Echoes of Myth Development Blog

Silksong stirred up the old, reliable debate again: game difficulty. It’s a many-headed hydra, yet internet discourse somehow collapses it into “too hard!! lol git gud” versus “baby mode when?”—said with varying levels of snark. Rather than tether this to one title, I’m looking at difficulty from both sides of the screen: as a player and as a developer. Because when difficulty lands, it creates emotional spikes you can’t get anywhere else; when it misses (for a given player), it smothers a promising experience in its crib. This is long on purpose. It’s a collection of viewpoints and working notes I’ve been hashing out in forum discussions—tidied up into one big “state of the difficulty discourse” post. The Obvious Foundations (That Still Matter) Difficulty isn’t one thing. It’s a bundle of demands: Silksong stirred debate by raising the difficulty bar without saying so out loud Knowledge and pattern recognition Reaction time and prediction Attention (visual/audio signal p...

Divine Domains are a cornerstone of Echoes of Myth ’s design, serving as the primary way to balance randomness with player agency. They represent the lingering power of eight gods—deities who have fallen silent, leaving their essence behind for the player to tap into. While the universe of Echoes of Myth is home to many gods, these eight are the ones the player’s character has an intuitive connection with, enabling the harnessing of their power. Each divine echo, remnant, and divine treasure belongs to one of these eight domains, each with its own focus. Need gold but coming up short? Lakshmi’s domain is your best bet. Running a melee-focused build? Ares has you covered. Struggling with magical defenses or mana sustain? Väinämöinen’s blessings are what you need. While you can't directly choose which divine treasures you obtain, you can heavily influence their properties by charting your path through the map toward a specific god’s treasure. The Fortune Teller’s prophecies further ...

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 ...