This is my first game jam ever. I wasn’t looking for it, but I just couldn’t ignore a chance to blend NES and Shadowdark. There’s no reason they should work together…but they do.
There are tons of dope entries in this jam— all of them are PWYW, so go show some love to the folks over there.
You can get my module on itch.io right now — PWYW, even $0.00
Here’s a look at the beast I made. It ain’t Wenderweald, but you can see it from there.
Lost in Mortsafe Mire
Lost in Mortsafe Mire is a Shadowdark adventure presented like a lost NES instruction booklet.
I got assigned the games: Golf, Mario Is Missing!, and The Adventures of Bayou Billy.
Golf introduced the “swing meter” that’s ubiquitous now. Tap 3 times to key in your power. I adapted that into my own navigation check.
Mario Is Missing! inspired the stakes and search-for-clues mechanic I built for this quest. It’s simple enough to track “Oiram” …yes…Mario backwards.
The Adventures of Bayou Billy colored the swampy setting and distinct “levels.” This game didn’t age well, but the grit and grime of it are timeless.
What’s it about?
A reclusive doctor vanished in Mortsafe Mire weeks ago while looking for a cure for marsh fever. The crawlers must navigate the hostile wetlands, find the missing doctor, and bring him home before the plague spreads.
What’s inside:
A complete swamp hexcrawl designed for level 4 to 6 crawlers
10 keyed locations connected by a treacherous waterway
Fresh random encounters, hazards, and clues for exploration
New monsters and environmental threats for swampy settings
A “push-your-luck” navigation method inspired by NES games
A search-for-clues procedure to track missing NPCs
Awesome!
I am going to have to change this a bit for what I am doing for DCC (Dungeon Crawl Classics), and add a bit of Call of Cthulhu flavor, but it still works!