early access playtest build. consider supporting. 

overworld: arrow or mouse controls

encounter: mouse controls. left-click to fill in squares, right-click to mark as empty. 

Ctrl+S to save game (overworld only), Ctrl+L to load game.

tips:

✱ standard Picross rules apply: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonogram#Example

✱ you can only fill in one row/column at a time, hence the name ROWBYROW. 

✱ the (bracketed numbers) indicate how many squares you can click for a successful attack/spell.

✱ remember to pick a target for your attack/spell!

StatusIn development
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, HTML5
Rating
Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars
(14 total ratings)
Authorverysoftwares
GenreRole Playing
Made withTIC-80

Download

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Click download now to get access to the following files:

ROWBYROW.exe 4 MB
ROWBYROW-mac 4 MB
ROWBYROW-linux 4 MB
ROWBYROW-3b.tic 302 kB

Development log

Comments

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Also, saying how to save in the game itself would help. I missed that until I read the boss fight devlog, after I'd already beaten the game.

So I think I leveled twice, and the second time was from beating the boss, so I don't know for certain that seeing the boss board instead of my own when I visited the shop, which had stayed 5x5 after the first levelup, was a glitch. But it is a thing that happened.

So after deliberately buffing the MercRat and inadvertently rendering it unable to Query (and thus me unable to learn it), then running out of non-attack options, I attacked him for one damage. He said "You've made a grave mistake!" and then the game crashed to the TIC console. I haven't managed to get screenshots or copy-paste working, so here's my best stab at a manual copy-over of what was on the console:

>[string "-- title:
ROWBYROW..."]:5745: attempt to index a
nil value (global 'cur_line')
stack traceback:
 [string "-- title:
ROWBYROW..."]:5745: in function 'TIC'
 [string "-- title:
ROWBYROW..."]:5773: in function 'TIC'
>

I was also trying to Query as many of the first dungeon enemies as I could, and I haven't managed Slime or Rival yet but I have managed Maneki.

Interesting game so far! Would be easier if you had an actual description of picross rules in the tutorial.

(+1)

This was a lot of fun, thanks. I really enjoyed the aesthetic and the combat was quite involved and satisfying once I got my head around it! Feels like there's a lot of potential to take the game in a number of directions. 

(+1)

I finally found another bug (maybe)! If you flee the multi-opponent encounter at the end after knocking one of them out and then go back to the location again, the oppnent you took down is back.

Or maybe ALL of these encounters are entirely non-lethal, which would explain how the mushrooms can be all chatty after their defeats and how the two at the end can team up even after the player defeated them previously? Hmmm...

I can't believe how much time I've put into this game. The entertainment value per-line-of-code is off the charts!

encounters are non-lethal! verysoftwares is all about non-violent gameplay. the enemies just go to recuperate after fights.

and i'm so glad you're having fun with the game! did you see i added you as special thanks in the credits?

(+1)

I had not noticed that I was in the credits, that is very nice, thank you. :)

(+1)

I noticed some things which may or may not be intentional:

  1. AntiPsn for 4 when Poisoned for 1 becomes heal-over-time for 3, but AntiPsn when not poisoned at all fizzles.
  2. As long as one has two-square picross options, one can repeatedly use 'mine' to prevent them from doing anything. I used this on the ShyFairy to finish another picross to use later.

I like both these features but I thought I should mention them in case they don't fit your vision for the game.

the AntiPsn one is definitely intentional, and i don't think the Mine exploit is too dangerous (there are already other ways to grind Picross abilities).

(+1)

Another crash. In first area fighting rival, had buff active, cast lightening, got:

>[string "-- title:  ROWBYROW..."]:499:
attempt to index a nil value (field
'?')
stack traceback:
 [string "-- title:  ROWBYROW..."]:499:
in function 'TIC'
>
I hope this report helps.
(+1)

I was able to type 'resume' in the console and continue my game, which is nice.

yeah it's convenient :)

fixed now, thanks for reporting!

(+1)

Hi, I’m really liking this game so far, but I ran into this crash while fighting Shaably (the Spore mushroom).

[string "-- title:  
ROWBYROW..."]:2863: bad argument #1 to 
'random' (interval is empty) stack traceback:     [C]: in function 'math.random'     [string "-- title:   ROWBYROW..."]:2863: in function
'enemy_attack'     [string "-- title:   ROWBYROW..."]:3031: in field 'ai'     [string "-- title:  ROWBYROW..."]:491:
in function 'enemyturn'
For a gameplay suggestion, please make it so you can’t accidentally select crossed-out tiles. Then you could click-drag over an entire row while only selecting the tiles that aren’t crossed out.

the crash should be fixed now, and i made it so that only right-clicking removes crossed-out tiles.

(+1)

Hello, I like the game a lot, I especially like how you provide so many abilities to play with. 

I think there needs to be more puzzles, by the end of the demo managing the board got less interesting as I had good general strategies for each layout.

It could also be interesting to experiment with multiple sizes of board (maybe 4x4-6x6, maybe even non-square boards), although you'd have to look at balance as that would make the consumables even more OP.

Also, entering the stairs in the upper right of the second area shouldn't immediately end your game, I was curious if there would be anything back there like with the other set of stairs and hadn't actually finished all the encounters yet.

Overall this is a great base and I'm really excited to see where this game goes!

I'll definitely be back for the updates!😀

>Hello, I like the game a lot, I especially like how you provide so many abilities to play with. 

thank you!

>I think there needs to be more puzzles

there will definitely be more puzzles. 

