First of all: the Kickstarter campaign is live since a few days and so far it’s the fastest funding campaign I’ve ever done! Currently heading to the second stretch goal, adding the elf race. Check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/winterwolves/thieves-of-dingirra

As you know, I decided to make this game a blend of RPG combat and town management. It’s funny because, just last year around this time, I was putting the game on hold, feeling completely burned out by its complexity.

Fast forward a year, and here I am! But, of course, I’ve made progress. The map gameplay is in a great shape now. While there are still some details to tweak, I finally feel confident that it works. That’s a big deal because, at the start of this year, I still wasn’t sure if the map system would work in Ren’Py—whether it would run smoothly, whether I could make it fun, whether… well, there were a lot of “ifs”!

The map gameplay

So, how will the town sim work? I’m aiming for something simple to learn but with enough depth to provide a long-term challenge. For starters, you won’t be able to build new structures in the town. I made this choice to keep things from becoming overly complex. Allowing players to destroy and rebuild buildings would have introduced an extra layer of complexity, both in design and in balancing the gameplay. However, I am planning to let player upgrade merchants and houses to increase the money / influence you get:

This is all due to the balancing of the gameplay. I already had to run several tests using developer cheatcodes, to make sure that once you owned half the city and had 100 guild members stats wouldn’t get completely messed up. Good news, seems it’s working fine (but the beta will tell for sure). You might ask what is the goal of the game then, if you can’t build things like in most city builders.

In practice, your goal will be to rob and acquire all the town structures, one by one, district by district. The town is split in several districts, each one belonging to one of the four families, a neutral zone (where you start).

You’ll have a roster of member in your guild, and you can assign each member to a specific task. There’ll be scouts that can acquire information about potential targets (that’s the first step). Then, each target will require a different approach. Sometimes, you’ll need to rob a wealthy merchant. Other times, you’ll need to assassinate a powerful enemy, and so on. Each different job will require a different specialization, indeed in your guild you’ll have a variety of recruits, each one more suitable to a specific task.

The NPCs will also trigger regularly some random events, based on the traits they have. In the example above, since that NPC has the Greedy trait, will ask for a salary raise more often. On each random event you’ll have different choices available which will result in different outcomes. This should add a good replayability!

The RPG gameplay

So, how will the RPG mechanics fit in? Simply put, you’ll need to personally fight a set number of battles for each district. Think of them as “story missions” that can’t be delegated to your guild members. This approach ensures a fixed number of fights with no grinding required—a feature many players disliked in some of my previous RPG games.

Throughout the missions, you’ll encounter a map that many will identify as a classic roguelike layout, featuring multiple “nodes” that lead to a final boss room, your main objective. Each room offers randomized content and outcomes, determined by your stats or decisions, enhancing replayability significantly!

As for the main character, the Master Thief, you’ll have two base classes to choose from: Shadow Thief and Reaper, each offering a unique set of skills. On top of that, there will be a Talent system, similar to what I implemented in Cursed Lands, but tailored specifically for thieves.

Lastly, I decided to go with a first-person view for combat. This means there won’t be a front/back row mechanic, which simplifies the RPG gameplay and provides a stronger visual impact.

The romances

Naturally, the game includes a storyline with romantic love interests. I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but to recap: the dialogue will vary depending on your attitude toward each character (you can be assertive with one and kind to another), and each character has a relationship value with the others. Your decisions will influence these relationships, unlocking additional unique scenes. Sounds complex? It is, but don’t worry, a “relationships screen” will provide a clear summary of everything.

Conclusions

I hope this post has sparked your interest in what I consider the biggest project I’ve ever taken on—or, more accurately, attempted to make, since it’s not finished yet! I know it sounds ambitious, especially considering how many times in the past I’ve told myself I was done with big games—particularly after tackling massive projects like Planet Stronghold 2.

But this year felt like an all-or-nothing moment. If you read my previous blog posts, you’ll know that earning a living solely from pure visual novels has become increasingly difficult. Saying the market is oversaturated would be putting it lightly! So, I decided to take the plunge.

That said, I do have another simpler game (not a 100% VN though) I’d like to start this year, which I hope will keep things balanced. Once I wrap up Thieves of Dingirra, I’m really looking forward to some well-earned relaxation!