A deadly famine broke out in an ancient kingdom. Wells dried up, livestock died, and the earth turned as deadly as the plague itself. Whispers spread stories about an ancient evil reawakening in the mountains looking down upon the kingdom. An ancient evil who knew only war and famine. But who shall be so brave, so insane, so vain, as to try and best the creatures that live beyond for glory and adulation?

Welcome to Traumatarium, a short Game Boy game where the goal was trying to push the visual limitations of the hardware, and create a randomly generated, visually engaging, dungeon crawling experience.

See if you can survive the the ten random rooms and defeat not juts the monsters lurking, but also the hunger as you descend into the darkest of the dungeon rooms.


A button -> Z

B button -> X

Start -> Enter

When in  any room, you may press the Start button to bring up the menu, showing your health status, as well as vitality. You must eat food to maintain Vitality high. When depleted, Health will start decreasing. Most enemies Attack your health, but some drain your vitality as their attack of choice.

Bandages: Heal your Health

Food: Heals your Vitality


Concept, art, programming: Horatiu.NYC

Additional Art: Ansimuz

Music: AJ Booker

Built in GB Studio

Any and all donations are greatly appreciated, and if you want to support and get some extras, the Deluxe edition contains the dungeon room images as well as the intro, as well as some of the cover art. The goal would be to use the funds in order to get a custom, metal enough to feel right, soundtrack to the game commissioned, as well as working on an additional "Forest of Death" expansion to the game.

StatusReleased
PlatformsHTML5
Rating
Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars
(116 total ratings)
AuthorHoratiu.nyc
GenreAdventure
Made withGB Studio
TagsGame Boy, Game Boy ROM, gb-studio, gbstudio, Pixel Art

Purchase

Buy Now$9.99 USD or more

In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $9.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Traumatarium.zip 238 MB

Development log

Comments

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Viewing most recent comments 1 to 40 of 86 · Next page · Last page

A well made adventure in monochrome style!

thank you 🙏🙏

Absolutely love the fonts you use on your pages and in the game. Do you make them yourself or are they fonts that could be found elsewhere?

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I’m trying to remember but it’s basically blackletter fonts I brought into aseprite. Googling blackletter pixel I think should find it. And thank you 🙏🙏

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Hey...I just bought this game and the sequel after really enjoying the browser game, didn't realize it'd be a GB rom lol. But anyway, on playing the download version, it seems quite different and much easier since I'm getting 99 gold after every dungeon. Kinda wish it was back to the browser version's difficulty, since now I can just buy everything after 2 already easy runs :(

Maybe I'm missing options or encountering a bug?

edit: Ah, I see some folks below were having this issue and it was being worked on. For more context here, I myself was using VisualBoy Advance.

Sorry to hear you’ve run into this bug. Working on sorting out what is causing that now, hope you still manage to enjoy the games!

The Switch version is well done as well!

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thanks for playing! Big fan of your channel 🤘🤘

<3 🤘 thank you very much!

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WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

The following text contains Spoilers! It is directed to the developer to inform him about something that seems to be a bug that is hopefully related to my hardware. 


I am using an original DMG-Gameboy (1989 motherboard) with an EzFlash Jr. Cartridge (Firmware 4, Kernal 1.04e).


I breezed through this game in under an hour... More like 20 Minutes. First dungeon gave normal rewards. After that i ended with 99 Gold after completing a dungeon. After the third dungeon i had all items from the armory. I was so "lucky" that i just had to press rapidly a to get through all dungeons after the first. After the credits i got "back to town" and the lower part (where you would normally see "A=search B=leave" and stuff like that) was filled with garbage. 


I can provide you with screenshots and a save data from the cartridge, if that helps. 

My guess (and hope) is that it has something to do with the mapper that is used and that maybe a fix from your side is possible. I don't think the EzFlash-Team will release further updates :/


Nonetheless a great looking game! Sound/Music could have been better but for a GBS Title it is marvelous... Besides the musik ;) looking forward to future titles! 


