For my compo entry, I drew all the sprites in just 8x8 pixels. The whole game is only 96x88 pixels total! That made in-game UI a challenge. Most of the gameplay can be discovered by playing, but I also wanted to include purchasable upgrades and equipment for our brave dungeon delvers.

In order to present the information in a readable way, I came up with the idea of an overlay in the style of a retro instruction booklet. I was thinking of the amazing instruction manual in Tunic, which is inspired by games like the Legend of Zelda. It would fit in with the retro look while freeing me from the pixel limitations.

Sadly, time ran out before I was able to implement the instruction booklet in the game. For now, players have to reference the instructions on the game page while they play. If I work on the game mode, I'd definitely like to incorporate it into the game itself!

You can try the game here if you don't mind reading instructions!