⭐ What Is Dungeon Mode? Dungeon Mode (DM) is a fully original digital roguelite dungeon-crawler built around heart-flipping survival, modular content packs, and high-intensity boss encounters. Its design blends thematic influences from The Binding of Isaac, Deltarune, Cuphead, and Stardew Valley, but the core mechanics are entirely original — a system built to be fast, addictive, and endlessly replayable. DM wasn’t born as a standalone game. It became one. ⭐ How Dungeon Mode Evolved 1. Originally conceived as a mode inside Hex Gems v2 While Hex Gems v2 was being developed, Dungeon Mode began as a small experimental mode — a darker, more chaotic counterpart to the board game’s clean structure. 2. It quickly became too large and too ambitious The mechanics outgrew Hex Gems v2. DM became deeper, stranger, and more expressive than the main game could support. So it was set aside as a potential expansion. 3. A full Dungeon Mode expansion for Hex Gems was then designed What began as a simple add-on turned into a full alternate ruleset with new floors, bosses, weapons, spells, and progression. The expansion ballooned into a huge parallel experience — effectively a second game living inside the first. 4. Eventually, it became clear: Dungeon Mode was its own game entirely The systems were too original and too extensive to stay tethered to Hex Gems. The mechanics didn’t resemble the board game anymore. It wasn’t a variant — it was a distinct vision. Dungeon Mode detached from Hex Gems and became a true standalone roguelite. 5. The design pivoted to singleplayer — where one player controls multiple “players” Multiplayer proved distracting and slowed the pacing. DM thrives on fast decision-making, tight resource pressure, and improvisation. Singleplayer offers the purest experience: one person managing multiple characters, no waiting, no interruptions, complete flow. 6. Finally, the project pivoted to digital — and implementation has begun The analog structure was complete, but DM’s mechanics were always better suited to a digital environment: automatic heart flipping dynamic cooldowns modular packs scalable difficulty instant feedback dozens of bosses and variants large progression systems Dungeon Mode is now entering full digital implementation, starting with a functional, minimalist, Balatro-style UI focused on gameplay flow before visuals. ⭐ What Makes DM Unique A heart-flipping combat system where damage isn’t a number, but a literal depletion of your health cards. Floors, waves, and personality-driven bosses with distinctive mechanics. A rich survival economy (ST, hearts, cooldowns, infection, soul tokens). Sixteen+ content packs that expand the Dungeon with new bosses, floors, cards, and threats. A full progression shop (the Keeper) selling difficulties, variants, challenges, and packs. Three true endgame trials: Platinum 10 — mastery Hell’s Last Stand — chaos Deepest Dungeon (50 Floors) — endurance A Main Deck & Mr. Mysterium creating a flexible, unpredictable draw cycle. A complete Bucket List achievement system (30 goals). DM is 100% mechanically complete and now entering the implementation phase. ⭐ Current Development State All systems and content finalized All packs complete All bosses, floors, weapons, spells, threats, shops, variants, and challenges authored The game loop fully defined UI/UX prototyping beginning First digital version underway Art to be added later; v1 focuses on pure gameplay Dungeon Mode is mechanically equivalent to a full pre-production design document — ready to code. ⭐ Release Window Private Finished Alpha: December 2025 – January 2026 Fully playable internally. Minimal art. Core systems working. Public/Selective Playtest Beta (Functional Version): July – October 2026 All mechanics implemented. Runs fully playable. Minimal art using stock assets and Canva-style UI design. Feedback-driven tuning. Art-Complete Final Release: Late 2027 All custom art outsourced + completed. Full polish pass. Official 1.0 release.