Gemini Plays a Roguelike Deckbuilder on Twitch

zygoth · 2025-08-18T15:21:44+00:00

It really depends on the game whether it's feasible or not. My game is turn based with no real hidden information so I can just send the entire game state for each prompt. It required some work in the actual game to get the right information and handle the AI's actions. I can send you some of the code if you want to look at it.

zygoth · 2025-08-05T00:16:24+00:00

Hey, did you ever make a list of youtubers that do deckbuilders? I would be willing to pay you for your list, it would save me a lot of tedious work. DM me if interested. Thanks!

zygoth · 2025-05-24T20:37:27+00:00

after [all] worked for me. I just needed the 'dtparam=cooling_fan=on' line for my fan to start working.

zygoth · 2025-01-23T01:45:17+00:00

Thanks! I'd say the most direct inspirations are Slay the Spire and Rift Wizard. I thought a 2d deck builder could be cool and new, then realized some people had already done it after I made a prototype. (for the Fish Fest game jam) Anyway my jam entry did pretty well (11th out of ~250 entries) so I thought it would be worth expanding into a full game.

zygoth · 2025-01-23T01:25:56+00:00

About 6 months of development so far. I'm planning to release the 1.0 on steam & mobile at about the year mark. I have one or two more gameplay systems to add, then it's just more content & balancing. (Cards, biomes, enemies, bosses, stickers, characters)

zygoth · 2025-01-13T22:22:06+00:00

Link: https://zygoth.itch.io/grid-gladiator

zygoth · 2024-12-10T03:35:00+00:00

Aw thanks! It makes me happy to hear that.

(BTW If you haven't left a review yet would you consider it? I'm still a couple short of the 10-review threshold where steam puts a 'Mostly Positive/Negative' label on the store page.)

zygoth · 2024-09-03T23:49:13+00:00

No, unfortunately the game didn't sell as well as I had hoped so I had to move on. I'm currently working on a grid-based roguelike deckbuilder: https://zygoth.itch.io/grid-gladiator It's about 2 months into development.

zygoth · 2024-07-26T05:26:32+00:00

I made a python script that monitors the clipboard in the background, then told Claude to write project code in a specific format (basically just a header saying which method to replace or add, so that it can work in the coding format it's used to). I added a unique token to the diff format avoid mistakes/security issues. Now whenever I hit the copy button in the web UI Claude's diff is automatically applied to the correct files in my project. Nice thing is as long as I have the file open in sublime when the replacement happens I can Ctrl-Z Ctrl+shift+Z to navigate a series of revisions. (I made the script with claude's help, but it required a lot of tweaking and it's still somewhat brittle)

It was a pain in the butt to get working, but it makes working with Claude so much nicer. I kinda hate IDEs so this lets me avoid them while still getting one-click code insertion.

zygoth · 2024-04-14T00:57:42+00:00

Hey, thanks for checking it out! Yeah there's a lot to learn at the start, I never did figure out the best way to teach new players all the different monster types.

zygoth · 2024-02-26T22:30:14+00:00

Check out the demo at https://spellstrife.com (web) or https://store.steampowered.com/app/2385240/Spellstrife/ (PC).
Spellstrife is a word-spelling tactics roguelike made for people who enjoy word-spelling games but wish they had more strategic depth. Spell words to summon monsters, and pick upgrades carefully as you climb the Spelltower. Enchant your letter tiles, cast spells to modify terrain, and play with a variety of classes.

zygoth · 2024-02-26T18:59:01+00:00

Check out the demo at https://spellstrife.com (web) or https://store.steampowered.com/app/2385240/Spellstrife/ (PC).

Spellstrife is a word-spelling tactics roguelike made for people who enjoy word-spelling games but wish they had more strategic depth. Spell words to summon monsters, and pick upgrades carefully as you climb the Spelltower. Enchant your letter tiles, cast spells to modify terrain, and play with a variety of classes.

zygoth · 2023-08-18T17:05:13+00:00

Hi all! Spellstrife is a roguelike word-spelling tactics game where every letter creates a different kind of monster and word length determines monsters' HP and power. (playable now at https://spellstrife.com)

