Sidequests Only by CataclysmicKnight
This is a tabletop game that's played via Screentop.gg. Screentop is like Tabletop Simulator but it's free, playable on a browser, and doesn't have the queerphobia that TTS does!
Welcome, gamer! After watching an unskippable 5-minute-long cutscene and playing through a tutorial that made you fall asleep twice, you've entered the world of Questopia... for the 17th time.
Yep, you've played this game a LOT, and pretty much all of the fun you and your friends get out of Questopia comes from challenges you create for yourselves. This time it's Sidequests Only! You can't level up and you can't earn better loot from doing the main mission and leaving the starting area, you just get stat increases from the equipment you've got equipped.
To balance things back out, you've all installed a mod that allows you to equip as many pieces as you want! Wanna use 7 swords? Go for it! 6 helmets? Look how stylish you are!
You earn coins every time you defeat enemies, including the Big Bad (who hordes the heck out of them), and whoever has the most coins when the Big Bad is defeated wins!
There's another special mod you all installed too: the Scare Tactic mod. This one doubles the coins earned from enemies if you can scare them off, and each has a unique way to do so, even the Big Bad.
Finally, one final mod ensures you'll hurry as much as you can: the Bravest Mod. This one forces you to adventure as much as your agility allows, so you'll want to balance your attack (to defeat enemies), defense (to protect yourself from harm), and agility (to fetch as many things as you can) carefully.
And don't worry, Questopia definitely lives up to its name: there's an infinite number of fetch quests to complete. So go ahead, grab lots of stuff, deliver the goods, equip yourself up, and SLAY!
This game was created using images from Canva. The cards were created there, run through NanDECK to create the sheets that were then uploaded to Screentop.gg where I created the game.
Note: there's an LD53 version of the game because I plan to release a post-jam version during the jam as well, but haven't yet :smile:
| Screentop.gg - Ludum Dare 53 Version | https://screentop.gg/@BethMakesGames/sidequestsLD53 |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/53/sidequests-only |
Ratings
| Given | 7🗳️ | 2🗨️ |
It'll open up a page with the game loaded up :D Sorry for the confusion! I know it's extra steps beyond what most games require, and then having to read all the rules and stuff on top of that lol, but I appreciate you trying 🧡
Edit: this is what the page looks like with the game loaded up:
You're very right, though, that something like that would've been very handy. Especially compared to the other games included in Ludum Dare, that are so much more intuitive and easier to pickup and play.
With all of that said, I appreciate you commenting and I'll definitely keep that in mind for next time. I'm sure if I make a video to explain how to use Screentop and include that as supplementary, it wouldn't technically be a part of the game and therefore should be fine for not breaking LD rules. I'll aim to do that for next time :D Thanks for the idea! 🧡
Yeah if you were to do this again (or now), I would definitely suggest including at the very least, instructions on how to use this website to play your game and view the rules. You can edit the page to your liking after the submission deadline, so you can take your time with that. It'd also be nice to include the rules to your game in the LDJam page, and some screenshots of the board / what gameplay looks like. It might also be to good to mention how many players this game is for.
This looks neat though! I would've never thought of making a non-video game game for a game jam :)
I didn't even consider adding that info here, good idea! I know it'll be super late but I can get that done on Monday so people can see it. Most of the time when people playtest tabletop games together, it's via voice, so someone explains how to use Screentop (or whatever digital implementation is being used) plus the game. So this has been a learning experience for me 🤣 And I really appreciate you taking the time to figure that out and suggest making a tutorial here on the page, because yeah, there are two things that are super easy to miss but 100% vital: that "?" and the button in the top-left that allows you to join a game.
I read through the rules and it seems pretty cool! I see there is a solo play option. It also seems long though so I might try it out later.
Have some questions though:
- Are the adventuring cards supposed to be face up, so that you get to pick what the first card is going to be that you draw? That seems a bit weird to me because of hazards. Shouldn't they be face down and then you flip them as you draw them?
- Is a 'full set of equipment', one of each piece of equippable gear? So 3 full sets means you have at least 3 of each piece?
I've never used screentop before. It would be nice to flip through all the cards and maybe have more help text on each card, since the rules are a little hard to imagine without having the actual physical components. Everything was "locked" when I tried it.
I think a play-through video would go a long way to help us get a feel for it.
It would also be fun to see more focus on "fetch" side-quests, given the jam theme. =)
Overall, nice job, and good luck on future versions. =)