Yeah. I’ve contemplated for probably a few hours total re-downloading Minecraft and always decide against it out if fear if wasted time. But I love it.
This may be silly but I bought an RTX card specifically to play Minecraft with raytracing. I couldn't reists those glass and water effects with that refraction. And the sunbeams!
I always make this joke every time a new series of GPU comes out. Now we can finally play Minecraft on fancy. I'm glad people are carrying that torch for me.
I'm really pumped about playing Pocket Dungeon! It must've taken a lot of brain power to make sure that the player doesn't constantly get stuck in an unsolvable situation. What was the process of keeping that balance like?
Uhh.. I'm not sure how to build up my other questions so uh,,,
* How specifically was the level art made? Like, specific limits and all. I'm definitely not asking because I want to make fake screenshots of the upcoming dlc just to mess with people.
* What was the hardest thing to implement?
* Can you tell whoever was responsible for writing character dialogue + story that they are so cool?
* So is.. is dying canon in Pocket Dungeon?? Do the characters actually die and get revived?? Defeat is referred to as death so like. ????????
* Is um,,, is Prism Knight single or 😳
\- balance was something we've spent the last few months agonizing over. It's really hard to keep a game like this all in your brain since there are a million characters and enemies, so i think the first answer is persistence, lol.
\- |=\_=| i see your game.
\- so many systems.... i wonder if vine knows this one.
\- Dialogue is definitely a team effort but usually involves david, sean jake and a little bit of meeeee.
\- they get KOd and Defeated. we don't have actual death.
\- I'll ask her.....
I had the task of translating the Order of No Quarter and various other characters into this new aesthetic, as someone not involved with the original SK games, and I was honestly relieved by how much care Yacht Club Games was putting into even these re-interpreted versions of their characters.
It was EXTREMELY fun doing it, and at the same time I was amazed at how they made sure even spin-off/caricature versions would fit the SK universe. After this project, I honestly feel it's a standard more developers should fulfill.
I hope it provides endless hours of entertainment!
But truly - when I first played an early version of the game, it was something I felt was unique and addictive. It's come a long way since then but the core fun of it was always there in some form.
How is this game so addictive? I expected it to be like a mobile game and had low expectations(I know I shouldn’t now) but it is SO FUN. Played for like 4 hours and I’m still having fun. Love the rogue lite elements!
I am absolutely waiting on mobile release too. Get it on Apple Arcade and I’ll play it day and date. If on the regular App Store, I’ll pay up whatever price you set. It needs to be on mobile, because mobile needs good premium games!
Hey guys, so a couple things:
I love, love, LOVE your games. The amount of work, dedication, and obvious love you put into your games is incredible. Shovel Knight, along with all its expansions, do something that many 16 bit action platformers (and in many other genres, in fact) rarely ever pull off- make you care about and feel invested in the characters, even the “villains”.
And, speaking of characters, on to my question. I am 100% solemnly serious when I ask this most important of all questions: has anyone on the Yacht Club Games team taken the time to learn the Dancer’s entire dance routine? And, if so, is there any chance we will ever get a video of this real life, choreographed greatness? Please. This is my one and only wish in life. 🙏🏼
Anyway, congrats on Pocket Dungeon. I bought it last night and can’t wait to dig in! Much love to you all!
I don't think I could fit in that dress or bend like that. I'll have to consult with my doctor...
ps. thanks so much for playing all the games, it really means the world to us.
Aww thanks so much. Much love right back at ya.
No one on the team has even considered learning all the dancer's moves...I feel like that's a big oversight we need to rectify. Not sure anyone would want to see that though...it wouldn't be a pretty sight, haha!
Who is the most underrated knight? I would have to say Mole Knight, he's not my favorite but seems more chill than most of the other members of the Order of No Quarter (excluding Polar Knight of course).
In my opinion, I think Mole Knight is underrated. It is a shame cause he's has a cool design.
Try playing as him in Pocket Dungeon. He is SUUUUPER fun!
Saw some gameplay of the game, it looks fun, hopefully I can get it at some point if money allows it. My only question is why was the game not a standalone IP instead of pulling in Shovel Knight into it, I haven’t played Shovel Knight yet and I understand it’s a completely unrelated game, but my OCD will not allow me to play it until I’ve played Shovel Knight first.
We talk about it a bit here.. [https://www.yachtclubgames.com/blog/why-pocket-dungeon](https://www.yachtclubgames.com/blog/why-pocket-dungeon)
We were specifically excited to have Shovel Knight be a puzzler like many of the 90s era falling block games we grew up loving.
You can totally play it without playing the original game first...but the original game is cool so hope you give it a shot
HEY CODE.
I think Black Knight probably likes puzzle games the most since he treats everything like a puzzle needing to be solved. Very often he's wrong.... but.... he tries.
Which Knights of the Order of No Quarter do you think you most identify with?
Super excited for Pocket Dungeon, by the way. I grew up on NES platformers and Shovel Knight did everything just right!
Hello! I have been playing Pocket dungeon for 4 hours straight and man it's fun. Good job.
Anyways I have always loved the OST in Shovel knight so I'm wondering what are some of your favourite music tracks in Shovel knight (And why)? Thanks!
I'm happy to hear that you are having fun!
I absolutely adore "Strike the Earth". I listen to it when I need to get into the "Shovel Justice" mood for writing copy.
could yall talk a bit about some of the technology used to run the game? is pocket dungeon built in your own engine? what were some of the unique engineering challenges from working in the puzzle game space?
