I built Asterogue over the course of a couple of months while I was bored on a break from work due to illness. The game was always built with web tech but I only released it on Android and Windows at first because that seemed to be the right way to release a game. Well I recently realized maybe the right way is the wrong way. Maybe this web thing really is catching on. So now I'm trying out a web release to see if I can make it easier for more people to play Asterogue. So far this is working well and the game is getting more daily players than it ever did as a native app, which I'm very grateful for!
For the web based version I am trying a new payment model. The original Asterogue was like most other games in that you simply buy it in the app store or on Itch and download the game. This time around I am trying a new experiment with this and instead of buying a downloadable binary, you can play the first few levels free in your browser and then you pay one-time to unlock the full game online if you want to continue. I think this strikes a nice balance for players as you get to try it out and only continue if you're actually into the game once you have picked up the vibe. I haven't really seen this done before with web based games so it's all a bit of an experiment.
This release also includes a bunch of fixes and new features based on feedback I received from players after the native version was release.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my little roguelike game. Have fun!
These days it's possible to do almost any mobile game as a web game. I recently discovered this very polished battle royale: https://gooberdash.winterpixel.io/ and the creator has an HN post describing how they did it (Godot with wasm threads): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40372308
Another good source on the technical aspects of porting to the web is Sebastian Altonen, a very good graphics programmer who works at a company called HypeHype doing a kind of TikTok-but-Roblox hybrid. He is currently porting from WebGL to WebGPU and posting a lot about it here: https://x.com/SebAaltonen
> For the web based version I am trying a new payment model. The original Asterogue was like most other games in that you simply buy it in the app store or on Itch and download the game. This time around I am trying a new experiment with this and instead of buying a downloadable binary, you can play the first few levels free in your browser and then you pay one-time to unlock the full game online if you want to continue. I think this strikes a nice balance for players as you get to try it out and only continue if you're actually into the game once you have picked up the vibe. I haven't really seen this done before with web based games so it's all a bit of an experiment.
Thanks for checking it out!
I totally mailed them and had to have more of that.
For this I'm not sure because I don't suggest changing the game drastically, however it feels like there should be some epic fun thingfirst, usually after an hour or so, and then right after that is when you ask the player if they want more. In order for them to pay they would probably need to feel like they already got a very good amount for free and that they now feel generous. This is a cute game but I'm not getting that feeling so I struggle with this.
For the creator: please don't take this as anything negative about the game! It's fun and I like it. But monetization is hard and I'm just offering my previous experiences where I've personally seen it work successfully.
Couple nits:
I have no idea how I expected the browser back button to work, but whatever it did do surprised me a bit. During gameplay, it might be nice to have an "are you sure you want to go back?" before it exits.
I'd recommend running spell check on your in-game messages. I already saw "Weilding X" instead of "Wielding X"
I'll give it a further go.
I'm not sure if more mechanics show up later in the game, but this feels like the kind of game that needs traps or other landscape threats, even if they're 100% detectable. Maybe there are cooler / more complicated items coming, but the tactics so far are pretty light.
I personally also have qualms about tiled roguelikes that don't let you move/attack on diagonals, but I understand wanting to keep the keyset simple.
I was a bit confused by the sight radius at first, because it was hard for me to distinguish which parts of the map were uncovered and which parts were covered but black because of the background. I wonder if you could add some sort of transparent "fog" or something over unsighted areas, so that you still see the space background but also make it clear that tiles have not been sighted.
Hopefully this stuff helps.
Absolutely been enjoying it the past year.
It's amazing to me how often I hear things like this even though the level gen hasn't changed. I think maybe what happens is people get really good at it and can then only be defeated by really hard levels or unlucky combat rolls.
I don't know whether somehow the stairs icon just blended in with the walls unexpectedly well and I managed to not recognize it in that context (which seems possible but hard for me to believe, given how much time I spent walking in circles looking for stairs), or whether something odd was going on with the icon being different or distorted for some reason.
Played it on my phone.
No minimap. Got lost. Starved.
Controls were surprisingly ez.
Catchy music. Good ui. Pretty graphics.
I dig it.
I assume that you are familiar with DCSS.
I started to walk around, picking things up. Then, I noticed a little "i" on the bottom left. I typed "i", and it opened the inventory. Very good!
Now, the "i" was replaced by an "x". I really expected that "x" would close the inventory... but it didn't. :-(
Unless the "x" letter is reserved for something important, it would be nice if it could be used to close dialogs!
My only comment is that it feels like there are too many items for the amount of inventory space.
There will be rooms completely littered with boots that you just walk past. Every time you see something interesting like a potion you have to first chuck away a pair of boots before you can pick it up and drink it.
Also, why the gear cannot be dropped and only destroyed? :(