I managed to get a basic prototype working and spent far too long on designing cute slime NPCs. On the downside, I'm low on time and energy. On the bright side, I'm high on inspiration. Hopefully I can cram it all into a finished game before the jam ends.

Here's the NPCs I designed initially.

Here's the NPCs after I touched them up and gave them accessories. Except for Orange, I didn't get around to him (which is why he's still angry).

The basic idea right now is that each slime type (represented by its color) has a mechanic they can take advantage of in the game, which the respective NPCs will teach the Player in exchange for gifting them Health or doing some quest or just because they're nice (in the case of Green). Green gives the Player opportunities to heal in combat, Yellow allows the Player to counter-attack, Orange rewards the Player with buffs for taking risks (think grazing a bullet in a bullet hell game, etc), and I haven't decided what Purple does yet. I just know Purple (the slime) will be a librarian... because reasons. It'll make sense after I sleep. All the slimes like collecting something in particular, she likes books, but I digress.

The plot behind the game is that you're just an ordinary slime, considered the weakest monster type in the world, inhabiting the very first room of a legendary dungeon. The Dungeon Master has proclaimed that whichever monster sacrifices the most Life Energy to him by the end of (insert arbitrary date here) will be made into the final boss of the dungeon. This comes with awesome perks like having your own floor to rule over, specifically, the last one, which means you're unlikely to be bothered by those pesky adventurers until they're fought everyone else. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for slimekind.

How you go about gathering said Life Energy is up to you. Scrape it together by eating organics passively, feast on the remains of the recently defeated, hunt down adventurers yourself, or wipe out every other monster in the dungeon... all valid choices. That's the intent anyway. We'll see whether I can make this happen after I've gotten some sleep. Goodnight everyone, and good luck with your games!