Game Boy Color / C + GBDK / In development
Dungeon Shift.
A tactical dungeon prototype for Game Boy Color. Frozen Inspect lets you read an enemy’s locked intention, choose a position or directional Guard, and then commit the turn.
Read the next turn
Inspect. Choose. Resolve.
I focused on making the next tactical decision readable. Frozen Inspect gives the player time to study locked intentions; choosing a position or Guard direction then turns that information into an action.
- 01Inspect the threat
Read the enemy’s locked intention and the threatened lane. Inspect does not spend a turn.
- 02Choose a response
Move out of the lane, or choose a directional Guard. Intentions stay locked while you decide.
- 03Resolve the turn
Movement spends a turn; Guard commits when confirmed. Watch the captions, then review the resulting HP, Guard, and turn log.
Learning on a small screen
Make the decision readable.
Focused training introduces inspecting, stepping aside, aiming, guarding, and recovering. The small display makes captions, menu transitions, and contrast part of the interaction design.
Fast, Slow, and Reduced Effects presentations preserve the intended rules and event order. Standard and High Contrast palettes retain the same map, glyphs, and actor shapes. Original melodic chiptune work gives the preview its own sound.
Still in development
A dungeon taking shape.
The current prototype explores three floors of Buried Keep, with eight relics, equipment choices, Workshop swaps, a limited reroll option, and training. Assist mode offers more starting health while keeping the same enemies, rewards, and ending.
I’m continuing to refine the encounters, balance, and handheld presentation. The aim is a compact adventure where understanding the next threat is as satisfying as overcoming it.
Default controls
The D-pad moves one turn. B, a direction, then A chooses and commits Guard; Select twice opens Inspect. Swapped A/B controls follow the on-screen labels.
The same interest in Game Boy Color systems, approached through analysis and reconstruction.
Next: GBC Decompiler