01 / COMPANY
Face it together.
Explore with human companions. Player-hosted cooperative play is the intended direction, with party size and connection details still being worked out.
AN ORIGINAL STUDIO BASCINET PROJECT
ProjectShifting
Tower.
Early development
A light at the tower.
A world taking shape.
A third-person roguelike action-adventure taking shape around a wizard’s tower. Venture into randomized dungeons with companions, keep the darkness at bay, and build a refuge in the heart of the tower.
Explore the game ideas ↓
THE GAME WE ARE PLANNING
One tower.
Many ways forward.
The tower is your refuge and your way into danger. Doors around its central chamber lead to randomized dungeons, each with a distinct theme. Progress opens more doors up the spiral staircase, drawing the party toward the final boss.
Survival, crafting, and reactive combat are part of the planned adventure. The ideas below describe the design direction; playable systems are still to be built and tested.
02 / COMBAT
Read the danger.
Reactive combat is a core goal: pay attention to the threat in front of you, your equipment, and the space around the party.
03 / PREPARATION
Choose what to carry.
Bring supplies, craft and forge equipment, and drop your backpack with a button when you need freer movement.
PLANNED SYSTEM · LIGHT & DARKNESS
Keep close
to the light.
Darkness is part of the danger. Spending time in it raises an insanity meter, making the light you carry a meaningful part of an expedition.
Lanterns are planned to have special buffs and effects that help their wearer and companions within their light. Where the party stands—and whether you stay together—becomes part of the adventure.
Fuel, overlapping lights, obstruction rules, and the exact effects are still design decisions. The backpack’s lantern mount is intended to keep both hands free.
PLANNED SYSTEM · YOUR REFUGE
Make a home
inside the impossible.
A large circular chamber, stone pillars, and a spiral staircase along the outer wall form the central hub.
People discovered or rescued in the dungeons will populate the tower. Craft, forge, rearrange, and decorate the hub as it grows into the party’s home between expeditions.
- 01
Choose a door.
Each door leads to a dungeon with its own theme.
- 02
Make the expedition.
Explore the randomized dungeon, gather loot, and discover NPCs.
- 03
Return and rebuild.
Bring people and resources back to the hub; prepare for the next trip.
- 04
Climb higher.
Progress unlocks higher doors on the staircase toward the final boss.
PLANNED SYSTEM · RISK & RECOVERY
What you leave
may wait for you.
Death drops the backpack and its contents. After a full-party wipe, the party returns to the hub with equipped armor, weapons, and pocket contents retained.
A chance to go back.
The current dungeon layout stays in place. Return to look for the packs and loot the party left behind.
The dungeon reshuffles.
The next full-party wipe regenerates the dungeon. Retrieving every backpack does not reset that wipe count.
Protection near the boss.
Something in the boss tile can preserve the layout for one additional full-party wipe. Its exact form and activation are still to be designed.
A pack can outlast the layout.
The room tile holding an abandoned pack remembers its position. If that tile returns on a later run, the pack can be found there—but each reshuffle removes some of its remaining loot. Finding it on the next run is not guaranteed.
Successful dungeon completion also regenerates it. Manual dungeon resets become available after the first boss. Individual downed-player and revival rules are still open.
THE OPENING CONCEPT
A mob at the door.
A forest on the other side.
The story begins in a medieval tavern, where a man rallies local people to confront a troublesome wizard. The group rides to the tower and approaches an ordinary-looking medieval entrance.
Once the doors open, the lights go out. A moment later, the player is alone in a dark old-growth forest, with a small light ahead. This forest is planned as the tutorial, ending at the tower’s central chamber.
THE FEEL OF THE WORLD
Worn leather.
Quiet forests.
Warm lantern light.
Shifting Tower’s visual direction starts with a traveler at the threshold: a quilted hood, a sturdy pack, and a lantern lighting the stone ahead.
We are exploring natural, gently simplified forms with coarse pixel-painted textures. Cloth should feel like cloth, equipment should look made to be carried, and a little fantasy should have room to stand out.
01 / ATMOSPHERE
Light in the dark.
Deep forest tones and weathered stone, set against the small warmth of a carried lantern.
02 / EQUIPMENT
Made for the road.
Historically grounded clothing and equipment, layered fabrics, leather straps, and a structural lantern mount that keeps the traveler’s hands free.
03 / CHARACTER
A traveler of your own.
Character development is exploring two body directions and separate clothing, hair, and equipment. Face and hair customization are part of the design goals.
FROM CONCEPT TO CRAFT
On the workbench.
A closer look at the clothing and equipment taking shape for the project.
Layers with a purpose.
Concept artwork exploring the traveler’s blue doublet, hood, layered clothing, and practical silhouette.
Carry the light with you.
A traveler concept exploring the framed pack, rolled bedroll, side pouch, and a lantern carried on its own structural mount.
WHERE WE ARE
The first pieces
of something larger.
Project Shifting Tower is in early development. Current production focuses on visual direction, character studies, clothing, and equipment. The dungeon, light, hub, and recovery systems above describe planned gameplay. The artwork on this page presents the project’s concept direction.
- Current focus
- Visual development & early assets
- Playable build
- Not announced
- Release date
- Not announced
FOLLOW THE JOURNEY
Join us by the lantern.
Visit the Studio Bascinet community to talk about the project, ask questions, and share your thoughts on its direction.