>It could also be interesting to experiment with multiple sizes of board (maybe 4x4-6x6, maybe even non-square boards)

the current idea is that your board grows larger when leveling up.

>Also, entering the stairs in the upper right of the second area shouldn't immediately end your game

agreed, i'll just put there a message that you're about to leave the demo area

>I'll definitely be back for the updates!😀

that makes me happy! ☺️

(+1)

Came from the description in: youtube.com/watch?v=eE05LjNNenQ

Fun! Interesting how the roaming guy in the second zone isn't the boss?


Is there a hidden path to the secret area in the first zone? Cool how stairs don't always end the game! Mimic is very useful!


The three mushrooms did their dialogue after my first battle with a sporer, but also after the battle right after that.


Should it happen every time?

(1 edit)

>Came from the description in: youtube.com/watch?v=eE05LjNNenQ

like a whole lot of others! i'm so glad to be featured in GMTK :)

>Fun! Interesting how the roaming guy in the second zone isn't the boss?

the true boss is hidden at first.

>Is there a hidden path to the secret area in the first zone?

yes, but much later in the game.

>The three mushrooms did their dialogue after my first battle with a sporer, but also after the battle right after that.

that was an oversight, it should be fixed now.

thanks for playtesting & giving feedback!

(+1)

Very sweet. Definitely coming back to this for future updates!

(+1)

I want to play it more! As a picross fan, I loved seeing the new elements added.

(+1)

Ahhh I would totally play more. Intrigued by the telepathic character.

(+1)

I am relatively new to picross games, but I enjoyed it a lot! :D

Some ideas/opinions:

-You should probably add an options menu to let the player disable completely the wobbly/colored text.

-I couldn't use the buff because the game finished too soon XD Does it affect the smallCure too? By the description it seemed it woould only change the attack.

-This needs music. I'm glad you are planning to add it :)

Please continue with your good work! :D I would love buying this game on Steam (you could probably release it on early acces).

(1 edit)

>-You should probably add an options menu to let the player disable completely the wobbly/colored text.

it seems like people would enjoy that, so i eventually will.

>-I couldn't use the buff because the game finished too soon XD Does it affect the smallCure too? By the description it seemed it woould only change the attack.

it affects every attack/spell.

>-This needs music. I'm glad you are planning to add it :)

yeah look forward to some pumpin' tunes!

>I would love buying this game on Steam (you could probably release it on early acces).

hmm, i haven't considered Steam yet. it'll be on sale on itch.io at least.

(+1)

This is a really amazing concept! It took me a moment to figure out that you could mark squares as empty without it counting as a marked square, and that the nonograms continued between battles, but otherwise I loved it!

I do have some accessibility concerns though, the bouncing text was very difficult to read as I react poorly to quickly changing or flashing light. The "Thanks for playtesting" screen also was difficult for me because of my reactions to flashing lights.

thanks for reporting, i've toned down the text animation & flashing effects.

(+1)

Suggestion: let the left-click cycle through white-black-cross, and the right click to cycle in the opposite direction. That would enable the game to be playable by touch screen, with no detriment to mouse users. Look at "Simon Tatham's portable puzzle collection" for an implementatiom that behaves as I described.

(+1)

This is kinda cool. One thing I'd recommend is toning down the wobbly-ness of the text, as it's kinda hard to read (I'm trying to imagine how my dyslexic friend would deal with it and wincing). And the flashing "game over" text is probably a seizure trigger. 


I definitely got confused about why nothing was happening when I clicked on the spell in the very beginning; took me a while to figure out that I had to select a target as well (even though there was only one target). I'd recommend adding a line into the description about that. I figured it out quickly enough but it felt a bit weird. Otherwise, this is a decent bit of fun.

(+1)

i added a line in the description about selecting a target.

(+1)

Fun little game with a neat core idea.

To make buff more useful. Could it be allowed to choose column or row when you are only filling in one square? After I had used it, I only had one row left to fill, so I didn't benefit from it.

The x in multipliers are usually written after the number. I especially got confused by the x-3.0. It looks like it will be the number of squares minus three rather than multiplied by minus three.

i made Buff choose the best row/column for you if you're only filling in one square, and changed the multiplier text.

Right now Buff chooses between row vs column when one square is selected based on which has more squares. That is better in most situations, but not if the spell backfires because there are too many squares. Might I suggest Buff selecting the row/column with fewer squares when the option with more squares would cause a backfire.

I’m really liking your game so far. I’m amazed how much depth you’ve put into a picross RPG, especially how even if you know the solution to the picture you still have to plan your moves out in advance. The way you use the grid as a resource to be managed feels truly original and fresh for the genre.

(+2)

Very neat work! Just a quick heads up, wobbly text is a visual seizure trigger, so I would recommend providing an option to turn it off (and actually maybe cut down on it anyway, it's a bit weird to read whole blocks of it). The ideas here are clever and get me thinking about even simple 5x5 puzzles in a new way though, so I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes!

(+2)

made in TIC-80. Excellent. Great work

(+1)

making games with TIC-80 is a breeze!

(+2)

Great work!
I felt a bit lost trying to figure out why I was missing my spells, which I realized when I repeated the mistake. It would be nice to have some in-game warning about it when selecting a spell that needs more squares than filled. 

In the meanwhile, I would format the game description to highlight the most important info.

(+1)

Pretty fun game, but this is coming from a diehard picross fan.

Do you plan on adding some back ground music?

(+1)

yes, music is on the way :)