Keep up the great work! 

thank you for playing and calling out those issues. Some of them are just the console being pushed too hard graphically, like the bottom of the screen bit. Between the graphics pushing too hard and the gb studio version being a beta it was built on, there is a possibility of this happening on the hardware. I’m working hard now with the most recent release to find the cause and address it, and push the next release even more both graphically and gameplay wise. 

Ps. Love your username, fell in love with the genstealer cults in 3rd edition when all they had were the chapter approved rules 🤘🤘

I have the exact same issue, although I'm using the Gambatte GB emulator on a linux handheld. Nonetheless I'm happy to hear you're gonna try to fix this. Nonetheless the game is a ton of fun when I play the itch io download version on my pc. Can't wait for the update and being able to play it on the go! Keep up the amazing work! 

Thanks for your reply! I am sure your next project will be as great as this one, or possibly bigger from what i can tell by looking at the screenshots. 

Hopefully it will be dmg-compatible. Nothing against color but i love my big, heavy box. 


I stumbled across genestealers when i was 8 or 9 years old. An older friend had hero quest, star quest and space hulk. 

I started playing warhammer 40.000 when the 3rd edition came out but did not collect tyranids till the transition from 3rd to 4th edition... Now i have to many xD i also got myself space hulk 1st and 2nd edition in the early 2000 for nostalgic reasons. 


Maybe a board game for the gameboy could be one of your future projects hrhrhr... 


Jokes aside. Thanks again and best of luck for your future in general. Greetings from the german genestealer ;) 

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finished it on switch about 10min ago. i want so much more!! XD I LOVED IT, wish it had a post game or some side quests; you've got a new fan <3

thank you so much! The follow up is gonna have much more content, excited to get a demo up for you shortly 🤞 I really appreciate the support and kind words, means a lot 🙏🙏

you deserve it man, the game is extremely polished, the pixel art is on point and beautiful, it far exceeds the expectations for a short adventure!! i commend you and all the staff for it, i wish you all great success!!! ❤🙏🙌

will more cartridges be up for sale?

yep, as soon as Kickstarter rewards go out there will be physical copies available on the Broke Studio shop 🤘 

I just received my kickstart cartridge from broke, I can't wait to play it. I will be happy to finish the game on the real hardware. Really excellent quality for homebrew :)

super exciting! Can’t wait to see them myself! Thank you so much for the support, it really means a lot!! 🫶🫶

I really hope we can buy this soon, really hyped to give it a spin on my Pocket!!!

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downloads coming back very very soon ;)

Hell ya, just purchased and downloaded!!!

Thank you so much for the support!! 🤘🤘

How to GameBoy Roms download

download will be back up as soon as Kickstarter is fulfilled :)

ok

Any idea when this is gonna be? Just built a new DMG and I wanna play!

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I’ll have to check again with them but I was under the impression of December? Also, congrats on the new DMG 🤘🤘

how can i buy the GB rom?

it will be back available as soon as the Kickstarter orders are fulfilled! sorry about the inconvenience but the updated digital rom package will be super nice :)

excited  to see it *_*!!!!!!! when do you think kickstarter orders will be fulfilled?

the fulfillment said December but I know they have a good start on everything so hoping rewards go out even earlier

:DD ill be back then!

Thank you, I appreciate the support!! 🤘🤘

you can, in the meantime, also buy it digitally on switch if you’d like https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/traumatarium-switch/

Wonderful game, super freakin cool BUT I just got this on the switch and I can’t figure out how to put the screen into the handheld gameboy style mode? 

so from what I understood from the port developers, removing the joycons stops the touch sensor so you can turn the switch sideways but have to keep joycons attached. I know they’re working on figuring out what’s going on

Hi! Got the digital release on Switch yesterday and love everything so far. Traumatarium has been one of the best budget pick ups I've gotten off the eshop in a while. My only question is how to farm gold. I've played all dungeons multiple times, and the only gold drop I've had was the initial drop for each boss. Even in the traumatarium, I can't seem to get gold drops. It seems as though the only way I can get more than 5 rooms into the Traumatarium will be with a better weapon or more stacked HP. Thank you in advance for any insight.

thank you so much for the kind words! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! Monsters drop gold so you should be getting more gold that way. And if you wanna enjoy the game without the stress of gold, at the new game intro where you can press a to watch intro and x to skip, press y instead ;)

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is there any way to grab the Rom files for this please? I;m more than happy to pay for it.

