I just posted my first Newgrounds game, Tic Tactic, last week. It's a game I've been working on and updating since the beginning of the summer and has grown a lot since I started.

In this post, I'll talk a bit about where it started, what changed, and where it's going. If you like reading about development, I post weekly dev logs over on Itch and am very talkative on Discord. I'm also usually funnier and less business-like in those, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

Where it started

The original idea looked very different. I wanted to create a 1v1 samurai battle game, almost like a turn-based version of the duels in Ghost of Tsushima. In the game, the sword would be your only mechanic, and turns would revolve around getting your sword into the right place to deflect or attack your opponent.

I started imagining the battle as a grid, which slowly evolved into a tic-tac-toe style system. That game didn't work; it was basically impossible to win, because whoever moved first would die. But, it started me on the path.

The first builds of Tic Tactic were planned to be designed entirely around the damage mechanism. All tiles would feed into damage in one way or another, a lot like scoring in Balatro. The point would have been to rack up as many points in a single row as possible. I quickly found that you don't really have the same kind of control on a board. The match you make is as much decided by what your opponent does as it is by what you do.

Current Project

From there, the project started to expand. I added more deckbuilding elements, more tile varieties, and more enemies. It moved very fast, and I started adding tons of content. The NG build is already out of date; Itch is slightly ahead, but I'll have to update both next week.

There are currently 15 different tiles in the game, spread across two locations. There are 3 different types of encounters (normal, elite, shop) before you reach an area boss, at which point you either move along or win.

In terms of my grand plans, the project is still in its infancy.

Where it's going

There are a few systems that I'm working on for the next update. No spoilers, but I'll start sharing images on Twitter soon. There are tons of features that I want to add, and tons of features that players want to see. I haven't even added a deck UI panel yet!

Here are a couple things I've been working on:

• Tile Synergy: This is a big one; I want tiles to have more of an effect on one another. There are already a few tiles that work well together (i.e. lightning x lightning, fire x bomb, bomb x shield, axe x earthquake) but I want tiles to have an active and passive effect on each other. Each reward choice should make the player think about whether they really want that tile in their deck or not.
• Loot table: Different enemies should drop different types of loot. Currently, only the gold amount varies between enemies, while reward options are the same (within the same environment). I plan to have bosses drop entirely different pools of items.
• Items: Speaking of which, I'm planning to create a small inventory of usable items for the player to carry during their playthrough. Things like healing potions (no more insta-heals in the reward menu) or potions that discard and redraw your hand, or buff your damage, or defend you from the next hit. I might even add other items that modify your play-through and add new rules for you to play around.

Eventually, I hope to get the game on Steam. with browser-based versions that continue to live on Newgrounds and Itch.

Anyway, thanks for reading! I'll post occasional logs as I come back to update the game. Until next time.

-unbreaded