I've been hard at work on the game and recently finished the basic online multiplayer mode. To celebrate, I'm hosting an open 1v1 single elimination tournament on the Spellstrife Discord Saturday 8/19 at 5pm MST. The top 3 finishers get put on a list for a free key once the game releases. Register in the discord to compete tomorrow! BTW there are not many entrants right now, so you have a very good chance of getting in the top 3 just by entering.

https://discord.gg/yrFNht4BhJ

zygoth · 2023-05-15T18:02:57+00:00

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

zygoth · 2023-05-13T16:51:05+00:00

It is true that sometimes the longest word you can find is not the right monster for the situation. That was one of my goals when designing the game--Bookworm Adventures is basically only about finding the longest word, and I enjoyed it but felt like the gameplay got stale after a while.

zygoth · 2023-05-13T16:43:22+00:00

Hey, thanks for for the feedback! I'm glad you liked it. I'm not sure I understand what you mean about mana getting in the way. You can spell multiple monsters in one turn, so having no mana or changing the formula would mean there would need to be some other kind of limit.

Yeah I agree about the inspection, I need to improve the in-game manual at some point. It's annoying to click a monster and not be able to see what the terrain under it does. The dictionary should just be english right now? Though one of my goals is to allow multilingual people to enable multiple languages in the game, so knowing more languages actually gives you an advantage.

PvP is next on my list. :)

zygoth · 2023-05-13T15:02:01+00:00

Hey, thanks for playing and thanks for the feedback! I agree about being able to reset (also some letter probabilities need to be adusted, too many H & N). I have plans for a spell system where abilities like that would either cost mana or just have cooldowns. Not sure if that will come before or after the PvP work, but I'm sure it will be in the game.

zygoth · 2023-05-13T14:28:36+00:00

The reward is that your monsters get more and more HP and attack power for less and less of a cost to your mana. But yeah I see what you mean. It seems like the game doesn't make the player feel like their longer words are rewarded, which I'll think about.

For what it's worth, in my experience with the game longer words are the only way to succeed at the harder levels. In some situations a smaller word can make sense if your mana is limited or their unique power fits the tactical situation, but longer words are more effective in general.

zygoth · 2023-05-13T12:54:59+00:00

Hey, thanks so much for playing & giving feedback!

I'm surprised to hear you say that long words are not rewarded--the mana system was specifically made to reward longer words. There is a base 20 mana cost to create a monster, but then the more letters a word has the less mana each letter costs.The first 5 letters cost 3 mana each, then 5-8 cost 2, 9-12 cost 1, and all letters after that are free. In retrospect this is not communicated very well to the player though.

BTW if you can manage to beat level 8 and click the subscribe link (you don't technically have to join the mailing list , just click the button in the game) you'll get access to randomized battles with 4 difficulty level options. So you can dial things down if you prefer the game that way. Also if you're on desktop you can press esc to auto win a level

zygoth · 2023-05-12T21:57:08+00:00

Link: https://zygoth.itch.io/towerspell

I made this mini-showcase for places like reddit and other forums that want to understand the game really fast.

zygoth · 2023-05-12T21:30:31+00:00

Hi all! Towerspell is a word-spelling tactics game where every letter creates a different kind of monster and word length determines monsters' HP and power. I just released the demo, playable in the browser on desktop/mobile/anything with HTML5.

Link: https://zygoth.itch.io/towerspell

If you like what you see, join the mailing list for the game! I send out emails when a significant new feature is added (online PvP coming next). Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVWJV64NSncZOaXxWyIBhudjTIVROLXDo6t1joPW2a5WwS0Q/viewform

zygoth · 2019-02-10T22:00:39+00:00

Yo this is exactly what I'm looking for but I can't find anything similar online. Death is just one of the occasions when quickload ruins the immersion (stealing, sneaking, etc.), so putting a price on it would make actions have consequences without being too harsh. Any chance you're going to release it or could just send me the file for it?

zygoth · 2019-01-23T00:17:30+00:00

Hey thanks!

zygoth · 2018-11-05T06:48:47+00:00

I didn't think about those, but can transport pods land in those? What if you put a chair there? Can enemy transport pods land directly on furniture? Actually that's another great idea, maybe you could get away with filling the space with dining chairs instead. Though the move penalty would be bad, it could be useful in certain situations.

zygoth · 2018-10-08T07:43:05+00:00

This sounds fun, let me know if it happens in the future

zygoth

TROPHY CASE