Alright, I've written the premise for DI, but let's take some time to explain in extreme detail how it's like to actually PLAY the game.
Also be prepared, cause this is quite a long post. (also not adding any pictures because this post is large enough as-is.)
THE GAMEPLAY LOOP:
- The game consists of 2 parts, the Arena, and the Shop.
- Each wave, you'll start in the Arena, and enter the shop once all enemies are defeated.
- Every level you play in DI has it's own unique Arena, Shop, Enemies, Unlockables, Gimmicks, and more to make each level feel unique, and make replaying each level unique in it's own way.
- An average run in DI will take around 5-20 minutes, depending on how far you manage to survive for, but can last even longer if you reach the endless mode.
THE ARENA:
- Here, you'll defeat enemies, pick up the coins they drop, and try not to die.
- You have a combo meter. Your combo will directly influence how many coins enemies drop. You can increase your combos by killing enemies, picking up coins, avoiding damage, and getting "Fresh Weapon Bonuses".
- A
"fresh weapon bonus" is a mechanic of DI to encourage the player to use a wide variety of weapons while in the Arena, by rewarding them with more coins when getting kills with weapons that are deemed "fresh".
- Almost every weapon in DI has unlimited reserve ammo, but limited magazine size. Also many weapons will have rather long reload times to keep track of as well.
- The full layout of the Arena and the number of enemies that can spawn in each wave are mostly static, so you can memorize them and use this knowledge to your advantage in future runs.
- To help add more variety to the Arena, there are also randomized enemy spawn locations, random level events, and some levels even contains multiple Arenas that you switch between throughout the run.
- Random events can include a variety of things, like new enemy spawns, enemies replaced with new enemies, or even level-specific gimmicks, like new stage hazards or special encounters.
- If all waves are completed, the player is offered the choice to loop back to the first wave in an "endless mode", and in return the enemies will become stronger and will increase in number. This will continue going until either you or your computer dies.
THE SHOP:
- Every shop contains multiple shop stalls, each containing 1 random item from a specific category.
- Upon purchasing an item from a stall, the price for all future items from that stall will now be increased.
- The shop stall's price will only go back down when the player stops purchasing from this stall. Doing this also refreshes which item the stall has available for sale.
- Many items in the shop will be too expensive for you to purchase without going into debt.
- When you go into debt, your maximum health will be reduced for every $50 of debt you've accrued.
- If you can get out of debt, this "borrowed" health will slowly be replenished over time.
- You will receive some pocket change as interest each round depending on how much health of yours has been borrowed.
- The interest rate for borrowed health is dependent on your max health, so player classes that start with less health will gain more interest on borrowed health.
- Items in the shop can occasionally go on sale. The sale chance and the percentage of the sale is quite complicated, but generally gets better if the player avoids a specific shop item for a while.
- Also a majority of items in DI have to be unlocked first before they can appear in the shop. I'll delve into the unlocks system another time.
SHOP CATEGORIES:
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Rentals: These are either passive upgrades or weapons that will be removed from the player's inventory once the wave is complete. They usually are at very affordable prices, making for great choices in early game.
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Consumable: These are single use items that are placed in their own separate inventory wheel, and can be activated at almost anytime with zero cooldowns. Some consumables come in bundles, which grant you multiple of said consumable upon purchase instead of just 1. Some consumables come in the form of Powerups, which grant you a stat bonus for a short amount of time.
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Permanent: These are either passive upgrades, weapons, or even consumables that will remain in your inventory forever. If a permanent consumable was depleted, it will be regenerated next round. They tend to be very expensive to purchase, so you'll need to take into consideration whether the money and/or borrowed health cost is worth this purchase.
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Instant Use: These are consumable items that are activated upon purchase. This category consists of items like health pickups or armor. Permanent versions of these items are not available.
PASSIVE UPGRADES:
- It wouldn't really be a "rougelike" if we didn't have some cool passive upgrades, now would it?
- All passive items can be purchased multiple times, allowing you to increase the benefits they provide.
- Passive items are capable of many things, like modifying almost every weapon stat imaginable, or giving unique buffs to the player, or debuffing the enemies in some way, or giving the player access to more resources.
- Weapon stats that are affected by passive items include (but is not limited to): Base Damage, Damage Multiplier, Base Accuracy, Recoil, Recoil Recovery, Firerate, Reload Speed, Fresh Weapon Bonus, Status Effect, Ammo Capacity, Ammo Consumption, Number of Bullets/Projectiles, Weight, etc.
- Some passive items can be a detriment to the player if combined with the wrong set of items or weapons.
EXTRA SHOP MECHANICS:
- The Shop can also be upgraded to give you access to more items and better sales. The way you upgrade the shop is unique to each level you play, some examples include: purchasing X amount of items, or completing optional "side quests".
- Some levels will have chests that spawn in the shop. These chests contain a single random passive item at a fixed price. Each chest can only be opened once. The only info you're given about the item is the item's max inventory space and how many you already own.
- Specific levels may also have NPC's that can offer "Side Quests". A side quest will grant the player a random Objective and a random Debuff. They must complete the Objective before the wave is completed, or they will be stuck with the Debuff forever. The reward for completing Side Quests is unique to each level.
- Many shops also contain special "controllers" that you can activate with a one time fee. These controllers can do many things, like reroll all shop items, or remove a debuff from you, or change the level in some way.
If you've read this entire post, thank you very much. Hopefully this gives you a clear idea of what to expect from playing
DI: Debt is Inevitable.
