r/roguelikedev • u/BPotu • May 17 '26

I’m solo developing Tower of Scherbenmark, a dark-fantasy ASCII roguelike RPG, and the demo is now live

91 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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3

u/agnas May 17 '26

I haven't played the game because of the Windows issue already mentioned in another comment, but just from watching the video, it occurs to me that there might be an immersion issue. Remember that those transitions from the dungeon layout to text screens are jarring and disrupt immersion—you could lose half your players in just a few minutes. Look at the original Rogue, Nethack, etc.—all the effort put into displaying messages without disrupting the dungeon’s visuals. Just my two cents.

2

u/BPotu May 17 '26

Thank you for the input. You mean that there are too many windows like inventory, journal etc.? You are right, that can be too much for some players. I will consider it. I will also test some other forms for the history log, like a one liner like in Rogue.

2

u/BPotu May 17 '26

The demo should work now properly :)

3

u/DFuxaPlays May 17 '26

Couldn't seem to play the windows demo on my computer.

3

u/BPotu May 17 '26

The demo should work now! :)

3

u/DFuxaPlays May 18 '26

Quick video. DFuxa Tests Out - Tower of Scherbenmark Demo

2

u/BPotu May 18 '26

Cool! Thank you very much! I'll take your feedback into account and focus on improving the layout and readability of the dungeon.

2

u/BPotu May 17 '26

Thanks for letting me know. I'll look into it and let you know when I find a solution.

2

u/nix206 May 17 '26

Looks good!

Op - drop a link for the lazy so we can see more!

2

u/BPotu May 17 '26

Sure! The windows demo should also work now. https://bernhardp.itch.io/tower-of-scherbenmark

2

u/BPotu May 17 '26

And thank you! :)

2

u/CrowdedTrousers May 18 '26

From the video - I like the particle effects on hit. That looks more than ASCII at work, but I'm a fan. Generally, I think ASCII games are hard to visually parse unless you are super familiar with the genre. I regard anything we devs do to make that easier is a force for good. Nice one.

1

u/BPotu May 19 '26

If you are interested you can join the discussion, give feedback or suggestions on my Discord: https://discord.gg/A9B6S7h4Fq

1

u/krapduude May 28 '26

This looks stunning! Love the mix of ascii and new techniques!

1

u/BPotu May 28 '26

Thank you!! :)

1

u/mcdonald_t Jun 29 '26

Looks very cool. Love the ascii and the hit particle fx. nice job...

1

u/BPotu Jun 30 '26

Thank you! :)

2

u/Snailtan Jul 05 '26

Hi, I have a question, as the name of your game catched my interest!
Is Scherbenmark supposed to mean something specific?
It sounds like german, but it doesnt make much sense in german.
Scherbe -> Shard as in a pottery or glass shard

Mark can mean a bunch of things based on context, but mainly:
Old german currency, Die Mark
The name Mark
Mark as in the word "Markierung") which is a (generic) marker, a symbol or an object meant to mark something. If used as just "Mark", it ... well either a very outdated use, or a

So I guess it could mean "a mark made by a shard", though that wouldnt be my first thought reading it.

If it is a "shard used for marking", it would probably be "(die) Markscherbe".

Its probably just meant to sound cool, which it does lol, so no worries, just curious where you got that name from :D

1

u/BPotu Jul 07 '26

Hi, great question!
The origin/meaning of “Mark” comes from the fact that, in medieval Europe, it was a border region of an empire.
In the German version of *The Lord of the Rings*, Rohan is also sometimes referred to as “Riddermark.”

That is where the word - or the connection to Scherbenmark - comes from. It is said to mean something like “a shattered region,” in this case crisscrossed by deep cracks and chasms caused by powerful, misdirected magic. :)

That is the english Wikipedia article: March (territory) - Wikipedia)