README.md 1.9 KB
Archon
I used to play Archon: The Light and the Dark on my Commodore 64 for hours against the computer when I was a kid. As an adult, I keep having ambitions to re- (or de-)make this game despite the numerous official remakes out there.
For some reason, I chose to use 12x12 sprites for this implementation.
Features
- 9x9 game board, 5 power points
Pieces - Light
- Proj (fireball), Spell - Wizard
- Aura (whirlwidn) - Djinn
- Aura (immolation) - Phoenix
- Proj (unibolt) - Unicorn
- Proj (boulder) - Golem
- Proj (spear) - Valkyrie
- Proj (arrow) - Archer
- Melee (sword) - Knight
Pieces - Dark
- Proj (lightning), Spell - Sorceress
- Proj (fire), Flying - Dragon
- ??? - Shapeshifter
- Proj (petrify) - Basilisk
- Proj (boulder) - Troll
- Aura (scream) - Banshee
- Proj (quills) - Manticore
- Melee (club) - Goblin
Balance Issues
One problem is the old Phoenix vs. Shapeshifter fight. Not only is the Shapeshifter a high-HP character, but this fight devolves to "who used Immolation slightly first" slugfest.
Possible solutions:
- One-frame delay on shapeshifter actions?
- Shapeshifter has really low HP, forcing projectile engagements?
Another is aura-based attacks in general; they're all centered around the piece that triggered them. The banshee has a cooldown-based AoE, and phoenix has triggered (+cooldown) AoE.
Of the projectile-based creatures, the differentiating factors are: velocity and damage. Velocity can be problematic because of the ease of dodging. Movement speed of pieces should be a consideration for balance, because troll vs. unicorn is another huge issue.
Tiers: high-powered pieces like dragon and unicorn move quickly and fire quickly; medium-tier pieces like basilisk and valkyrie move and fire medium-ly; low-tier have large tradoffs like manticore moving slowly with medium-speed quills, and archer doing the same.
Media