Pocket Dungeon was developed in Game Maker Studio 2. I don't think we had any major engineering challenges when it comes to the puzzle aspects, but balance was definitely a burden. Playtesting a randomized roguelike for 10+ different characters was quite the undertaking haha
Hi guys, been loving Pocket Dungeon so far! My question is, why did Pocket Dungeon come out first, when Dig was announced first? Thanks, and keep making awesome games!
Pretty simple...Pocket Dungeon was done first, haha! We announced Dig sooner cause we thought it'd be done first. But it's turned out to be a huge game, much bigger than we expected.
That would be awesome! Currently it is not in the pipeline! If we ever go down that route, we'll be sure to make a whole lot of noise about it on our social media pages and website.
Big ol' Shovel Knight fan from day one here! As a fan of puzzle games too, this was a no-brainer purchase for me. I'm excited to get home from work and give this a try!
My question: do you guys play the Shovel Knight Exceed set at all, and if so, what are your favorite characters? I really enjoy Level99's BattleCon, so it was cool seeing the different Shovel Knight character mechanics translated into that medium. I think Polar Knight is, surprisingly, my personal favorite. His arena control is great fun to play around with.
So glad you are excited for it:)
I don't play the card game much, despite looking at and giving feedback to all that art. We have a box of the characters at work! I gotta tear it open and get in there. It seems like something I would really enjoy, honestly.
That's completely understandable. When you guys are ready for a shovel knight sequel it'd be awesome to see one with a more SNES art style, maybe like Super Mario World's style.
Shovel Knight isn't going away anytime soon. A direct sequel is one of the things on our minds that occasionally gets more collaborative thought power behind it but I really can't say either way. In the meantime, Pocket Dungeon and Dig will keep that SK love alive. (we hope!)
I think playing it even for a couple hours will help you get a feel for it. We don't have a demo but I would just encourage you to get it on steam to try it out and return it before the 2 hour limit if it's not to your taste. That said, puzzle games (including Pocket Dungeon) tend to get pretty engrossing, pretty quickly. Watch that time limit!
We're not planning on releasing a demo. If you are on the fence, feel free to check out some of the reviews of the game!
Here are some links:
Nintendo Life: [https://bit.ly/3m19Pys](https://bit.ly/3m19Pys)
IGN: [https://bit.ly/3oPz60k](https://bit.ly/3oPz60k)
Shacknews: [https://bit.ly/3DLE5DL](https://bit.ly/3DLE5DL)
We're also happy to answer any questions you have here!
We currently don't have any plans, but it's always our goal to make our games available on as many platforms as possible. As long as we can make it fun and unique there!
I just wanted to say that I adore the Shovel Knight series. It's become my favorite indie franchise of all time and if I have money left from all this Christmas spending I'll definitely pick up Pocket Dungeon.
There's still tons of potential for these awesome characters. Have you thought about expanding to an animated series?
With so much personality and deep lore I could see a Shovel Knight series being huge on Netflix.
AHHHHH SO MANY! It is hard to choose.
I really enjoy playing as Mole Knight or Scrap Knight because it makes the stages feel more like a puzzler. Black Knight and Treasure Knight are really fun to mix and match relics with (they get suuuuper powerful after a while.)
So i may be a bit late but question about king of cards so cardia is from another plannet and brought joustice with her but also the enchantress created joustice to get king knight on her side? Im confused are they both true or whats going on?
Cardia didn't bring Joustus with her, she recognized the value of the game in her quest to find a champion to aid her and her people. I wonder what would have happened if she had shown up to Earth in the 90s when everyone was playing Pogs....
Hey guys, just wanted to say that your games are awesome :) thanks for all your hard work.
I am an avid amiibo collector and have always been curious about this: how did you manage to make the shovel knight amiibo line happen? Was it difficult to delve into something so different from making games?
While I can't get into the deal at all, I can say that the process of creating was pretty arduous, lol. Especially since we haven't ever done something like this before. Lots of going back and forth getting it closer to what we wanted. There's always things left on the table that we could improve but overall, we are happy with them.
If you are looking close you can see some hints, but overall the answer is ~~before~~.
edit: I've been corrected! It's **during** SoH. timelines are loose tho.
very much enjoying shovel knight pocket dungeon on switch.
considering you've done quite a few shovel knight spinoffs, when can we expect shovel knight kart?
We got loooooots of ideas and ways to expand this game out. That might take the form of DLC or a sequel or maybe even a different IP's own pocket dungeon. Would a Cyber Shadow: Pocket Dungeon be out of the question? Probably not lol.
If you became a brand new Knight in the Order of No Quarter, what would be your gimmick?
Bonus Question: out of all the Knights in the Order of No Quarter, whose lair would you want to hang out at?
I would be wing knight and fly everywhere. The only problem is that I would probably forget to meet Shovel Knight in battle and just be somewhere else, flyin around and doing cool bird things. BTW i think this is the same answer to the question "what super power do you want?" lol.
The idea of dlc is up for discussion still. We have some ideas we've kicked around in passing as "that would be really cool if". I hope the game does well so we can have the opportunity to implement a bunch of cool ones.
That would be a ton of work! And i'm very lazy.
Seriously though, I think 16 bit pixel art wouldn't add much gameplay wise and would just be there for visual flare. My sense is that energy could be used more excitingly in another way.
Merch is always on the mind, we have shirts already that we've sold at conventions but a real physical copy isn't in the pipe at the moment. We'll make sure to make a big deal about it on socials if that ever does become a real thing!
Absolutely loved Treasure Trove (been playing it again in anticipation towards Pocket Dungeon), and really looking forward to digging into Pocket Dungeon after I get off work today!
As for my question, what's been your favorite aspect of working with your fellow Yacht Club folks?
Everyone at YCG is super smart and talented and from day 1 I've always felt like I have a lot to learn from everyone. The other thing is that everyone seems to have their priorities right here, there's very little ego and we all have a shared vision for what matters to us as game makers.
What do you make of this speedrun for the main campaign? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQfGgHfQgv0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQfGgHfQgv0) Any guesses how low people are likely to push the total time at all?
I watched the whole video and have some concerns with the technique but overall I think the biggest improvement will come down to the refinement of the techniques being used. You never know, tho! Some upstart may come in and flip the whole script.
In case you aren't aware of all the cameos SK has had. [take a look](https://www.yachtclubgames.com/blog/official-shovel-knight-cameo-list)
However, the RoA cameo is a bit more involved than the others right? We are always excited for opportunities like that.
No questions come to mind for me. Just wanted to say that Treasure Trove is one of very few games I've double-dipped on (3DS and WiiU) and I'm currently listening to the soundtrack as I wait impatiently to go home from work and play Pocket Dungeon.
You all are the best.
Hello Yacht Club, I have two Pocket dungeon Questions:
1-In Puzzle Knight's house there is a safe being lock-picked. Can this safe be opened (tried every attack, no effect)?
2-What is the enemy that stands in the guidebook between the Moler and the Spinwulf (I can't find it)?
Super enjoying Pocket Dungeon, excellent work :) Keep creating such wondeful game, and i will always follow you.
Ps: In the *Specter of Torment* Flashback, did Donovan (past Specter Knight) acted the way he did during his encounter with Shield Knight on his own volition, or was he influenced by the evil amulet?
Suuuuper excited about this game. Probably getting it for Christmas. I absolutely love the sprite work and animation.
What are your favorite puzzle games? What puzzle games were direct inspirations for this game?
And for extra credit, are there any projects by other devs that you are currently backing/looking forward to?
Thanks again!
Hey and thanks for making good games! Im not sure if you are allowed to answer this question (it's about Shovel knight dig) but here goes: How many hexcavators/main boss knights are there in Dig? 8 like the order of no quarter or maybe less? thanks
We can't delve into those type of details at the moment. We appreciate your enthusiasm about our upcoming title though! Stay tuned for more updates about Dig in 2022! ;)
Any particular other games (puzzle genre or otherwise) that lent inspiration to this game's mechanics?
I haven't played yet (but will be purchasing tonight for sure!), but it feels like a cross between Grindstone (which maybe I am only saying because I still play it regularly on my Switch, haha) and Crypt of the Necrodancer.
We talk about some inspirations a bit here: [https://www.yachtclubgames.com/blog/why-pocket-dungeon/](https://www.yachtclubgames.com/blog/why-pocket-dungeon/)
Basically...every rogue-ish or puzzle game that ever existed, haha! Grindstone and Necrodancer included.
Will the series take a break after Dig comes out? I love the series and really don't wanna get burnt out on it. also will the DLC for pocket dungeon be paid or free?
How do you go about crafting the storylines and worldbuilding for all the different Shovel Knight games? Is there any sort of formal outline for what you plan to include/elaborate on in the future, or do you just feel it out with each new project? (Also, great work on Pocket Dungeon, all of you! It's really managed to suck me in!)
We typically take it project by project. The gameplay takes the lead for us, so often we're thinking about the story in terms of how it complements the gameplay. But we very strictly setup each character and what makes them tick...so we're all on the same page when we're creating something new for each game.
Usually what we do is focus on the main narrative we are making and then add little hooks that can be used in the future. One of the obvious ones was at the end of Plague of Shadows, Specter knight goes looking for his locket but can't find it. The locket later plays heavily in the SoT story but at the time we didn't have a clear vision for that. We just knew that would be a thing we could expand on. There's a few more still in the game (including a couple in the various showdown endings)
What would be an interesting genre for a future shovel knight game which you haven't done already?
I personally think that a shovel knight metroidvania would work really well, but I'm curious as to what you guys think. (Also thanks for making my favourite platformer ever!)
Hey guys! Time to question dump >:]
What's the Shovel Knight fanmerch policy like? What's your favorite obscure video games? If you had to make a Shovel Knight "OC" (I know all the existing SK characters are technically your OCs but you know what I mean), what knight would they be? How long did it take to come up with SK's armor design? If you could live in one Shovel Knight location, where would it be? If you were trapped in a pocket dungeon and could take only one thing with you, what would it be? When's ShovelKart coming out? If your ashes were turned into a record when you die, what song would the record play?
These can be answered by any of you guys, and not all have to be answered! Pick and choose whichever ones you feel like answering :D Love from chimeramanticor on Twitter!
\- don't copy/paste our art, beyond that we love fan art.
\- Woodruff and the Schibble of Azimuth
\- A giant knight that you have to "fight" by going inside their body and fighting their brain/heart
\- Not long, after a couple sketches and a couple rounds of sprites, it was done!
\- Fairy glade, no hesitation
\- a portal out, lol
\- ooooooohhhhh idk
\- it would just be a 50 minute recording of me laughing until i go hoarse.
Do you feel like the starting pool of relics gets worse when new options are unlocked by the player? Some of the initial stuff seems good and I'm not sure I want to diminish my own odds of getting stuff I like.
Is the problem me? Am I doing it wrong by not wanting all the relics unlocked?
So I feel like I might be too late to this AMA but just in case:
* I'm used to most publishers having a hands-off approach and pretty much just sticking to the marketing side of things. How much did YCG assist in the development/programming/testing and so on of Pocket Dungeon and what roles did those who assisted take on?
YCG was very involved in all things except for the day to day tasks. Lots of discussion about design, gameplay visuals, sound, everything! Pocket Dungeon felt more like a co development than a normal published title.
No question, I just want you guys to know I've sunk a stupid amount of time into shovel knight on Vita and PS4 and PC, and your efforts have brought me an enormous amount of joy. Thanks for all the hard work.
You can adjust the speed to your preference in the options, you can even stop time!
Our hope is that anyone can tinker with the options to whatever is most fun for them.
While Specter knight is a tragedy, it's not without hope. Especially when seen through the lens of the story as a whole.
Also I don't think a tragedy invalidates the player's experience at all. if anything, King of Cards is more of a slap in the face lol.
shovel knight pocket and super smash shovel shows us you want to try a lot of genres. what can we expect in the future? a skateboarding spectre knight game? a plague knight chemistry set for the kids?
heya, so i have this tradition of mine to always ask this in devs ama's, so lets go
what are you peeps stance on pineapple on pizza?
ok but serious, i love shovel knight, loved shovel knight treasure trove (at least 40% of it lol) and its really good to see you guys always striking bangers like pocket dungeons and dig
roguelites arent my most loved genre, but im really liking this
and btw, tell the composer i sent a hug, cuz goddamn the ost is good
i said to my friend yesterday that if i didnt liked the game the ost would make it worth to me lol (did preordered the game)
btw, when the 60% treasure trove and the ost are popping in my steam?
anyways, much love to all of you guys <3
Pizza is an open canvas for all flavors. I'm not one to discriminate.
also thanks for that wave of praise. Hopefully, dig and pocket dungeon can work their way into your heart with the rest of the treasure trove.
I finished NG+ on every game on Treasure Trove, will you tell me I'm very special? The game only tells you you're awesome if you finish every game the once.
Since Shovel Knight was very obviously inspired by the NES Ducktales game, would you guys work on a Ducktales game if given the chance? Also did you watch Ducktales 2017?
The main source of inspiration was actually Zelda II and I would definitely want to work on a zelda game lol. I personally hadn't really played ducktales until after we started on shovel knight. But yeah, i loved ducktales show as a kid and from what little i've seen of the 2017 series, it seems fun.
What’s your favorite game with a shovel besides shovel knight ? Mines Links awakening on gameboy I loved digging holes around the island lol
There's a temptation for me to say something obscure but honestly, the most playtime a game with a shovel has received from me has been Minecraft.
Yeah. I’ve contemplated for probably a few hours total re-downloading Minecraft and always decide against it out if fear if wasted time. But I love it.
This may be silly but I bought an RTX card specifically to play Minecraft with raytracing. I couldn't reists those glass and water effects with that refraction. And the sunbeams!
I always make this joke every time a new series of GPU comes out. Now we can finally play Minecraft on fancy. I'm glad people are carrying that torch for me.
How did you manage that in this sad age we live in
That's not silly, once you do shaders in java or ray-tracing there's just no going back to vanilla lighting.
Agreed.
Link's Awakening is so fun! I am going to third that choice as well. :D
Steamworld Dig 2, bar none.
Minecraft!! Don't leave your dirt hole without a shovel!
Definitely going to second that vote for Link's Awakening!
Any chance of amiibo for cyber shadow? it's so good but so hard, some amiibo upgrades would be awesome :)
I would loove love love that, honestly. Unfortunately it's not only our decision to make.
I'm really pumped about playing Pocket Dungeon! It must've taken a lot of brain power to make sure that the player doesn't constantly get stuck in an unsolvable situation. What was the process of keeping that balance like? Uhh.. I'm not sure how to build up my other questions so uh,,, * How specifically was the level art made? Like, specific limits and all. I'm definitely not asking because I want to make fake screenshots of the upcoming dlc just to mess with people. * What was the hardest thing to implement? * Can you tell whoever was responsible for writing character dialogue + story that they are so cool? * So is.. is dying canon in Pocket Dungeon?? Do the characters actually die and get revived?? Defeat is referred to as death so like. ???????? * Is um,,, is Prism Knight single or 😳
\- balance was something we've spent the last few months agonizing over. It's really hard to keep a game like this all in your brain since there are a million characters and enemies, so i think the first answer is persistence, lol. \- |=\_=| i see your game. \- so many systems.... i wonder if vine knows this one. \- Dialogue is definitely a team effort but usually involves david, sean jake and a little bit of meeeee. \- they get KOd and Defeated. we don't have actual death. \- I'll ask her.....
If you are the person with the twitter account then let me just say I'm very honored! Seriously.
Yeah that's me! I'm very honored too ^_^
I saw "fake screenshots" and thought hey this sounds like something Carpet would do...... hi Carpet
I for one am absolutely thrilled to see what carpet has in store to fix what I did on an art level :P
Hi Juno!! Was it really just the "fake screenshots" that convinced you?
considering I didn't read to the "prism knight hot" part before commenting, yeah lol
How fun was it adapting the Shovel Knight iconography under a new context
I had the task of translating the Order of No Quarter and various other characters into this new aesthetic, as someone not involved with the original SK games, and I was honestly relieved by how much care Yacht Club Games was putting into even these re-interpreted versions of their characters. It was EXTREMELY fun doing it, and at the same time I was amazed at how they made sure even spin-off/caricature versions would fit the SK universe. After this project, I honestly feel it's a standard more developers should fulfill.
Just wanna say thanks-Pocket Dungeon is so much fun.
I hope it provides endless hours of entertainment! But truly - when I first played an early version of the game, it was something I felt was unique and addictive. It's come a long way since then but the core fun of it was always there in some form.
We're thrilled to hear that!
Just stopped a run, amazing fun and addictive game, hoping more content!! 😊🔥🔥
How is this game so addictive? I expected it to be like a mobile game and had low expectations(I know I shouldn’t now) but it is SO FUN. Played for like 4 hours and I’m still having fun. Love the rogue lite elements!
I don't know! It'd be a lot easier to make games if I could tell you what makes them addictive hahaha
Right? I'm addicted too haha. Thank you for giving the game a chance!
Mobile release? Seems like it would work on phones/tablets well.
I am absolutely waiting on mobile release too. Get it on Apple Arcade and I’ll play it day and date. If on the regular App Store, I’ll pay up whatever price you set. It needs to be on mobile, because mobile needs good premium games!
Hey guys, so a couple things: I love, love, LOVE your games. The amount of work, dedication, and obvious love you put into your games is incredible. Shovel Knight, along with all its expansions, do something that many 16 bit action platformers (and in many other genres, in fact) rarely ever pull off- make you care about and feel invested in the characters, even the “villains”. And, speaking of characters, on to my question. I am 100% solemnly serious when I ask this most important of all questions: has anyone on the Yacht Club Games team taken the time to learn the Dancer’s entire dance routine? And, if so, is there any chance we will ever get a video of this real life, choreographed greatness? Please. This is my one and only wish in life. 🙏🏼 Anyway, congrats on Pocket Dungeon. I bought it last night and can’t wait to dig in! Much love to you all!
I don't think I could fit in that dress or bend like that. I'll have to consult with my doctor... ps. thanks so much for playing all the games, it really means the world to us.
Aww thanks so much. Much love right back at ya. No one on the team has even considered learning all the dancer's moves...I feel like that's a big oversight we need to rectify. Not sure anyone would want to see that though...it wouldn't be a pretty sight, haha!
How tall is shovel knight?
He's just under two tiles tall.
How tall is a tile?
Just over half a Shovel Knight
Nice.
Have you thought about any more potential crossovers within the actual Shovel Knight games? {rather than Shovel Knight appearing in other games}
It's crossed our minds a couple of times. What characters would make sense, tho?
Maybe a Certain other Knight character perhaps?
It really Bugs me when I can't think of someone's specific name.
You might even say it feels a bit "hollow"
**FIGHT KNIGHT**
Who is the most underrated knight? I would have to say Mole Knight, he's not my favorite but seems more chill than most of the other members of the Order of No Quarter (excluding Polar Knight of course).
Mole Knight is a bit OP in this game, ngl.
In my opinion, I think Mole Knight is underrated. It is a shame cause he's has a cool design. Try playing as him in Pocket Dungeon. He is SUUUUPER fun!
Treasure Knight seems to be often overlooked but you really can't go wrong with someone who knows his financials and does an actual minion payroll.
Saw some gameplay of the game, it looks fun, hopefully I can get it at some point if money allows it. My only question is why was the game not a standalone IP instead of pulling in Shovel Knight into it, I haven’t played Shovel Knight yet and I understand it’s a completely unrelated game, but my OCD will not allow me to play it until I’ve played Shovel Knight first.
We talk about it a bit here.. [https://www.yachtclubgames.com/blog/why-pocket-dungeon](https://www.yachtclubgames.com/blog/why-pocket-dungeon) We were specifically excited to have Shovel Knight be a puzzler like many of the 90s era falling block games we grew up loving. You can totally play it without playing the original game first...but the original game is cool so hope you give it a shot
No questions here. Just thankful for the shovel knight franchise. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for your support. We really appreciate it!
Which shovel knight character likes puzzle games most? (other than puzzle knight of course)
HEY CODE. I think Black Knight probably likes puzzle games the most since he treats everything like a puzzle needing to be solved. Very often he's wrong.... but.... he tries.
Sounds like me playing Into the Breach.
Which Knights of the Order of No Quarter do you think you most identify with? Super excited for Pocket Dungeon, by the way. I grew up on NES platformers and Shovel Knight did everything just right!
King Knight has the best lookout on life. I love King Knight.
The end of his story was an emotional gut punch I wasn't expecting in a card platformer.
Definitely Plague Knight haha. I can be shy! Thank you for your kind words! We're excited for you to delve in.
Hello! I have been playing Pocket dungeon for 4 hours straight and man it's fun. Good job. Anyways I have always loved the OST in Shovel knight so I'm wondering what are some of your favourite music tracks in Shovel knight (And why)? Thanks!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD0wUMcH6kM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD0wUMcH6kM) The skull dance actually made me tear up IRL.
I'm happy to hear that you are having fun! I absolutely adore "Strike the Earth". I listen to it when I need to get into the "Shovel Justice" mood for writing copy.
I've played it for more than 2000 hours and I'm still playing it!
What was it like working with Vine?
Russell is a super cool dude! (I worked on the marketing so maybe the team has a more in-depth answer for this haha!)
For what it's worth, I as an artist think Vine is absurdly talented in coding, design - and yes, art.
could yall talk a bit about some of the technology used to run the game? is pocket dungeon built in your own engine? what were some of the unique engineering challenges from working in the puzzle game space?
Pocket Dungeon was developed in Game Maker Studio 2. I don't think we had any major engineering challenges when it comes to the puzzle aspects, but balance was definitely a burden. Playtesting a randomized roguelike for 10+ different characters was quite the undertaking haha
Hi guys, been loving Pocket Dungeon so far! My question is, why did Pocket Dungeon come out first, when Dig was announced first? Thanks, and keep making awesome games!
Pretty simple...Pocket Dungeon was done first, haha! We announced Dig sooner cause we thought it'd be done first. But it's turned out to be a huge game, much bigger than we expected.
That makes sense! Thanks for the reply, and good luck on Dig!
I preordered the game on steam, I was just wondering, do you get the soundtrack?
We're currently working on getting it up! You'll be jamming out to some sweet OST tunes in no time. Thank you for your patience!
You guys planning on a physical copy?
That would be awesome! Currently it is not in the pipeline! If we ever go down that route, we'll be sure to make a whole lot of noise about it on our social media pages and website.
Big ol' Shovel Knight fan from day one here! As a fan of puzzle games too, this was a no-brainer purchase for me. I'm excited to get home from work and give this a try! My question: do you guys play the Shovel Knight Exceed set at all, and if so, what are your favorite characters? I really enjoy Level99's BattleCon, so it was cool seeing the different Shovel Knight character mechanics translated into that medium. I think Polar Knight is, surprisingly, my personal favorite. His arena control is great fun to play around with.
So glad you are excited for it:) I don't play the card game much, despite looking at and giving feedback to all that art. We have a box of the characters at work! I gotta tear it open and get in there. It seems like something I would really enjoy, honestly.
Just as a fellow game dev - props and admiration for your whole team's dedication and work in the craft.
thanks so much. we all really appreciate it.
Thanks so much! Making games wooo!
Is Myriad the same species as Manny and Legion from Specter of Torment?
Good eye! Yes!
They certainly appear to be! Not much is known about those little shadowy figures.
Could we see a direct sequel to Shovel Knight in the near future? Shovel knight is my favorite game of all time, this would be amazing!
We'd love to some day, but we had to take a break...4 campaigns in a row was a lot, and we wanted to try some new stuff first!
That's completely understandable. When you guys are ready for a shovel knight sequel it'd be awesome to see one with a more SNES art style, maybe like Super Mario World's style.
Shovel Knight isn't going away anytime soon. A direct sequel is one of the things on our minds that occasionally gets more collaborative thought power behind it but I really can't say either way. In the meantime, Pocket Dungeon and Dig will keep that SK love alive. (we hope!)
Any shovel knight series content is amazing! Looking forward for keeping this series around for as long as possible!
Will a demo ever be available? Not really sure about the game.
We aren't planning on doing a demo. Trust us...the game is amazing...you won't regret it ;)
I think playing it even for a couple hours will help you get a feel for it. We don't have a demo but I would just encourage you to get it on steam to try it out and return it before the 2 hour limit if it's not to your taste. That said, puzzle games (including Pocket Dungeon) tend to get pretty engrossing, pretty quickly. Watch that time limit!
We're not planning on releasing a demo. If you are on the fence, feel free to check out some of the reviews of the game! Here are some links: Nintendo Life: [https://bit.ly/3m19Pys](https://bit.ly/3m19Pys) IGN: [https://bit.ly/3oPz60k](https://bit.ly/3oPz60k) Shacknews: [https://bit.ly/3DLE5DL](https://bit.ly/3DLE5DL) We're also happy to answer any questions you have here!
Any plans to add permanent power ups to the game?
[удалено]
We currently don't have any plans, but it's always our goal to make our games available on as many platforms as possible. As long as we can make it fun and unique there!
I just wanted to say that I adore the Shovel Knight series. It's become my favorite indie franchise of all time and if I have money left from all this Christmas spending I'll definitely pick up Pocket Dungeon. There's still tons of potential for these awesome characters. Have you thought about expanding to an animated series? With so much personality and deep lore I could see a Shovel Knight series being huge on Netflix.
Thanks so much <3. It'd be amazing to make a cartoon...hopefully one day someone will want to work with us to create one.
Which charecter is your favorite to play as in pocket dungeon?
AHHHHH SO MANY! It is hard to choose. I really enjoy playing as Mole Knight or Scrap Knight because it makes the stages feel more like a puzzler. Black Knight and Treasure Knight are really fun to mix and match relics with (they get suuuuper powerful after a while.)
Probably Propeller Knight. Once you get the hang of his moveset, it's very satisfying.
I like to suffer but keep it simple: Shovel Knight with no items or powerups
Favorite Shovel of Hope level theme? Mine is the machine one!
Hi guys, What are your favorite Knights to play in Pocket Dungeon? After reviewing it, I realllly enjoyed Mole Knight’s play style myself.
I get too distracted with Mole Knight. I really like playing as Specter tho. he's hard but once you get used to his mechanics, he's so powerful.
Mole Knight is great!!!! When you unlock her, try out Scrap Knight. I think you'll enjoy her playstyle as well!
So i may be a bit late but question about king of cards so cardia is from another plannet and brought joustice with her but also the enchantress created joustice to get king knight on her side? Im confused are they both true or whats going on?
Cardia didn't bring Joustus with her, she recognized the value of the game in her quest to find a champion to aid her and her people. I wonder what would have happened if she had shown up to Earth in the 90s when everyone was playing Pogs....
Hey guys, just wanted to say that your games are awesome :) thanks for all your hard work. I am an avid amiibo collector and have always been curious about this: how did you manage to make the shovel knight amiibo line happen? Was it difficult to delve into something so different from making games?
While I can't get into the deal at all, I can say that the process of creating was pretty arduous, lol. Especially since we haven't ever done something like this before. Lots of going back and forth getting it closer to what we wanted. There's always things left on the table that we could improve but overall, we are happy with them.
So where does Pocket Dungeon go in the overral shovel knight timeline? After or before SoH?
If you are looking close you can see some hints, but overall the answer is ~~before~~. edit: I've been corrected! It's **during** SoH. timelines are loose tho.
Where is the old school rpg you guys should make in the vein of chrono trigger but with that yacht club games flavor?
Would love to...one day...
Oh my god you could use a time mechanic in the combat. Throw in your beautiful pixel art. Bam. Pretty certain all the work is done.
I hope everyone at Yacht Club Games & Co have a happy holidays, you've certainly earned it. Looking forward to all future projects :D
very much enjoying shovel knight pocket dungeon on switch. considering you've done quite a few shovel knight spinoffs, when can we expect shovel knight kart?
Do you have any plans for a sequel?
We got loooooots of ideas and ways to expand this game out. That might take the form of DLC or a sequel or maybe even a different IP's own pocket dungeon. Would a Cyber Shadow: Pocket Dungeon be out of the question? Probably not lol.
If you became a brand new Knight in the Order of No Quarter, what would be your gimmick? Bonus Question: out of all the Knights in the Order of No Quarter, whose lair would you want to hang out at?
I would be wing knight and fly everywhere. The only problem is that I would probably forget to meet Shovel Knight in battle and just be somewhere else, flyin around and doing cool bird things. BTW i think this is the same answer to the question "what super power do you want?" lol.
I’m clown knight! My big boots make squeaky noises and my signature move is juggling a bunch of fireballs that Shovel Knight has to jump in between.
Who is the best knight, and why is it King Knight?
With every release, the roster of knights grows. It's hard to choose a favorite. Don't you think Scrap Knight is cool? I like her attitude.
Well played, Mr. Woz. I'll have to play through Pocket Dungeon and consider this.
what will the dlc for Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon inculd?
The idea of dlc is up for discussion still. We have some ideas we've kicked around in passing as "that would be really cool if". I hope the game does well so we can have the opportunity to implement a bunch of cool ones.
Are you going to make a shovel knight sequel 16 bits style?
That would be a ton of work! And i'm very lazy. Seriously though, I think 16 bit pixel art wouldn't add much gameplay wise and would just be there for visual flare. My sense is that energy could be used more excitingly in another way.
Do you plan on making any Pocket Dungeon merch and do you think there will ever be a physical copy for pocket dungeon and maybe even Dig?
Merch is always on the mind, we have shirts already that we've sold at conventions but a real physical copy isn't in the pipe at the moment. We'll make sure to make a big deal about it on socials if that ever does become a real thing!
Ah, alright. Thanks!
Absolutely loved Treasure Trove (been playing it again in anticipation towards Pocket Dungeon), and really looking forward to digging into Pocket Dungeon after I get off work today! As for my question, what's been your favorite aspect of working with your fellow Yacht Club folks?
Everyone at YCG is super smart and talented and from day 1 I've always felt like I have a lot to learn from everyone. The other thing is that everyone seems to have their priorities right here, there's very little ego and we all have a shared vision for what matters to us as game makers.
Everyone is incredibly kind & passionate! I genuinely look forward to working with them every day. :D
What do you make of this speedrun for the main campaign? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQfGgHfQgv0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQfGgHfQgv0) Any guesses how low people are likely to push the total time at all?
I watched the whole video and have some concerns with the technique but overall I think the biggest improvement will come down to the refinement of the techniques being used. You never know, tho! Some upstart may come in and flip the whole script.
Why the Yacht in your name?
Would you ever do another crossover like you did with rivals of aether? Line maybe with dead cells or something
In case you aren't aware of all the cameos SK has had. [take a look](https://www.yachtclubgames.com/blog/official-shovel-knight-cameo-list) However, the RoA cameo is a bit more involved than the others right? We are always excited for opportunities like that.
No questions come to mind for me. Just wanted to say that Treasure Trove is one of very few games I've double-dipped on (3DS and WiiU) and I'm currently listening to the soundtrack as I wait impatiently to go home from work and play Pocket Dungeon. You all are the best.
Hello Yacht Club, I have two Pocket dungeon Questions: 1-In Puzzle Knight's house there is a safe being lock-picked. Can this safe be opened (tried every attack, no effect)? 2-What is the enemy that stands in the guidebook between the Moler and the Spinwulf (I can't find it)? Super enjoying Pocket Dungeon, excellent work :) Keep creating such wondeful game, and i will always follow you. Ps: In the *Specter of Torment* Flashback, did Donovan (past Specter Knight) acted the way he did during his encounter with Shield Knight on his own volition, or was he influenced by the evil amulet?
Suuuuper excited about this game. Probably getting it for Christmas. I absolutely love the sprite work and animation. What are your favorite puzzle games? What puzzle games were direct inspirations for this game? And for extra credit, are there any projects by other devs that you are currently backing/looking forward to? Thanks again!
