Into the Dungeons: Arenas of Ryst
This blog post describes the first version of Arenas of Ryst.
I will be updating this post with images and gifs as we get closer towards making the game available for public testing!
Please leave your thoughts, feedback on anything discussed in this post! Join us on Discord!
4.28.23 Update: It has been a while! Arenas of Ryst is still being worked on and I wanted to share some short videos that show gameplay! Check out the Gameplay Videos section.
12.23.20 Update: Modified The Game Begins section - Added concept art, character art, and pixel art for the first four characters in Arenas of Ryst.
2.8.21 Update: Added the Special Abilities section - Each character in the Arenas will have special abilities they can use to gain an advantage over others! The section currently shows one of Azrae’s special abilities.
Overview
Arenas of Ryst is a multiplayer cross-platform (PC & Mobile) game. Each match has 4 players battle across 3 unique maps for 60 seconds each. The last player standing is crowned Champion of the Arenas!
The Game Begins!
Players are randomly assigned one of (currently) four characters competing in the Arenas.
In the first version of Arenas of Ryst, characters do not have any special abilities. The differences are currently cosmetic. Each character has the same number of hit points, and players use swipe to move and attack.
The Arenas consist of hexagon tiles, where each tile has one of three possible elemental colors - red (fire), green (earth), blue(water).
Movement & Attack
The attack mechanic works like rock-paper-scissors. A player can attack another player on the board if the following is true:
The players are both on adjacent hexagon tiles
Player 1 is moving from a tile that has an elemental advantage on the tile that Player 2 is standing on. Moving will automatically count as attacking. As anyone who has played Pokemon will already know, Fire > Grass > Water > Fire. So in keeping with the Roshambo tradition, Red beats Green beats Blue beats Red.
If both players are next to each other but condition 2 is not satisfied, a player cannot move to a tile that is already occupied.
Special Abilities
In addition to movement and basic attacks, each challenger will have special abilities. Here’s a sneak peek at one of the abilities where our second challenger, Azrae, releases the soul in her lamp allowing her to move through units and being un-targetable!
One of Azrae’s abilities, allowing her to move on the map while being un-targetable.
More coming soon!
The Arenas
Each arena adds a new facet to the competition. The players remain in each arena for 60 seconds after which they are transported to a new arena, spawning on the corners of the new arena. In addition, the tile color allocation in each arena is done at random. To add some depth and strategy to the combat, after the players have battled in a single arena for 30 seconds, the hexagon tiles refresh their colors, forcing the players to rediscover the arena! This happens for each of the three arenas.
The first arena is pure PvP. Players start on the four corners of the arena and proceed to try and earn points by moving across the arena, exploring, and attacking their opponents.
Arena One
The second arena adds a PvE element to the game. In the center of the new arena there are two tiles. These tiles are where the elemental golems spawn!
There can only be two, so the combinations will be red/blue, red/green, or green/blue.
These golems move around the map attacking all players. In this arena, a player must attack or evade the golems as well as dealing with the threats from other players.
The golems will only take damage when they are attacked from a tile that has an elemental advantage over their own element. For example, a player can attack the blue golem from a green tile. In every other state, the blue golem can attack the player e.g. if a player is not standing on a green tile.
Arena Two
The third arena reverts to pure PvP, but with each player spawning in the middle of their own island. Two teleporter tiles allow the players to move across the islands in an attempt to defeat their opponents.
Arena Three
Match Conclusion
After 3 minutes are over, the match ends. The player with the highest points is declared the winner.
Gameplay Videos
Arenas of Ryst: Character Selection
Arenas of Ryst: PvE - Fighting the Golems
Arenas of Ryst: Character Special Ability