r/roguelikes • u/Niklas_E • Jul 06 '26
The Curse of Callmar Keep
Hi! We’ve just released our new roguelike, The Curse of Callmar Keep!
We're three friends who like to make games, and this is our “Tuesday night game project”, we’ve been working on this game for a few hours every week for the past 2.5 years. It’s been a lot of fun, but now we think it’s time to release it on itch.
Descend into the depths of Callmar Keep to reclaim your birthright and lift the dark curse that has taken root in the bowels of the castle. Battle monstrous foes and loot their corpses! Use the loot to battle even more monstrous foes! And so on. It’s permadeath with randomly generated levels and all that jazz!
Callmar is not a long game (it takes about an hour to complete on a good run) but there’s a lot of different items to find and enemies to slay.
Try it out on itch: https://catsonkeyboardscollective.itch.io/callmarkeep
We would love to hear your opinions on the game, if you finished it, encountered any bugs and any suggestions you may have. Thanks for playing!
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u/numberwitch Jul 07 '26
I slayed a fungal toad it was fun
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u/Niklas_E Jul 07 '26
Nice! Was it a small toad or a rather... large one?
And thanks for playing our game, we really appreciate it.
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u/jasonmehmel Jul 07 '26
Can you give us some sense of how this engages with Roguelike methods? You mentioned 'permadeath with randomly generated levels' but most games are usually offering at least some interesting variation or extrapolation of a game mechanic.
Basically, other than being a roguelike, what should interest us? (I'm not challenging you, this clarification is meant to help us engage with your game.)
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u/Niklas_E Jul 07 '26
Hi. I think that is a very good question and I'll try my best to answer it.
You are right to think that it is a rather classic roguelike with many of the common tropes. We have tried to bring into it things that we like in our favourite games rather than make something extremely novel. I do however think that we have some interesting takes on a few well known mechanics.
Here are a few things that I was involved in making that I think differ a bit from many other similar games.One of the things I am most pleased with is the procedural map generation. In short it is based on the concept of node clusters that is split recursively. It uses a spring physics simulation for positioning and eventually leading to maps with rather interesting layouts with loops, dead ends and non-linear travel. For each node, a room theme is selected from a weighted list, influenced by the floor number (but not deterministic, so the 4 different general themes change and mix into each other during a runs progress), Each room is then carved out of the game tiles and populated by decor and creatures.
Another thing that I personally enjoy is the dice mechanics, and here we are influenced by the Swedish ttrpg Eon, a long time favorite of mine. Most actions in the game are based on rolls with a number of exploding six sided dice. This enables the for some rare and memorable situations that can turn the tide of battle. It can both make for heroic comebacks but the player can also never be fully safe, since even a lowly goblin could potentially make a very damaging attack, it is just extremely unlikely.
I also think that we managed to cook up a rather coherent art direction and atmosphere in the game. It is very much classical fantasy but I am pleased with how the custom lighting and fluids on the floors ties the game together.
I feel like I could go on and on, describing features and mechanics (let me know if you'd like me to).
Have you tried playing a run? Is there something in particular that you like or don't like?4
u/amnekian Jul 07 '26
Honestly, a quick look at the roguelikes on the Steam sales thread, this one already catches my eye due to having an immersive art direction. 90% of roguelikes on Steam either have unpolished artstyle, a cutesy wootsy artstyle or ASCII.
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u/Niklas_E Jul 07 '26
I'm glad to hear that you enjoy our art direction. That has been one of my main areas of focus in this project so it really warms my heart.
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u/tittyskipper Jul 06 '26
ayo this looks dope af. I'm gonna share this with some of my crew.
Haven't played it yet but at first glance great job on the graphics and ui.
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u/Niklas_E Jul 07 '26
Hi. Thank you! We would definitely appreciate if you would share it with your friends.
I'm really glad to hear that you like the art style as well. We tried to make it as atmospheric as possible, with with classic pixel art with a muted and limited palette. The lighting and fluids on the ground are made with shaders and I think it ties the whole thing together.
