype for our wizardcore-inspired deckbuilding game. This one is really solid, so strap in! But let’s make a little detour first.

How Am I Doing?

Pretty darn great. I’m on a bit of a work break after pooping out two prototypes, gamejam-style. I’ve managed to hit or even pass full-time hours these past few weeks. It was fun, but at some point I lived and breathed messy Godot code, so I’m glad to be able to step back for a bit.

So far, I’ve been playing a lot of Cobalt Core to relax. It’s a charming deckbuilder with tight mechanics and fantastic atmosphere. It’s not particularly challenging, but there are some story elements that are incorporated very well into the roguelike structure to make up for it.

Other than that, I had a perfect Sunday. I played video games in my pyjamas until lunchtime. Then we had a massive fry-up as brunch with a bunch of leftovers. I’d been craving that for a couple of days for some reason. After, we had a digestive walk to a nice little café over at Vincennes where we sat down for a cup and some light work. We passed by a nice terrace on the way back and had a fresh beer in the sun there. Sometimes you need a lovely day like that to refresh the spirit!

What Am I Doing?

At the moment… absolutely nothing. But before that, we completed our second BuildyCrafty prototype. Here’s the pitch:

Bibidi Bibidi! is a wizardcore roguelike deckbuilder where you combine cards in your spellbook to cast unique and powerful spells. Crawl through twisting tunnels and fight maddening monsters to find the perfect build for your wizard! 🧙

And here’s the prototype! People were struggling with opening the files, so we opted for a browser build this time around. No need for installing, just play straight in your web browser!

We’d love to get an initial round of feedback on it. As always, any feedback is welcome, but we’re specifically looking for the following:

• Do you usually enjoy roguelike deckbuilders? (E.g. Slay the Spire, Monster Train or even something like Slice & Dice)
• If you do, do you feel like this game’s mechanics (the spellbook) set it apart from other games in the genre?
• Did you figure out how the spellbook and card attributes (Boon, School, Force) work?
• Did you want to try again as soon as you finished a session?

• Hint: Don’t underestimate drawing cards!

You can send that or any other feedback you might have to contact@newtonarrative.com or join our Discord server.

Why Am I Doing? (this)

I just love making games, you know? There’s nothing more fun in the world than this weird little amalgamation of logic, psychology, and creativity. It feels great when an idea just clicks. We’ve already gotten so many good responses and feedback on this one, and it makes me very happy. I truly believe we’ve got something special on our hands with this one.

It’s pretty certain Jonas and I will choose this project as our main one. So, a big part of this newsletter will be sharing progress on Bibidi Bibidi! from now on. But first… vacation!