Hunt & Circumstance

Note: there is no sound in the current build. This is intentional.

Hunt & Circumstance is my project for the 30 Day RPG Maker Themed Game Jam #10. This is a puzzle game about resource management.

Thoman is a hunter. He hunts dangerous beasts in the wilds around his village. Unfortunately, the monsters are a lot tougher than he is. In order to take down his targets, Thoman must carefully navigate hostile environments while managing his resources: a handful of arrows, whatever he can scrounge up out in the field, and even his own health. A direct confrontation will often end in death, but there is always a path to victory.

While I didn't get nearly as much gameplay content done as I wanted to during the game jam period, I did manage to get a couple of cool mechanics implemented. The bait mechanic in particular is something that you probably haven't seen in an RPG Maker game before.

Controls:

There is an in-game tutorial that explains all the controls in the game. Even if you are familiar with RPG Maker games I recommend doing the tutorial, since it is a hunt in its own right.

Mechanics:

Arrows: Thoman begins a hunt with 6 arrows. These are very useful, since they allow Thoman to kill small rodents from a distance without taking any damage. In combat these arrows can also be used to attack before the enemy and do more damage.

Thoman also has a knife that he can use in combat, but this is much more dangerous. The monsters will act before Thoman, dealing damage before he can strike. Also, the knife doesn't do nearly as much damage as the arrows. The arrows are limited in supply though, so Thoman should use the knife where and when he can get away with it.

Bait: Rodents drop meat when defeated. Using 2 meat lets you craft bait, which can then be used to lure nearby monsters to your current location. This lets you move monsters around, giving you access to new areas without having to fight the monsters. It also lets you split monsters up, making them easier to deal with in a direct confrontation.

Cooking: Meat and herbs can be used to make healing items. Since health is a resource, this effectively increases the amount of stuff you can do. Thoman only brings a single flint with him on his hunts, so he can only start a fire once per hunt. This means that you want to collect as much meat and as many herbs as possible before you commit to your once-per-hunt cookout. Uncooked meat can still be used as bait, so it still has some value even when you can't cook it yourself.