As if Derek Yu's
Spelunky wasn't tough enough, his studio Mossmouth is bringing a new twist to the procedurally-generated platforming game that will make it even tougher.
Mossmouth said today that a Daily Challenge will be added to the upcoming Steam version of the game, releasing August 8. More than just a way to infuriate players with a high difficulty, the (totally optional) Daily Challenge is a way to keep competitive players coming back.
Here's how it will work,
according to Mossmouth:
1. Each day a new adventure is randomly generated.
2. The adventure is the same for everyone.
3. You only get one chance at the Daily. If you die, you'll have to wait until the next day!
4. Each Daily has its own leaderboard.
Starting July 28, indie game developers Doug Wilson (
Johann Sebastian Joust) and Zach Gage (
Spelltower) will be streaming daily challenge runs for a week to help promote the game.
Daily challenges aren't a new concept -- major series like
Halo and
Call of Duty have used time-limited daily and weekly challenges to keep players coming back.
But
Spelunky's one-chance format puts even more pressure on players who might return to the game daily as they vie for leaderboard position (maybe more roguelike-style games like
FTL or
Binding of Isaac could implement the same idea...).
For Doug Wilson's take on the new Daily Challenge,
visit Die Gute Fabrik's blog.
Spelunky originally released as a free PC game in 2009. The upcoming Steam version is based on the revamped version that came out on Xbox Live Arcade last year.
