Dreadspire

Dreadspire is my modernized homage to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord. You play the villain, building a side-view tower upward floor by floor and stocking each floor with up to three monsters, while waves of invading heroes march straight up toward the Dark Crystal. One hero reaching it loses the level.

Melee beats Ranged, Ranged beats Magic, and Magic beats Melee. Negative Power is spent during a battle, while Karma is earned between battles and kept even when you lose. Compared to the original, waves are blind unless you pay to scout them, refunds only happen during prep, and prep is skippable.

It came together in about four days with a test suite beside the game code: a three-level campaign, save and load, karma upgrades, and generated placeholder art and audio. The balance is still untuned.