2020-03-14 01:07:26

Hey folks,

Since February I have been learning how to develop Alexa skills and after implementing a simple solo board game called Desolate, a few of my blind board game enthusiast friends requested Dungeon Roll as they really enjoyed playing the physical version of the game.

I have been working on the game for over three weeks now and I have a playable build published as a private beta skill. At the moment, I have three heroes out of 8 that are in the physical game, but I will be adding each hero slowly as I develop the game further.

Briefly, in Dungeon Roll you select a hero that has specific abilities and roll 7 dice to form your party. You enter the dungeon and in each level you encounter goblins, skeletons, or ooze monsters to battle. You discover chests and potions, and also fight a dragon. The goal of the game is to collect as much experience points as you can in three dungeon delves.

If you would like to sign up for the beta, you can submit your email address on the following form: https://forms.gle/TPjMrXJamBsaHGtW7

The beta is currently available in the US and Canada regions, so if your account belongs to another region you will not get access to the game.

Since the game currently does not have a straight-forward tutorial and the rules are a bit long to just dump them all in the skill, you can briefly go over the rules here to get an idea on how the game is played: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RFc … sp=sharing

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Tasty Minstrel Games, the original publisher of the physical game. This is just a personal project to make the game accessible for blind players. You do not need a copy of  the physical game to play, but if you like it, buy the physical game!

Host of Sightless Fun, podcast about visual accessibility in modern Board Games.

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2020-03-17 13:07:22 (edited by stirlock 2020-03-17 13:07:50)

So I encountered a bug where if you don't have enough dice to defeat the dragon, there's no way to retire or let yourself die, basically getting yourself in an infinite loop. I really like this thing.

Take care, it's a desert out there.

2020-03-17 13:32:58

@2, when you do not have any items, hero abilities or companions to help you defeat the dragon, you need to use the flee command. This ends your delve and you do not get any experience points for that delve. At the moment, you should use the 'help' command at any point during the game to get information about the valid commands. I'm currently planning a scripted in-game tutorial that would cover most scenarios to teach the game to new players.

Host of Sightless Fun, podcast about visual accessibility in modern Board Games.

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2020-03-19 14:27:59

A new version of the beta is now live with two new heroes, the Knight and the Minstrel. There are some bug fixes and also an improvements for the hero selection.

Host of Sightless Fun, podcast about visual accessibility in modern Board Games.

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2020-03-31 18:47:21

Recently I have published a couple of updates to the game. All 8 heroes from the base physical game have been added. Also, your game progress is now saved across sessions. So, if your game somehow crashes, or you don't have time to finish it, you are able to continue playing the same game where you left off.

Next on the list is to add information for new players and teach them how the game is played, followed by polishing and improving some of the descriptions.

Host of Sightless Fun, podcast about visual accessibility in modern Board Games.

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2020-04-02 19:14:23

Which code language did you do?

2020-04-02 22:04:11 (edited by ertay 2020-04-02 22:13:27)

@komutan, I am using C#. The skill is hosted as an Azure Function. I went with an Azure Function because the AWS portal is atrocious (screen reader accessibility-wise) and I had problems setting up a Lambda function.

Host of Sightless Fun, podcast about visual accessibility in modern Board Games.

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2020-04-07 11:59:14

Hey folks,

Beta version 7 is now live and contains a step-by-step guide to teach you how to play the game. There also are some minor bug fixes in  this version and overall improvements to the descriptions when you move from the Monster phase to the loot phase, and from the loot phase to dragon phase.

I am very close to the public release version. If you want to join the beta, look for the beta sign up link on the first post.

Host of Sightless Fun, podcast about visual accessibility in modern Board Games.

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