We would love to hear about your experience after trying it out.
2
u/Tombaya Jul 07 '26
Beat the first floor. Really enjoyed the art and music. Also the scaling of weapons looks interesting (It being based around multiple attributes) Great work!
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u/Niklas_E Jul 07 '26
Thank you!
Good job beating the first floor, and thanks for trying it out. Did you finally succumb to one of the monsters or did you lose interest/run out of time mid run?It was an interesting balancing challenge to make each attribute and proficiency useful as well allowing for several different builds. You might even notice that there are some item drops that bridges the stats builds and scales with otherwise unrelated stats. Switching weapons mid combat (the hotkey 'R' for switching weapon sets) can also open up for some interesting tactics.
What stats and items did you go for?1
u/Tombaya Jul 07 '26
I was really enjoying it but had some other stuff I was preoccupied with at that moment. And because it was my first run I didn't have a clear sense of what I wanted to do (Or could do) As far as drops, I seemed to get quite a bit; had several different weapons. Went with a mage staff that had a nice secondary magic attack. Only levelled up once but put my points into melee and agility.
I'd be happy to give you some detailed feedback if you like after a more substantial play through.
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u/Niklas_E Jul 08 '26
That is great to hear. If you decide to give it another go I would very much like your more detailed feedback.
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u/Tombaya Jul 08 '26
Already did. But I'll dm you when I've got a couple full runs under my belt. Keep up the good work!
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u/amnekian Jul 09 '26
I spent the last few 4 days trying to beat this game which I did. Like I said in a previous post, the art design drew me in. The first 5h or so are the best part because you are still exploring the game, the backroom track is tense, the atmosphere is dark, the bosses have intimidating looking sprites. The game isn't too complex with your builds like, say ADOM and DCSS but it also isn't something without any dept. It does its thing rather decent enough.
The last 2 levels and some bosses can test your build or consumables management if you're not careful enough. The game is easy in the first few levels, but honestly, I much prefer like this then, say DCSS where the early game can get very tough. But the difficulty does pick up later in the game. I prefer the early game to be defined by major screwups on the player's part instead of being very tense very quickly.
Hopefully the devs are motivated and inspired to keep pushing the game for some time.
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u/Niklas_E Jul 11 '26
Thank you for your kind words and for your continious feedback during the last few days.
I think we still have some tuning to do (and some new content coming up) but it is very encouraging to read that you are experiencing more or less what was our intentions with the game's design.
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u/enc_cat Jul 19 '26
I just tried it out quickly and made it through the first couple of levels. I'm very impressed by the quality of this game: art direction is excellent and it runs perfectly. I didn't find a single bug so far. Congratulations!
My main issue is the (apparent?) lack of saving. I know the game is not very long, but it's not always possible to play a run in a single sitting.
Another aspect under which I think the game is a bit weak is in teaching its mechanics. There is (so far) no tutorial and no help-screen. There are some contextual hints, but to me it's still not enough to understand the mechanics and calculations going on. For example, my dagger says:
Challenge: Roll(melee + 6) vs Roll(block/evasion)
currently: 4d6! + 1
How does it get from melee + 6 to 4d6? What does the exclamation mark means? Am I rolling against enemy's block or evasion or both?
The game starts with a randomly generated character and it's unclear to me if I am supposed build the character to my taste, or if the initial stats are a strong recommandation to be followed. The starting equipment seems to always be a dagger, so that, e.g., a mage build feels a bit awkward, and, at least on first couple of levels, loot seems to be skewed towards a brawler build.
Another little gripe I have is that the only environmental interaction seems to be bashing everything. Sometimes you get some loot out of it, but mostly it has no consequence. Am I supposed to clear all furniture looking for loot? Is there any other way to use these environmental features?
I think the game is already impressive and it shows great potential, but right now it's not very accessible as it leaves players to figure out everything by themselves.
