Dragon Fin Soup

Last updated
Dragon Fin Soup
DFS banner.jpg
Developer(s) Grimm Bros
Publisher(s) Grimm Bros
Platform(s) Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
Release
  • WW: November 3, 2015
Genre(s) Roguelike, role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player

Dragon Fin Soup is a role-playing video game created by the independent development studio Grimm Bros. It is the studio's first title and was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita. [1] It is influenced by roguelike games and uses procedural generation. The game has two modes: Story mode follows a story and is more like a typical role-playing game, while Survival mode skips the story and focuses on the surviving within the game and constrains players with permadeath—once the player character dies, the game must be restarted from the beginning. [2]

Contents

Gameplay

Screenshot from the game DFS-11.jpg
Screenshot from the game

Dragon Fin Soup is a role-playing game with roguelike qualities and graphics inspired by the Super NES, playing from a top-down, 2-dimensional perspective. [3] Tactical combat [4] and movement take place in turns, with both the player and enemies taking actions during each turn. [3] The game includes scripted events and procedurally generated content. [1] Two modes of play are available: Story mode has the player controlling the first playable character, Red Robin, as she works her way through a pre-scripted storyline in the vein of a typical role-playing game. [1] Survival mode features permadeath gameplay, and starts players out in a forest where they must find supplies and fight through increasingly difficult randomly generated dungeons. [1] The speed of gameplay matches the speed of the player; if the player moves quickly through the game world, then so do the enemies. [5]

A range of activities can be pursued including fishing, crafting, gathering, mining, digging, and cooking. [3] [4] Players have 20 slots in which to store equipment and other useful items, [3] are able to dual-wield weapons, [3] and can acquire pets to join them in the game. [4] The world includes many different locations to explore including forests, caves, mines, deserts, mansions, castles, and ruins. The climate in the game is randomly generated which affects both the weather and earthquakes in each area. [6]

Plot

The game takes place on Asura, a world situated on the back of an enormous dragon-turtle. [1] The story follows Red Robin, an alcoholic yet cheerful mercenary, who drinks to forget events of her past. The game uses elements from fairy tales and legends including Robin Hood and Little Red Riding Hood. [3] [5]

Development

Concept art for the main character. DFSI 3.jpg
Concept art for the main character.

The game is the first title by the five person independent development studio Grimm Bros. [2] [3] The development studio was founded in March 2013 by Human Head Studios' former COO Ash Monif and by Randis Albion, an artist that previously worked on League of Legends , AquaNox: The Angel's Tears , and Magic: The Gathering . [1] [4]

Development was part-funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. The campaign launched in March 2014 with an initial goal of US$24,000 to provide funding the base game. It concluded in April with $119,719 raised, achieving a stretch goal of porting the game to Sony platforms. As part of a 75-game wave of approvals, Valve accepted the game to be sold and distributed through their Steam software platform. [1] [7]

As of December 2019, the game has been abandoned by its developers, and the promised "Extra Chunky Edition" and further updates have been indefinitely postponed. No official announcements were made, but the developers' online presences are no longer maintained.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roguelike</span> Subgenre of role-playing video games

Roguelike is a style of role-playing game traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player character. Most roguelikes are based on a high fantasy narrative, reflecting their influence from tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons.

<i>Rogue</i> (video game) 1980 video game

Rogue is a dungeon crawling video game by Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman with later contributions by Ken Arnold. Rogue was originally developed around 1980 for Unix-based minicomputer systems as a freely distributed executable. It was later included in the Berkeley Software Distribution 4.2 operating system (4.2BSD). Commercial ports of the game for a range of personal computers were made by Toy, Wichman, and Jon Lane under the company A.I. Design and financially supported by the Epyx software publishers. Additional ports to modern systems have been made since by other parties using the game's now-open source code.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Role-playing video game</span> Video game genre

A role-playing video game, commonly referred to as a role-playing game (RPG) or computer role-playing game (CRPG), is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character immersed in some well-defined world, usually involving some form of character development by way of recording statistics. Many role-playing video games have origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same terminology, settings, and game mechanics. Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include developed story-telling and narrative elements, player character development, complexity, as well as replay value and immersion. The electronic medium removes the necessity for a gamemaster and increases combat resolution speed. RPGs have evolved from simple text-based console-window games into visually rich 3D experiences.

<i>20XX</i> 2017 video game

20XX is an indie action platform video game developed by American indie studio Batterystaple Games. The early access version was released for Microsoft Windows on Steam on October 12, 2016, and in full on August 16, 2017. It later launched on the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on July 10, 2018, and on Xbox One on July 11, 2018. A sequel, 30XX, was released on Steam Early Access on February 17, 2021, and in full on August 9, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Procedural generation</span> Method in which data is created algorithmically as opposed to manually

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Permadeath or permanent death is a game mechanic in both tabletop games and video games in which player characters who lose all of their health are considered dead and cannot be used anymore. Depending on the situation, this could require the player to create a new character to continue, or completely restart the game potentially losing nearly all progress made. Other terms include persona death and player death. Some video games offer a hardcore mode that features this mechanic, rather than making it part of the core game.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Suszek, Mike (Mar 21, 2014). "Dragon Fin Soup brings retro RPG flair to a dragon-turtle's back". Joystiq . Retrieved Mar 26, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Irving, Mike (Mar 19, 2014). "Dragon Fin Soup is an RPG with a roguelike garnish". VG247 . Retrieved Mar 25, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Purchese, Robert (Mar 19, 2014). "Dragon Fin Soup: a SNES-style RPG for PS4, PS3, Vita and PC". Eurogamer . Retrieved Mar 26, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Pitcher, Jenna (Mar 21, 2014). "Dragon Fin Soup and its alcohol-loving protagonist heading to PS4, PS3, PS Vita". Polygon . Retrieved Mar 26, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Alexa Ray Corriea (2014-03-12). "Roguelike-JRPG Dragon Fin Soup is two developers' quest for creative fulfillment". Polygon . Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  6. Smith, Adam (Mar 21, 2014). "Fairy Tale Tactics: Dragon Fin Soup". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved Mar 26, 2014.
  7. Grimm Bros (2014-03-12). "Dragon Fin Soup". Kickstarter . Retrieved 2015-04-24.