Wizards are totally sweet. Flinging flashy spells this way and that, defeating monsters, who doesn't want to be a wizard? But learning magic is hard! Most of the wizards out there are just wannabes and pretenders. As it turns out, there's only one place where you can really learn it, but it's super dangerous: The Labyrinth! Once inside, you'll be able to use all kinds of magic -- probably long before figuring out what it does! Listen, just use it; it'll probably be fine. That's why you're here, right? What's the worst that could happen...?
Are You a Wizard (working title) is a game about dangerously mysterious spells and the wizards who cast them recklessly. In essence, it is a roguelike of the classic, turn-based variety, but with a heavier focus on finding, identifying, and using spells with a wide range of effects.
The inspiration for this game comes from a few games I used to love playing, namely Azure Dreams, Phantom Dust, and even The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. But the influences definitely dip into more recent roguelikes and roguelites as well, such as The Binding of Isaac, Slay the Spire, Rogue Legacy, and Enter the Gungeon. I hope to do all of these inspirations justice by the time I am finished.
This is a game I have been working on in my spare time for years, but in order to complete the last leg of development, I would like to spend my time solely dedicated to it. That means I will need your help to make this my full-time job!
As for myself, I have been a professional computer programmer for over a decade, and I have made games as a hobby for twice as long. Obviously, I have also loved playing video games since I was a kid. I know what I'm doing here quite well, though I have never publicly released a game before. I am fed up with spending all of my energy and time making boring business apps! Please help me to pursue my passion for making games with my full attention.
I believe that I can get this game into a releasable state in 6 months if I am able to work on it full time. With your help, I will also be able to hire an artist and sound designer to do a better job than I have been able to so far. In fact, this is the main reason for the Kickstarter! The composer who made the music and sounds on the video above, Andy Frank, has agreed to come on board as the composer for the project should it be funded. I am still on the hunt for an artist (or two) to join us, but I expect that I will have found someone by the end of the campaign.
The art is currently all developed by myself and includes many placeholders, and the music currently in place is by my friend, Deborah Proaño. The sound effects were either created by me or borrowed online, and the fonts were all borrowed online.
To reiterate, I've been working on this game for years, so it is already playable! The main gameplay loop is there, and you can see for yourself and play this game right now by downloading my most recent build from here:
64-bit PC build
MacOS build
Linux Build