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as soon as the Kickstarter rewards go out the newest rom file and booklet will be back up :)

cool as, never thought i would be so fucking tense by reading "a monster attacks" in a game (great great great art btw)

Thank you so much for the kind words! glad you’re enjoying it!

This game look EEpik. Wish I had known about itch.io longer ago

 Looking forward to playing it. :)

thank you, hope you enjoy!

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Very much looking forward to buying this game. Can't wait for it to be back for purchase here!

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thank you! Will post link to both digital and physical as soon as Kickstarter rewards are out :)

I for one, cant wait to throw this in my gameboy to get the full experience. I've only played the demo and loved it.

thanks you for the kind words!!

is it still possible to pay for the digital version?

(+1)

yes, the digital version will be back after Kickstarter fulfillment either here or on the broke studio site :)

very cool!

Hello there! Is there any way to get a digital version of this now that the Kickstarter is over? I'd love to try this out on my Everdrive, it looks great!

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Once fulfillment is over they will be available either here or broke studios site :)

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Did the online GB download link intentionally get removed? 

for now while we’re running the Kickstarter.  Wanted that to be the focus :)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brokestudio/traumatarium/description

Is there any way to buy this digitally or has it been temporarily taken down for the Kickstarter?

Also will the older versions of the demo and full game ever be reuploaded anywhere?

(+1)

currently we’re focusing on the Kickstarter but there is a digital bundle that will have great goodies in there. But yes, post Kickstarter there will be options for digital :)

Deleted 180 days ago

hey there. I can’t share the working files for this. But most of the scripting I learned from YouTube videos, very easy to do :)

Deleted 180 days ago
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look up Robert doman on YouTube or gbstudio central articles 👍

I've downloaded this and I'm playing it on my hacked 2ds and it's amazing, I love the art and this choose your own adventure style game mechanic, it's really cool

thanks for the kind words! So happy to hear people enjoying it! It’s a niche thing, but I was a huge fan of those old fantasy choose your own adventure books

Exceptional Work! My first time here in itch.io and finding your game is so incredible! There is only one bug when choosing food but everything else is working! Keepin' codin'

thanks so much for the kind words and welcome to itch.io! You’re in for a lot of really great games!

this game is gorgeous and really fun to play! it's great

thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it!

This game sucked me in very quickly! The graphics are great, and the gameplay loop is addicting. I'll definitely be coming back to this one!

That’s so great to hear! Glad you enjoyed it!!

So killer!!

thank you 🙏🙏

Hello, what's more in the Deluxe version ?

comes with the digital booklet and some of the artwork and a wallpaper I believe

very good graphics and overall design. Good game

Thank you, glad you liked the game :)

Just got around to checking this one out. Very, very cool project. Love the visuals.

thanks! Glad you dug it!

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The visuals were crazy good and the game was totally fun to play! It would cool to have a little extra depth in the combat mechanic, like some basic stance that affects dealt/received damage, or a charged attack mechanic?

Very good game!

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thank you for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it! This was my first go at the combat mechanics, but learned a lot so expect much more depth in future games!

Incredible art. amazing work

Thank you! Love your work too!

hey i'm trying to play and there seems to be some kind of bug? the B button never works to escape. I tried installing on itch app and I tried in my browser and it was the same in both. B works as a cancel button in menus but in rooms I can only ever attack and never escape, so there's no way for me to progress because there's no way to return to town.