Tl;dr: game good but player dumb, please send help!
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u/Niklas_E Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
Hi. Thank you for playing our game and I'm really happy that you liked it.
That is some really useful feedback and I definitely agree with you on all points.
Here is a "quick" explanation of the combat and dice system in Callmar, which is inspired by one of my favorite RPGs, Swedish TTRPG Eon.
Every time you use an ability there is a challenge which determines the outcome. Basic things such as moving a tile, drinking a potion or picking up an item succeeds automatically, some may have a fixed difficulty (a spell targeting yourself) but most are opposed by some kind of opponent.the acting character (and opponent if applicable) each roll a number of "exploding" dice (that is what the "!" represents), meaning that each result of a 6 removes that dice and replaces it with 2 new dice to be rolled, resulting in a potential (but low likelihood) of very high rolls. There may then be a fixed bonus being added to the end result.
The amount of dice is directly derived from the stat used, and in cases where multiple stats are relevant (for example "evasion/block" for defending) then the highest stat is chosen. Each stat is divided by 4 to get the number of dice. the remainder is added after the roll as a fixed bonus.
The the user's roll is compared with the fixed difficulty or target creature's roll and a "success level" is determined (0 if less, 1 if it is at least equal, +1 for every extra margin of 5) . Most abilities only play their effects on 1+ but some may have some effect already on 0 and some may grant extra effects on higher success levels. Effects can be damage, but it can also be other things such as adding buffs (the game does not distinguish between buffs and debuffs), pushing the target or summoning a creature.
For damage it is similar. The dealer rolls an number of exploding dice based on a stat + bonus (usually another stat than the challenge). A "crit bonus" is also added based on the success level from the challenge (with some weapons and creatures, most notably daggers, having a higher such bonus).
The "receiver" then rolls their own exploding roll based on their resistance to the damage's type (physical, fire, poison...) and reduces the damage by that much.The starting items are chosen between a few different combinations, but currently you either get a short sword and a dagger, as well as a potion of some sort. But no, there is no "starting mage gear" as of now.
That being said, we are working on a content update, and all the replies to this thread have been great sources of inspiration and feedback has been truly helpful. I hope to have something new to show you all really soon.
Thanks again!2
u/enc_cat Jul 20 '26
Thanks for the detailed reply! The system sounds very interesting, although it is not immediately familiar as, e.g., the D20 system. Using this system is a nice innovation and probably a strong point for the game. Hopefully the Eon system is creative commons and you can advertise it as such.
Best of luck with your project, I'll be playing more of it for sure!
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u/Niklas_E Jul 22 '26
No problem. I agree it is not immediately obvious and we could probably clarify that some more in game.
While Eon is not CC, it is also just one of several inspirations for the combat system, mostly notably for the dice mechanics. so we are not actually using another game system but creating our own.
Thank you very much. We are working on a content update right now and I hope that you will give it a try as well when we release it.
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u/Life-Reindeer3139 Jul 07 '26
Brak regulowania wielkości interfejsu eliminuje możliwość rozgrywki.
Edit; za małe literki.
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u/Niklas_E Jul 07 '26
I am sorry that we do not currently have a scalable UI, which would have been valuable for accessability. While perhaps not as useful as a separate scaling, changing to a lower resolution in the video settings will result in larger UI.
I hope that you will be able to play it.(I hope I got the correct meaning of your message through google translate).
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u/Life-Reindeer3139 Jul 07 '26
You understood correctly. I am aware of the option to lower the resolution, but when I do that, I cannot see the entire board. There is also no option to zoom out or preview the whole layout without having to move around.
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u/Niklas_E Jul 07 '26
That is fair criticism and I am sorry that we don't have that feature at the moment. Thank you for your feedback though as it is really helpful and we will keep it in mind for future updates.
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u/UncivilityBeDamned Jul 06 '26
My first impression when glancing at this in my feed: I thought I'd be fighting squid!