One Step Behind You (7DRL 2023)

One Step Behind You...

Enter the world of tactical Roguelike thievery! Take on contracts for the Guild and steal as many relics as you can as you rise through the ranks! Break into the target location, evade and knock out the guards, steal the keys from captains, open up the treasure vaults, grab the objective, then flee the scene before anyone's any wiser!

The more gold, the higher the rank! How far dare you risk it?

Created in 7 days using Godot 4.0 for 7DRL Jam 2023.

Controls

• WASD(QEZC) / Arrows / Keypad : Movement. Hold for quicker movement
• A / Left / KP 4 : Previous Selection
• D / Right / KP 6 : Next Selection
• R : Aim / Fire water arrow
• T : Aim / Fire sleep arrow
• Esc : Cancel Shot
  
• F : Peek through doors, or pickpocket guards
• V : Whistle (only works indoors)
• Space / KP 5 : Wait (for guards to move)

Your thief is saved each time you return to mission selection.  Upon arrest, your thief is gone forever and a new thief is generated back at rank 0.

Hints

• Pick your entry point carefully! Smashing windows is noisy, but finding an empty room can be a good start.  There's always some exterior doors to find.
• Walk into unaware guards to knock them out
• Use water arrows to quench torches to create new places to hide, but guards will notice the noise.
• Cornered by a guard? Use your sleep arrows! No sleep arrows...? Run!
• Each mission's objective is behind a locked door somewhere.  Steal keys by pickpocketing or knocking out captains
• Keep an eye on your darkness icon above you - guards won't spot you easily in the shadows
• A suspicious guard looks closer in the shadows than normal - they might find you, or your handiwork
• Peek through doors to unveil a line on the other side - can see more by changing your position
• Got the objective? Get out of there! Or maybe stay and rob the place blind! 

Dev Notes

Yep it's another Rogue-y Thief game! After my previous 7DRL stealth entry "Skyrogue" was more of a puzzle game, this time decided to try and actually get as much of classic thief-like gameplay into  a procedurally generated roguelike game!

Map gen is fairly simple, but gives a good array of challenges.  Likely isn't balanced properly at higher ranks and I'm entirely positive the level generation can break in interesting ways but *most* of the time it gives pretty decent results!

As always a tonne of stuff ended up on the cutting room floor.  Stuff that didn't make it in that was planned:

• Different mission types (assassinations, capture, steal % of loot etc)
• Special Abilities and tools (teleport, traps, disguises etc)
• Moving unconscious guards
• Multiple floors
• A Shop for buying equipment (Giving gold a use other than score)
• Rep system (take contracts for certain houses against other houses etc)