Show HN: Reel Rogue – A browser roguelike (idler) about manipulating the odds
5 points
1 day ago
| 1 comment
| alt-qq.com
| HN
About a month ago, I shared the Day 1 prototype of this project (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46448670). It has since evolved into a somewhat more polished "Slot-Machine Deckbuilder."

I also recently moved the project from qq-pwn.com to alt-qq.com. I did this mid-development specifically to see if I could migrate a live player base and session states without losing people.

The Design Challenge: The core of the game is a "One-Armed Bandit" dungeon crawler. The challenge is balancing the "house always wins" nature of slots with the player agency required for a good roguelike.

What I’d love your feedback on: The First 30 Seconds: Is it immediately obvious how to play? I’ve tried to keep the onboarding "invisible," but I worry the manipulation mechanics might be buried.

Skill vs. Luck: Does the game feel like a mindless gamble, or do you feel like you have agency over the outcome?

The "Cursed Seed" UX: I’ve added a way to share specific runs via a URL. Does the transition from "clicking a friend's link" to "playing the game" feel seamless?

Mobile/PWA Performance: It’s built to be a PWA. Does it feel like a "web page" or does it feel like a native app on your device?

I'm especially interested when and where exactly did you feel like quitting?

Technology: The project is built with React and Vite, hosted on a Cloudflare edge stack. The code is 100% augmented by AI, which allowed me to focus more on the architecture of the project and the design of the mechanics rather than implementation syntax.

Reel Rogue: The Bandit's Tale is playable here: https://alt-qq.com

Pungfury
4 hours ago
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I've spent quite a few hours playing this over the past few days. The updates are frequent, and I've found several different ways to approach the game, which lets me restart and try something new each time.

To see the game developed this way is an absolute blast to see! Good job

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qq-niklas
3 hours ago
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Thank you for the kind words, Pungfury! Hearing that you’ve put hours into it is a real booster for me.

You mentioned updates. I actually pushed a fairly big one today! I added a thematic music album to the game, plus a bit of rebalancing and some bug fixes. Since you've played quite a bit, I’d love to know if the new music fits the vibe or if it needs tweaking!

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