It breaks my heart to admit that every game we feature here at Jay is Games is fake. They are all illusions. We aren't really courageous space pilots or pixilated, anthropomorphic jumping animals, and if you looked under the hood, you'd see that what we're really doing when we play these games is merely shunting binary numbers around electronic circuits. As disillusioning as such an insight can be, I like to think that
Dungeon Dice, a simple turn-based RPG from Afro-Ninja (Shawn Tanner), shows that peeking behind the veil and seeing how our favorite games work at their most basic can still be fun. While Dungeon Dice is in many ways a typical RPG, its twist on the genre is that instead of fighting monsters with sword and fang, you fight each other with dice, or "magical numeric cubes." In a way, this is no different from any other RPG, but moving a background mechanic to the forefront makes for a different experience.
You play the hero in a typical dungeon delve, which you navigate with simple mouse clicks. In combat, roll your dice by clicking the "Hold and Release" button (you can hold the button to simulate the "daddy needs a new pair of shoes" experience). The side who casts the die with the highest result wins the attack, and the winner deals more damage the higher their result is compared to their opponent's. You can also modify die results before you roll by using your powers, which can either add a bonus to a result, heal you on a high result, or reroll a low result. You do this by dragging the colored orb for each power to the die you want it to affect before you roll. You learn more powers as you play, depending on what class you pick; and you also earn more dice, which let you battle stronger foes.
You only have a limited number of magic points to fuel your powers each combat, and only a certain number of hit points for the whole game, so there is a certain amount of strategy in managing limited resources, and in deciding which powers to assign when. A lot of the game, however, comes down to dumb, blind luck. This wouldn't be so bad if each fight were a little faster, but ties come up way too often, which makes the game too sluggish. This is a shame, because a simple tie-breaker mechanic (say, by resolving the round with the next-highest set of dice) could speed the game up considerably. However, despite the unnecessary drag, the game is a strangely mesmerizing experience, like playing slot machines or Plinko. Even though only a modicum of skill is required, there is something hypnotic about rolling dice for the best results, which is as fun as it is rote and compulsive. The fact that it's very short makes Dungeon Dice perfect for those who want a quick RPG experience, pared down to its essence.
Walkthrough Guide
(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)
Dungeon Dice Tips
Each class plays a little bit differently, so I'll divide this Tips guide accordingly.
One general tip: It doesn't matter which die you put your powers on, as the results are random no matter what. Dice superstitions are fun, but imaginary.
Power Mage
Why be a Power Mage?: Because your powers mean faster fights. Ties are a major drag in Dungeon Dice, and your powers are the most effective tiebreakers. They also make powerful attacks even more powerful. Either way, being able to cast these powers cheaply means faster combats, and faster combats means greater durability.
For early fights, there is no reason not to use Crush on every round until you run out of MP.
When you learn Obliterate, you might not want to use it right away. When you have more dice than your opponent, you have enough of an advantage that Crush should suffice.
When you and your opponent have the same number of dice, consider using Obliterate until you reduce the monster to about half its HP. Then switch to Crush.
It is rarely beneficial to use both Obliterate and Crush at the same time, and the cost usually outweighs any benefit.
Life magic is not worth using for you because the opportunity costs are too high. Not only do you lose mana every round, you use mana that you could have spent on your core powers. Since those powers tend to make combat go faster, you wind up fighting longer if you don't use them. You are therefore more likely to take any damage that you might heal, making it a net waste of MP.
Time magic, on the other hand, isn't bad, especially Rewind. It's cheap, unlike other powers, only costs you when it is activated. Since you get it late in the game, Rewind probably won't make for a successful attack, since at best you will turn a 1 into a 6, which your opponent is likely to roll. It will, however, often keep you from taking damage you would have suffered otherwise.
Powers
Power
Crush (1 MP, earned after defeating Angry Gem): Add 1 to any roll of 2 or greater. MP still consumed on 1.
Obliterate (2 MP, earned after defeating Red Slime): Add 2 to any roll of 2 or greater. MP still consumed on 1.
