Hey Rat Punchers, Happy New Year!
As always, I like to write a blog post at the start of the year to recap, summarize my current plans for Shattered, and share what my main priorities are for the coming year. This post starts with a year in review, and then lists the major changes and additions that I have planned for Shattered Pixel Dungeon in 2026 and beyond!
You must log in or # to comment.
Love the new ooze boss art inspires something nostalgic in me
Agreed!
Besides a few PC games, Shattered Pixel Dungeon is my all time favourite game…and the only game on my phone.
For me one part that is great is the pixelated retro look. The focus is ong game play and the sprites look like sprites. Polishing the game to look cleaner takes away the charm in my opinion.
I like most of the new art, but as a colorblind person, the new scroll and runestone art is a lot harder to differentiate (the stones in particular basically all look identical to me). Maybe there could be an option to keep the old-style art if preferred?
I think they do a better job conveying shape but otherwise I agree with you that the runestone sprites are a fairly steep visibility and contrast downgrade. None of these sprites are final and I agree that’s something that should be adjusted before release. I do plan to listen to feedback and adjust of course, but I generally do not add toggled to revert updates.
FWIW, I’ve always had trouble telling apart amber, golden, and jade potions, so if I have to, I’ll learn to live with it.
The character splash art update is a straight downgrade. Lost all of its charm. Looks like somebody’s amateur attempt to digitally airbrush their facebook profile pic with a blur tool.
That’s a pretty extreme position. I do agree that Alek’s style has gotten a bit softer over time (Warrior is the clearest example of this), and that’s fairly subjective. But there are other details such as overall lighting, Warrior proportions (think about how skinny he would need to be to fit into his armor), and facial details (Huntress in particular) that I would say are objective improvements.
It’s Pixel Dungeon, not Incrementally Edging Toward Realism Dungeon.
It’s the same feeling of complete wtf I get when I see companies like Blizzard update their games with “improved” graphics that completely miss the soul and aesthetic of the original.
It’s your game in the end, just sharing my impression.
Also, the fact that the warrior was not a standard fantasy beefcake stereotype was something I particularly liked.
I’m not keen on the new stones, scrolls or runes either. Making them more 3d makes the symbols harder to read, especially on a smaller screen. I’d vote to keep them simple.
I agree. I don’t like the new scroll art at all, or the stones, or the dart tips (fletching looks good, though). Nor do I like the new crystal chest. It looks like a face.
The runes on the stones look too bold, and the enhanced scrolls look too glossy or faded. The dart tips are too fat.
@Quibblekrust
Agreed. What disturbs me about the scrolls is that symbols have moved from clear and legible to wiggled and harder to recognize.For enemies, wands, or potion bottles a little more 3d is ok and looks good, but for the scrolls and runestones it is a downgrade. The symbols are their distinguishing feature, so they should be kept clear.
Also, bottles and seeds have their colors to tell them apart, wands have different colors and shapes, so tweaking their 3d does n
@notabot@Quibblekrust
Also, bottles and seeds have their colors to tell them apart, wands have different colors and shapes, so tweaking their 3d does not affect their recognizability, opposed to the scrolls and runestones.
@notabot
Counterpoint on darts specifically: the fat tip can be for tipped darts. Currently, blinding dart looks way too similar to the untipped dart; fattening the tips on tipped darts is one solution.
The new scrolls do seem harder to read. I only just realized that the lightning wand is supposed to look like a taser because of the new art though, so there’s that. I always interpreted that as some kind of teal gem on the end.
You know I didn’t even get that far in the post, I got to the character art and commented then had to go for a bit.
The new art for items and enemies is a such a blurry low-contrast mess. I’m even more baffled now.
Honestly, I don’t mind the rest of the proposed changes. To my eye the weapons and items actually look a little clearer, and there enemys are slightly better differentiated too. I like the teeth on the blob.
Yeah that is something I’ve considered, there is actually an earlier iteration where the symbols were even harder to read. I do think it’s not as big of an issue as you might think initially, given that we’re used to the extremely flat scrolls. There would also still be extra info such as item names and inventory icons.
This reminds my of the verse from “The Roguelet’s ABC” about the original, text mode, rogue:
U: There’s a U – a Unicorn!
Run right up and rub its horn.
Look at all those points you’re losing!
UMBER HULKS are so confusing.
I think favouring clear and unambiguous design over one that is, perhaps, more aestetically pleasing but less clear, is quite important. You don’t want to make a mistake and end up losing a run just because you thought you were looking at one thing and it turned out to be another.
While I agree that visibility needs to be considered, I don’t think it’s fair to compare this to a game that uses the exact same shape to convey two different enemies.
Happy new year! Looking forward to the additions already, especially the new quest!
One of the things that came up on the Other Site is that it would be great to see something to make more use of bombs as it seems people don’t use them a lot.
Perhaps an artifact to produce and remotely detonate bombs? Or have them detonate based on proximity of an enemy? I think like a few new items like this could open up new approaches to gameplay. Perhaps a new trinket connected to bombs might help get more people using them as well.
excited to see new art in game yippee!
