r/IndieGaming • u/tyrian_games • 7h ago
After two years of blood, sweat and tears, I've released my first public demo!
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Playable link: https://tyriangames.itch.io/hawker
It's a weird hybrid of rogue(very)lite ARPG and shop-keeper, with a unique combat system that requires you seek out shadows to manage your secondary resource and power your special abilities.
You have 30 days to pay a debt to Death, progressing through a grimdark world inspired by Breton folklore. Scavenge by day, sell by night. Perks, meta-progression, crunchy combat.
This is our first public demo, after 2 years of development and months of aggressive playtesting. Any feedback at this stage will be hugely influential to the next stage of development, so I'd really love to know what you think (ratings/comments on Itch are also really appreciated).
NB: HAWKER contains zero generative AI content. We're a team of just 3 friends based in Australia & New Zealand; all meatbags, no clankers!
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u/Odd-Surprise-1792 6h ago
congrats on getting the demo out. does it have controller glyph support and a screen shake slider? I play a lot of action games on the deck and heavy shake on every single hit is usually the first thing that makes me set a game down.
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u/tyrian_games 5h ago
Thank you! Controller support is pending! The screen shake is only on a successful parry, definitely not on every single hit (that's something I find honestly nauseating as well).
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u/NSG_Chronos 6h ago
Honestly think this will go far if you just fix up the UI. Everything else looks so polished and with a lot of character!
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u/tyrian_games 5h ago
Good note, thank you! None of us are specialist UI artists and we've refused to use asset kits; it's gotten us this far, but I agree UI can still use some love.
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u/NSG_Chronos 5h ago
No worries! Honestly, I'd be surprised the artist who did the character work couldn't create something that fit within the same scope. It would really tie everything up. Great work though, it's super fun!
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u/Double_Suggestion385 5h ago
UI looks sloppy. Apart from that it looks like every other arpg, what's the point of difference?
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u/tyrian_games 5h ago
The ARPG/shop-keeper hybrid is pretty niche, even if you think it looks generic at first impression. Our core combat mechanic is also quite distinct, basically your secondary resource (mana/stamina equivalent) only recharges when you're standing in shadow or darkness, and slowly drains when you're in light. I'd invite you to look a little deeper, but I appreciate the feedback!
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u/PahaSapaBull 6h ago
Really fantastic art style. The gameplay look very Diablo / PoE adjacent