The release of desktop dungeons beta has been wonderful. It’s available to those who preorder the full version at a cost of $US10.

Firstly I can reassure the same addictive gaming goodness remains as in the free version. Dungeons are still fast, challenging and fun so most of the glow of my review of the free version of desktop dungeons remains.

There’s graphics changes. A huge improvement really while sticking to the 2D basics. The portraits are particularly well done but we also see a lot of other nice graphical additions such as in the environments and spells. The sounds have also improved and I love the humour.

As before there’s risky options to face if you are to defeat the dungeon boss but if it is botched up there’s always running away. Included now is a tutorial system too.

The real advance though is in the metagame which has been enormously expanded and improved since the free version. Now there’s lots of upgrades and buildings, many of which can offer your stalwart hero assistance in various ways. A sword from the blacksmith for a bit of extra smacking power or maybe a bag of gold from the bank to buy things in the dungeon more easily. Perhaps you could take in a magical trinket you picked up in a previous dungeon.

This is beta but the result is very playable. There have already been some improvements integrated into the game. It will be interesting to see where things go from here.

Pleased to see Desktop Dungeons swish new site where you can now preorder the improved game as well as grab a copy of the slightly updated freeware version. The game can be pre-ordered at three different levels. The base game, the special edition and the exclusive edition. All editions give beta access. The exclusive edition is interesting as it is both limited (and nearly sold out) and offers to put a reference to you into the full game. Prices start at $US10.

Check out the review of the freeware version.

QCF Design sum up one of the great qualities of the game – “The perfect coffee-break game”

They aim to be on Steam and the PC/Mac, web, iPhone and Android and also have a forum now.

Earlier Danny Day tweeted …

That’s right: Desktop Dungeons is going to be at E3 thanks to @IndieCade! Is this awesome? (y/y)

Good luck to QCF Design.  Hard for smaller game makers to get visibility but looks like QCF will get a slice.

Danny Day who works on the Desktop Dungeons project at QCF Design just sent in some details about the future of Desktop Dungeons. Recently I reviewed Desktop Dungeons version 0.151 which is fully featured and a worthwhile play for spare 10 minute time-slots.

However, that’s just a prototype. A very good one I might add so it will be interesting to see the final version. QCF Design are working hard on that full version of Desktop Dungeons. Danny Day put the difference between the two versions like this:

The full version is an incredibly expanded game, think Star Control 2 vs the original Star Control.

The game is rewitten in Unity (previously game maker) so now it looks better and has more possibilities in gameplay.

Danny goes on to say:

I’m really excited to see how players react to the Kingdom and the expanded metagame, if we’ve done it right, everyone will have slightly different upgrades and unlocking patterns.

I’m looking forward to it myself. I already liked how the 10 minute sessions were linked together even though it was simply done. There is a lot of scope for more and will be nice to see what QCF come up with.

I asked about multiplayer for Desktop Dungeons as it seemed to me small group coop multiplayer could be quite fun in such a setting.

We’ve thrown the idea back and forth, as we’re all avid multiplayer gamers, but for now we’re focusing on making Desktop Dungeons as good a game as it can be for just the one player. I think it’d be an interesting design exercise to figure out how to make co-op work, but that’s beyond our scope right now, so unfortunately no multiplayer in the near future.

I also asked about the leaderboard which is broken in version 0.151. The full version will have a completely reworked leaderboard which is well validated.  I leave you with a look at some of the halfling concept art.  Artist did a nice job on giving them some character.

All dungeoned in 10 minutes

Release Date: 16^th October 2009

Developer: QCF Design

Genre: RPG

Mode: Single Player

Desktop Dungeons is pretty much what it says, a quick dungeon play. If you’ve ever played a roguelike Role Playing Game(RPG) you’ll know they are amazing time sinks. Indeed, most RPGs are time sinks. Desktop Dungeons takes the basics of RPGs and condenses them into one screen full of adventure. These maps take very little time to complete. Yet they are full of the usual RPG elements. Potions, gold, shops, stat bonuses, gods, monsters and level ups. Your goal in each fixed dungeon is to kill one or two level 10 boss monsters.

You could ask why this is a positive game? After all fantasy RPGs are a dime a dozen. That much is true enough but few RPGs are this short and sweet. Each dungeon is a nicely digested package not taking too much of your valuable time. Beyond this are the many key choices you make coupled with the game difficulty.

Difficulty in Desktop Dungeons is one of the highlights. Each map and element provides a serious challenge to get to the end result of killing the level 10 boss monster. It is not at all uncommon to fail. You have to balance exploration so much so that it can feel like minesweeper. You have to make hard choices on which god to join if any because they are powerfully supporting but come with serious drawbacks. You you have to strategise the battles to make sure you get the best outcome. All in all, it feels like your choices actually matter. That makes the dungeons memorable and fun.

Another nice thing about Desktop Dungeons is the way it ties the dungeons together. As you complete the basic dungeons you unlock new dungeon types, new classes and new races. Gold also carries over from previous dungeons. As you defeat boss monsters new items and monsters become available.

The graphical side of Desktop Dungeons is retro simple. It gives the whole 8 bit impression and is text and icon heavy. No animation, no glitz, no glamour. It does the job well though.

Sound in Desktop Dungeons is simple though the swing of the weapon is kind of satisfying. There is no music.

The online leaderboard appears to be broken.

Desktop Dungeons runs on Windows and Mac. This is an early release (version 0.151) and there are indications there will be a better release later. Desktop Dungeons available at the main site is free to play.

Game: 4/5     Positive: