Gordian Quest

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Hello. We are developers from Mixed Realms, an indie game studio based in Singapore. We are best known for developing the cyber ninja VR simulator SAIRENTO VR.

As game developers, our core mission is to create great fun games. Although we had a successful hit in VR, we don’t limit ourselves to just one platform. Our upcoming game is a PC roguelike/lite RPG that combines the best elements of deckbuilding, tactical combat and strategic decision-making.

It’s called Gordian Quest and current available on Steam as an Early Access title.

If you like what you see, please feel free to engage us on the forums or even better yet, buy the game.

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WHAT KIND OF GAME IS GORDIAN QUEST?

Gordian Quest is best described as an old school RPG presented in a modern way. We are huge fans of old cult classics like Wizardry, Ultima, Dungeons and Dragons and Might and Magic. There is something charming about the old-school way of forming your team of heroes to go on adventures, accepting quests from NPCs, leading your heroes to engage in battles, making them stronger, mastering skills, forging new weapons and discovering powerful relics. In Gordian Quest, we have preserved all these elements – made better and fronted by more modern concepts such as deckbuilding, turn-based tactical combat, a skill-grid system, equipment crafting, procedural maps and uncovering deeper skills brought about by forging bonds among your heroes.

ROGUELIKE VS ROGUELITE

Internally, there has been some debate over what we could classify Gordian Quest as, and to be honest, the distinction can be a little fuzzy. We think that good games draw traits from different inspirations and genres, so we’re gonna call it as it is – a game that falls within the gray area, but offers something that we hope will satisfy both ends of the spectrum. The game offers multiple difficulties, and can be cranked up even further with hardcore mode – providing a satisfying, teeth-gritting permadeath experience for the fans who want it that way. If one chooses to, it can also be played more casually, where deaths simply mean respawning back in town. We will recognize runs of both nature in the future with leaderboards.

4 ACTS, 1 EPIC ADVENTURE

In our Early Access build, we introduce the first Act set in WESTMIRE. This is a complete adventure by itself that should offer hours of playtime and also serves as an introduction to the mechanics and lore of Gordian Quest. By the time we exit EA, we will have 4 Acts that truly test your tactical combat and resource management skills.

Each Act will be set in a different region of the world and will introduce a new mechanic or subsystem to the game. A never-ending dungeon that pushes you to your limit; A rolling fog of war that conceals nodes in the overworld; units that make their move in the world when you do; these will come with a bevy of all new skills, heroes, NPCs, items, events as part of our roadmap for the future.

These new mechanics will eventually all be rolled into an Endless Adventure mode, where you will be able to venture the many worlds in an interconnected manner and experience a unique take on everything the game has to offer.

6 HEROES FOR NOW, WITH MORE TO COME

The Early Access will begin with 6 heroes you can choose from to lead your adventures. There is a swordhand, a cleric, a ranger, a scoundrel, a druid and a spellbinder. As we move toward final release, we will be adding at least another 10-16 heroes to the game.

LUCIUS THE SWORDHAND

Lucius has a strong combat presence, with powerful melee skills and access to aura abilities that can buff himself and his allies.

BERTRAM THE RANGER

Bertram’s primary skill set is his marksmanship abilities, giving him ranged control over the battlefield. When enemies get too close, his secondary access to traps and mines allow him some breathing room.

ALPHONSE THE SCOUNDREL

Alphonse requires highly strategic play, as he works best from the shadows, repositioning enemies and landing surgical blows. He also has access to traps and poisonous attacks, which he can use to deadly purpose.

CATHERIN THE CLERIC

Catherin’s divine abilities make her a strong candidate for facing against undead opponents, something the first Act will have plenty of. Her close combat abilities are also nothing to sneeze at.

PIERRE THE SPELLBINDER

Pierre’s skills revolve around high impact spells that require channeling to achieve maximum effect. The longer he can channel a spell, the more potent it becomes.

IDA THE DRUID

Ida is a wild combatant, able to beat up opponents with technical combos, and also able to summon pets to confuse, distract, and disable. At higher levels, she gains access to her transformation abilities, being able to turn into a powerful werebear!

A TACTICAL TURN-BASED COMBAT SYSTEM

Combat in Gordian Quest is a turn-based tactical affair – all units act according to their Initiative count, and have a store of resource called Ability Points (AP). AP can be spent by playing cards in a hero’s hand to achieve an effect. Cards have different costs, ranges, and purposes – and they are drawn from a deck that consist of both cards the hero learned innately, as well as cards granted by equipment.

The battle grid is split into two sides – yours on the left, and the enemy’s on the right. You have freedom of movement on your side of the grid, and you must position your heroes in the optimum spots to maximize the effects of your cards, while avoiding what the enemy can dish out.

On the harder difficulties, it becomes an essential puzzle figuring out how to avoid taking any damage at all in a turn. That’s when synergy among your heroes comes into play, as you can cover vulnerable heroes with the right formation, or supercharge your abilities with the right combination of cards. Teamwork is key.

A STRATEGIC CARD SYSTEM

Experimenting with the cards system and deck-building is the bread and butter of the game. Every hero can innately draw cards from three schools, which are a collection of cards designed around a particular theme.

For example, Alphonse the Scoundrel has access to to the Assassin, Sabotage, and Subterfuge schools. The first school focuses on high single target damage and the use of poison, the second focuses on using traps and implements to sow chaos in the enemy ranks, and the last school focuses on deception and trickery to outplay opponents.

By mixing and matching skills from a hero’s schools, as well as those granted by a player’s equipment, you can design builds for adapting to and taking on the challenges that you’ll face.

Passives and Triggers

Passives and Triggers are unique cards that grant specific effects under certain conditions, and they are usually beneficial. For example, the passive card Uncanny Reactions, when held in your hand, converts all of your Haste to Guard the next time you are hit, providing a timely boost in defenses at the expense of acting faster. The trigger card Puncturing Arrow, when played on you, causes your next ranged attack to inflict Bleed on the target.

By finding unique combinations between the many passives and trigger cards, you can create devastating and effective combos on your foes. You’ll have to strategize when to hold on to these cards, and when to make use of them, as each hero can initially only keep up to 2 cards in their hands for the next turn. Hang on to them, discard them, or make use of them when the time is right!

A HIGHLY CUSTOMIZABLE SKILL GRID SYSTEM

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Gordian Quest is a game that encourages replayability, and each time you replay it, we aim to make the experience feel as fresh as possible. Driving our plans for that is a unique skill grid system that is different for every hero and every run. As you invest more points into the grid, you are rewarded with more pieces that you can use to tile and expand the grid.

Devise the best layout and pathing to unlock your hero’s true potential.

In the future, we plan to allow outside forces to manipulate your skill grid, such as visiting a trainer to shuffle your skill grid, or even introducing new nodes by interacting with steadfast allies and rivals.

PROCEDURALLY GENERATED MAPS AND DUNGEONS

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Procedurally generated maps are the lifeblood of any roguelike or roguelite. In the first Act, we aim for it to be an introductory experience, so a portion of it will have semi-random elements.

Outside of that, we have an overworld populated by many different elements for you to explore – pick a path to set down on, but make sure you’re prepared for the challenges in your path. In future game modes, we will take this idea much further, with infinite exploration that never ends.

Travel in game is not just limited to overland. You will also encounter procedural dungeons, maps that can have multiple levels and allow for more intimate encounters with the horrors of the land …

ITEMIZATION, VENDORS AND CARDS

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Finding items in the course of the adventure can be both fun and gratifying. But that’s only the half of it – we have an extensive customization system built around the vendors you’ll meet in the game, and they all serve to turn a good item into a fantastic one.

Each vendor serves a particular aspect in the crafting process, if you can afford their services – for example, the Jeweller is a gentleman who will roll sockets on your items, and the Enchanter can utilize gems that you’ve found to insert a card into said equipment, depending on the recipe you pick.

These enchanted equipment give you a very fluid way of partaking in deckbuilding, and with the right combinations of items and innately learned skills, you will be able to devise a powerful deck to take on the strongest of foes.

DECISIONS THAT WILL AID OR FAIL YOU

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Random events that you encounter on the course of your journey can alter it – for better or for worse. One moment, you might be struggling with the dire consequences of falling into an enemy ambush, and the next you might be flush with wealth after discovering a hidden cache.

Weathering these events and making these decisions is part of your Gordian Quest, and sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.

Other times, pray that lady luck is on your side.

AN EMERGENT RELATIONSHIP SYSTEM (WIP)

What we’re excited to unveil in a much later patch is a relationship system that changes the dynamic of each adventure, and creates opportunities for emergent narratives to form. Throughout the course of the adventure, your heroes will have moments of levity, debates, and arguments that can influence the nature of their relationships. These can happen while in camp, combat, or through random events in the world.

Choosing reactions to these moments of conflict can turn allies into friends, or rivals. Friends can influence your skill grid and deck, letting you draw cards that defend or aid them in times of need. Friends will also be able to perform combos under the right conditions, such as standing in a particular formation in battle. Rivals can also influence each other the same way, but to different ends. A little competitiveness forces heroes to outdo the other, letting you draw cards that greatly buff yourself, sometimes at the expense of the other hero, or when the other hero performs something impactful. Sometimes, even romance can blossom in these dark times, opening up even more gameplay nuances.

AND MUCH MUCH MORE …

All the above is just scratching the surface of what we have in store for the future of Gordian Quest, and boy are there a lot of exciting things ahead. We’re super pumped to let you guys get your hands on it, and it’s going to be an exciting journey ahead.

Just to summarize, these are what we have planned ahead for the game –

4 Acts in total – each with new gameplay mechanics, heroes, skills, quests, relics, items and NPCs to discover.
Lots more heroes with hundreds more skills and abilities.
Expansions to the current card schools.
More items and recipes to craft and enchant your weapons.
A relationship system where the heroes can forge bonds and uncover new skills.
A NPC network that allows you to forge relationships with denizens scattered around the world. Align yourself with different factions, embark on side quests and eventually shape the course of your adventure with critical decisions.
An Endless Adventure mode, where you will be able to venture the many worlds in an interconnected manner and experience a unique take on everything the game has to offer.
A PVP mode where you can engage in skirmish fights with other players using your preferred mix of heroes and skills.
And more …

Instead of dropping a finished game at your feet and expecting you to take it or leave it, we believe in building our games organically with you. We want you to be a part of our decision making process as we introduce more content and features to the game. After all, we are building a game for you, so we think you should be involved.

We hope you’ll support us in the Early Access version and help spread the word about it – and again we invite you to talk to us and share your ideas and wishes for the future of the game.

Thank you!
Gordian Quest Dev. Team

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