Echoes of Myth Development Blog

There are many games that have influenced the design of Echoes of Myth —far more than might be immediately obvious. What’s even more interesting is how these influences have shifted over time, evolving alongside the many design pivots I’ve discussed earlier in Game Development is Iteration - Pivot, Pivot and Pivot Again . At its inception, Echoes of Myth was envisioned as a fusion of Diablo-style progression and loot , Soulslike combat and world design , and traditional RPG narrative elements (without a singular clear influence for the latter). However, as development progressed, this vision evolved significantly, and today, Hades has undoubtedly become the strongest single influence. Rather than just listing games, I’ll break down some of the key factors that have shaped the game’s design and how they fit together. Ability and Build Design Hades, Rogue Legacy 2 One of the core gameplay elements is the structured ability system , where: Abilities fall into somewhat standardized cate...

The map is a fundamental system in Echoes of Myth , serving as a core gameplay mechanic that shapes player decision-making. It is designed to balance strategic planning with uncertainty, ensuring that each run feels fresh while still allowing players to make meaningful choices. Let's start with an example scenario. Example Scenario: Navigating the Map for a Spell-Focused Build At the start of a run, the player obtains a Divine Treasure that enhances a mana-hungry spell, leading them to pursue a mana-per-hit utility effect to sustain frequent spell use. Knowing that Väinämöinen's Divine Treasures provide this effect, the player sets their sights on securing one. Early Strategy: Securing Information and Influence Early on, the player acquires enough gold to prioritize an early shop . At the shop, they consult the Fortune Teller , selecting a prophecy that reveals and transforms a future Divine Treasure. One of the three transformation options is Väinämöinen , and the player ...

For the past few weeks, I’ve been refining the game’s core mechanics, sharpening its roguelite progression, and—of course—squashing a mountain of bugs. A major pivot has been to center gameplay around divine domains , ensuring that power sources have distinct roles and offer meaningful player choices. A key focus has been the randomized map system —how players can interact with it and the strategic choices it presents. Players now have options like spending gold to reveal or modify parts of the map , investing in weapon/spell upgrades, or acquiring temporary remnant echoes. Once they reveal sections, the challenge often becomes deciding between multiple viable paths, each offering different risks and rewards. Current State: Post-Alpha, Act 1 Nears Completion The game is now fully playable with a strong foundation, though content for Acts 2 and 3 hasn’t begun yet. Here’s where things stand: Two playable classes – Mage and Sword Saint, each with their signature weapon and over 30 d...

One of the core challenges in game narrative design is ludonarrative dissonance —a fancy way of saying that what the game tells the player through its story doesn't always match what its gameplay mechanics imply. You know the classics: The noble hero on a quest to save the kingdom… while shamelessly looting every peasant’s home for spare change and healing potions. The urgent mission to prevent imminent catastrophe… which politely waits for the player to finish helping Old Man Gregory find his lost chickens. Lara Croft, shaken to her core after her first kill in a cutscene… and then casually mowing down an entire mercenary army five minutes later. "I hate killing people… unless they are in my general direction." Some of the best games avoid this disconnect entirely by making gameplay and narrative work in perfect sync. Hades nails this with its roguelike structure fitting the protagonist’s eternal struggle, while Dark Souls reinforces its themes of decay and repetition ...

Another example of how changing one system ripples through others: treasure chests. With various pivots, the role of these seemingly straightforward loot containers has shifted dramatically. In the original, more narrative-driven ARPG with a bespoke Metroidvania-style world, chests played a traditional role—rewards for exploration in hand-picked spots with fixed rewards. But once I had to drop the hand-crafted, interconnected levels, they became more typical randomized loot dispensers. That system held until the roguelite pivot reached its conclusion, and I ultimately removed randomly generated items altogether. At that point, I momentarily had no idea what to do with treasure chests. I still envisioned them as mini-exploration rewards, but their primary purpose had been almost guaranteed chances at normal or even exceptional random loot. Always giving out only gold felt boring. So I settled on a compromise: treasure chests would be the exclusive source of rare, randomized items. Whil...

I’ve talked about the constant need to focus scope and pivot ( Game Development is Iteration - Pivot, Pivot and Pivot Again ) and the sheer number of activities required to release a commercial game ( Solo Game Dev: Juggling a Hundred Hats and a Thousand Tasks ). As a solo developer, this is something I think about all the time. Echoes of Myth is an ambitious first game, but the only reason it’s feasible is my relentless focus on efficiency-first decision-making . Efficiency-First Thinking Game development requires countless decisions , both big and small. The initial vision can be ambitious, but execution demands the opposite mindset. A producer’s role in a game studio is to enforce focus , cut unnecessary scope , and push the project to completion , even if it means painful sacrifices. "Perfect is the enemy of good." Perfectionism leads to development timelines measured in eternities . I’ve personally struggled with perfectionism and analysis paralysis . But a solo game ...