Traumatarium
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.
Development log
- Less than 24 hours to go! Traumatarium physical edition!95 days ago
- Let's get PHYSICALJun 03, 2023
- Limited physical release available!Sep 05, 2022
- Traumatarium GB out in full!Jun 18, 2022
- Traumatarium Demo & UpdatesApr 03, 2022
Comments
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Very much looking forward to buying this game. Can't wait for it to be back for purchase here!
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?
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!
Once fulfillment is over they will be available either here or broke studios site :)
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?
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 :)
hello ! Well done ! It s so fun.can you to share The projects ‘ file gb studio ? Please.
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 :)
Understood ;) but have u got a link please?
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!
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!
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 :)
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
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
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
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?
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.
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.
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! ❤️
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!
Was pleasantly surprised by how original the game is! It's a unique experience and that's awesome. The art is incredible, just wish the combat was a little more deep, but that's just a nitpick.
Amazing!
Thank you for the kind words! Trying my best to balance everything, and my one limitation is programming the battle system so trying to make it as good as I can while keeping focus hopefully on the exploration bits :)
Fantastic game. Reminds me of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks I used to play decades ago. I really like it.
love the fighting fantasy books! Definitely an inspiration
I love the idea of minimalism in this game, I wish there was a lil more the combat with maybe sudden clues and suggestions when "NOT to attack" than making it a button masher but that is just my suggestion.
IF anything I would suggest to be added these are my ideas.
- perhaps some trinkets or equipment would be nice
- more interactive combat perhaps, where you need to time your attack and block in a form of a small minigame perhaps.
Thank you and again love this games idea to keep it simple and small but some small things too could be added
thanks for the kind words and the feedback! I get what you mean about the combat, issue is just the limitations in the game engine and my own programming experience haha. As far as relics, there will be more in the final game, and each gives you some new tools for surviving the dungeons!
Of course I fully understand nwn
Thank you for considering my idea and I wish you the best on the game development. Thank you
always appreciate feedback! Just want to create an enjoyable experience for the players :)
Absolutely brilliant experience, can't wait to see where this project goes from here! Good luck and be victorious!
thank you so much! Working hard to try and get this completed and ready to play as soon as I can :)
Really good game:)
thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
Игра просто супер
thanks, glad you liked it!
This is a brilliant system to quickly dish out your gorgeous artwork and get some roguelike replay value. Love what you did with the engine <3
thank you, glad you enjoyed it! Def tried to find some interesting workarounds in gb studio
I almost died in the final room in the faceless lair. #^#
glad you made it out safe!
it was just a new concept to me
Made a new video
Nice! Stoked to check it out! Thank you!
Hope you enjoy the video and looking forward to the coming soon areas
Love all your stuff, I’m a big fan of the channel!
We never really know if anybody likes our videos so good to hear your a fan. Also we've been your fans since we first played chapter 1 of Neighbor way back and always looking forward to your next game or even updates.
These aesthetics are what pixel-art indie games dream to be. Well done! Drawing some huge inspiration from this.
thanks so much for the kind words, glad you enjoyed the game!
Nice work. The art is great.
thank you!
why can't we claim the game?
What do you mean?
Love the art style ! Amazing, only thing is the "hp" bug that makes you basically immortal, except that, it's perfect, keep going !
it’s on the bug fixing list so once the new version drops that will hopefully be fixed
Really cool little game, the exploration is really nice and the art is gorgeous, I was left eager to play more at the end! Would love to see a longer version!
working on a longer version so keep your eyes peeled! Thank you for playing and the kind words!
This is a nice one! Love the graphics. Congrats!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
How do I get this to work on android? Is that at all possible? It will play in browser but won't open after download.
Fantastic game though. Been looking for something like it for ages.
I don’t own an android device so not sure. I heard there area number of emulator apps that would work with the .gb file as long as they can emulate the original game boy