“Leave” means not searching the room, which gives a much lower % chance of enemies but also of items. As for returning to town the “map” item will transport you right back to town regardless of how deep in the dungeon you are. Hope that helps!

omg...haha thanks i did not understand that :)

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really love the style and mechanics but, unless i'm missing something else too, I don't understand at all how you're supposed to progress? I've played 30 minutes and I've only had enough gold to just keep buying maps so that I don't die. I managed to beat the first boss out of pure luck on like my 10th try but I didn't even get any gold from that? I think if gold generation was just higher, like maybe twice as much gold per fight, it would fix the balancing of the game. Everything else though is really great.

interesting. I’m sorry to hear you had a pretty rough path so far. Pretty much everything is procedurally generated so sometimes you may run into a rough series of results. I can double check the % of drops but you should definitely be finding food, bandages, and potions as you go through the dungeons. Also sometimes leaving to decrease encounter chances helps. I can definitely have some enemies drop a bit more gold in future releases

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no worries! I tried it several times, maybe my luck is just awful haha. I can try it again but I never found a potion, never had enough gold to buy one or anything else, just kinda stuck in a loop of getting enough gold to buy a map and using it to go back to town and buying a map again.

if you want a hint to make everything super easy at the beginning you can select something that may help instead of a start

The maps are a waste of money. As long as you have cleared the boss of one dungeon, you can farm that for gold. Don't buy anything, just go through and gather enough bandages and food to survive. Do it often enough and you will accumulate wealth, maybe 4-6 gold per run. Only save very seldomly, as it is also very expensive.

I have never seen a potion drop either.

Does the apple work? I keep dying on the final boss, and it doesn't seem to save me.

Also, for some reason I can't seem to drink the potions there. Is that intentional?

In this version the relics are collectibles. They were getting a bit too abstract so I made it a completionist target. As for the potions I have to look into that. They should definitely work

It is only the very final battle that gives me the issue. With all other bosses it is fine.

This was so beautifully rendered. I really love the way you thought outside the box by creating a game entirely driven by decision screens, including the combat. It makes for a more visually appealing game than some concepts that can be done in GB studio.

Very impressed that this much unique artwork could work in the game as well, as I understand there's a 4MB limit on data and assets.

thank you so much for the kind words! Yeah memory limitation was a huge struggle. This version is 2.1MB but there’s one where I did go over the 4MB limit. Working on maybe one day that version being the Traumatarium DX perhaps haha

Am I right that once you get to the Evil Spirit, you either beat it or die, and that's where the game ends for this version?

without spoiling it yeah once you defeat the final monster in the Traumatarium it’s the end of the game. It allows you to go back even afterwards though to any of the previous dungeons

Hello this is probably a very stupid question but what do I need to play this game? I recently purchased it but I cannot open it on my PC. Thank you in advance

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You can play it in browser on almost any device. If you download the .gb file you will need an emulator of some sort that supports game boy ROMs

Thank you for the quick answer

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Cool project. Love the style. 

Fun detail I loved: how the end of the enemy health bar is always empty a little quicker than it seems, giving a sense of a powerful finishing blow that will more than once save you.

Also, little question: I found a golden apple, but not sure what that did. Might it just have filled my hunger bar or something?

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in this current version, it helps prevent the first death blow you’d receive in a dungeon. Each relic grants a small, and sometimes not so small, bonus

oh, awesome. I guess there's no way of knowing if you have relics on you?

Also, I found a little bug. If you have too many of an item (more than 9), it displays as 0. You can still use them just fine though.

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I believe in this version select brings up the gold and relic menu. Shift on a keyboard. And good catch! Will address that!

Ah I see, just noticed it in the manual. In-browser, shift doesn't work. And I haven't tried running the pocket or gb files yet.

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I didn't even have to play the game to get hooked. Barbarian characters are my weakness.

That said, it is a quality game that shines in its simplicity. Anyone looking to start making their own game could take some hints here and follow the KISS method: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Advice I don't even follow at times.

thank you for the kind words! Def a balancing act of trying to not overdo it and keep it a nice casual experience. The full release will have some extra, fun elements added though

Amazing! ❤️

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thank you! Excited to share the full game hopefully soon!

I had a p good first run and made it to the boss who wiped me bc I was greedy with my bandages! I like the callback to the simplicity of the gameboy, the music and pixel art work well in tandem. 

I would agree with the other comments that trinkets and equipment would take Traumatarium to the next level. I can't wait to see any updates to this game!

thank you for the kind words and playing! Glad you enjoyed the game! 

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