Life
Heal (2 MP, earned after defeating Blood Worm): Receive 1 HP on a roll of 5 or greater. MP is consumed regardless.
Mend (3 MP, earned after defeating Pincher): Receive 3 HP on a roll of 5 or greater. MP is consumed regardless.
Time
Rewind (1 MP, earned after defeating Gaseous Presence): Die will re-roll once if it is 2 or lower. No MP consumed otherwise.
Recursion (2 MP, earned after defeating Evil Presence): Die will re-roll up to twice as long as it is 2 or lower. No MP consumed otherwise.
Life Mage
Why be a Life Mage?: Because if you use your powers at the beginning of the game, you will have a massive reserve of HP for later fights. Your fights will be longer, but you will be better equiped to survive them.
For early fights, there is no reason not to use Heal on every round until you run out of MP.
>When you learn Mend, you should alternate between it and Heal. Mend is more effective per round, but Heal is more effective per MP spent. Use one or the other based on how much MP and HP you have in a given round. This is true, in that you will cast Heal more often per MP spent. Thanks to reader fuzzyface for pointing out that Mend will still heal more HP per MP spent than Heal.
When you learn Time Magic, it is still useful as offensive magic, because you will have more dice than your opponents and are less likely to suffer ties. Use it all the time, starting with Recursion (once you learn it), and switching to Rewind when you get to about half your MP. At this phase, you may want to consider switching out Life magic entirely during some rounds.
By the time you learn Power magic, there is little point in trying to conserve HP, since you are close to the end game. Life Magic is therefore less useful than before. The strategy at this point is similar to the Power Mage's: Use Obliterate, then Crush, with Rewind in play for insurance against damage.
Powers
Life
Heal (1 MP, earned after defeating Angry Gem): Receive 1 HP on a roll of 5 or greater. MP is consumed regardless.
Mend (2 MP, earned after defeating Red Slime): Receive 3 HP on a roll of 5 or greater. MP is consumed regardless.
Time
Rewind (1 MP, earned after defeating Blood Worm): Die will re-roll once if it is 2 or lower. No MP consumed otherwise.
Recursion (2 MP, earned after defeating Pincher): Die will re-roll up to twice as long as it is 2 or lower. No MP consumed otherwise.
Power
Crush (2 MP, earned after defeating Gaseous Presence): Add 1 to any roll of 2 or greater. MP still consumed on 1.
Obliterate (3 MP, earned after defeating Evil Presence): Add 2 to any roll of 2 or greater. MP still consumed on 1.
Time Mage
Why be a Time Mage?: Because your powers are the cheapest in the game, and they only cost MP when activated. You should be able to use your core powers all the time and have enough MP left over to effectively use other powers once you learn them.
Rewind is free for you, all the time, so you should use it all the time.
Once you learn Recursion, you can use both powers all the time until you run out of MP.
You can use Power Magic with Time Magic very effectively and not have to worry about running out of MP for too long. If you do this, consider using either Rewind or Recursion at this point. Recursion isn't really worth it at this phase if you have more dice than your opponent.
As with the other classes, Life Magic isn't that useful at the end game. Instead, like the Power Mage, use Obliterate, then Crush, and use either Rewind or Recursion for insurance against damage, depending on how much MP you have.
Powers
Time
Rewind (0 MP, earned after defeating Angry Gem): Die will re-roll once if it is 2 or lower. No MP consumed otherwise.
Recursion (1 MP, earned after defeating Red Slime): Die will re-roll up to twice as long as it is 2 or lower. No MP consumed otherwise.
Power
Crush (2 MP, earned after defeating Blood Worm): Add 1 to any roll of 2 or greater. MP still consumed on 1.
Obliterate (3 MP, earned after defeating Pincher): Add 2 to any roll of 2 or greater. MP still consumed on 1.
Life
Heal (2 MP, earned after defeating Gaseous Presence): Receive 1 HP on a roll of 5 or greater. MP is consumed regardless.
Mend (3 MP, earned after defeating Evil Presence): Receive 3 HP on a roll of 5 or greater. MP is consumed regardless.
Posted by: Mike
|
January 19, 2011 3:58 PM