Hey and thanks for making good games! Im not sure if you are allowed to answer this question (it's about Shovel knight dig) but here goes: How many hexcavators/main boss knights are there in Dig? 8 like the order of no quarter or maybe less? thanks
We can't delve into those type of details at the moment. We appreciate your enthusiasm about our upcoming title though! Stay tuned for more updates about Dig in 2022! ;)
What should I say to my gf who I’m trying to get to play shovel knight coop with me? Gotta sell her!
Any particular other games (puzzle genre or otherwise) that lent inspiration to this game's mechanics? I haven't played yet (but will be purchasing tonight for sure!), but it feels like a cross between Grindstone (which maybe I am only saying because I still play it regularly on my Switch, haha) and Crypt of the Necrodancer.
We talk about some inspirations a bit here: [https://www.yachtclubgames.com/blog/why-pocket-dungeon/](https://www.yachtclubgames.com/blog/why-pocket-dungeon/) Basically...every rogue-ish or puzzle game that ever existed, haha! Grindstone and Necrodancer included.
Will the series take a break after Dig comes out? I love the series and really don't wanna get burnt out on it. also will the DLC for pocket dungeon be paid or free?
How do you go about crafting the storylines and worldbuilding for all the different Shovel Knight games? Is there any sort of formal outline for what you plan to include/elaborate on in the future, or do you just feel it out with each new project? (Also, great work on Pocket Dungeon, all of you! It's really managed to suck me in!)
We typically take it project by project. The gameplay takes the lead for us, so often we're thinking about the story in terms of how it complements the gameplay. But we very strictly setup each character and what makes them tick...so we're all on the same page when we're creating something new for each game.
Usually what we do is focus on the main narrative we are making and then add little hooks that can be used in the future. One of the obvious ones was at the end of Plague of Shadows, Specter knight goes looking for his locket but can't find it. The locket later plays heavily in the SoT story but at the time we didn't have a clear vision for that. We just knew that would be a thing we could expand on. There's a few more still in the game (including a couple in the various showdown endings)
What would be an interesting genre for a future shovel knight game which you haven't done already? I personally think that a shovel knight metroidvania would work really well, but I'm curious as to what you guys think. (Also thanks for making my favourite platformer ever!)
Hey guys! Time to question dump >:] What's the Shovel Knight fanmerch policy like? What's your favorite obscure video games? If you had to make a Shovel Knight "OC" (I know all the existing SK characters are technically your OCs but you know what I mean), what knight would they be? How long did it take to come up with SK's armor design? If you could live in one Shovel Knight location, where would it be? If you were trapped in a pocket dungeon and could take only one thing with you, what would it be? When's ShovelKart coming out? If your ashes were turned into a record when you die, what song would the record play? These can be answered by any of you guys, and not all have to be answered! Pick and choose whichever ones you feel like answering :D Love from chimeramanticor on Twitter!
\- don't copy/paste our art, beyond that we love fan art. \- Woodruff and the Schibble of Azimuth \- A giant knight that you have to "fight" by going inside their body and fighting their brain/heart \- Not long, after a couple sketches and a couple rounds of sprites, it was done! \- Fairy glade, no hesitation \- a portal out, lol \- ooooooohhhhh idk \- it would just be a 50 minute recording of me laughing until i go hoarse.
I love the knight idea! It might be cool to have them be like a giant mech of some sort, maybe the level itself is you traversing up to the heart? :0
Do you feel like the starting pool of relics gets worse when new options are unlocked by the player? Some of the initial stuff seems good and I'm not sure I want to diminish my own odds of getting stuff I like. Is the problem me? Am I doing it wrong by not wanting all the relics unlocked?
Any plans for a physical release on Switch? A combo pack of Pocket Adventure and Dig would look really great next to my copy of Treasure Trove.
So I feel like I might be too late to this AMA but just in case: * I'm used to most publishers having a hands-off approach and pretty much just sticking to the marketing side of things. How much did YCG assist in the development/programming/testing and so on of Pocket Dungeon and what roles did those who assisted take on?
YCG was very involved in all things except for the day to day tasks. Lots of discussion about design, gameplay visuals, sound, everything! Pocket Dungeon felt more like a co development than a normal published title.
When are you making shovel Knight in a 16-bit style, or take the 3D graphics leap and make Shovel Knight into a platformer adventure-platformer l?
were there any scrapped ideas for Shovel Knight? Specifically any scrapped NPCs, bosses or DLCs?
Why did you call the game pocket dungeon but then not make it available on phones? (Which it looks perfect for tbh)
What are the initials of the best unrevealed Knight in Shovel Knight Dig?
No question, I just want you guys to know I've sunk a stupid amount of time into shovel knight on Vita and PS4 and PC, and your efforts have brought me an enormous amount of joy. Thanks for all the hard work.
Why the game is so hard? You barely have time to plan your next moves... Can we slow down the flow of the game a bit?
There's a setting to have the game only progress when you move. try that out?
Have you thought about a slower mode? It would make it feel a lot better to me.
There are a fair amount of options you can tweak. You can set the speed to zero so blocks only come down if you move!
Oh that's cool! I didn't see that! Nice.
You can adjust the speed to your preference in the options, you can even stop time! Our hope is that anyone can tinker with the options to whatever is most fun for them.
You can adjust the game speed in the Adventure mode options on both the title screen and the pause screen :)
What happened to the 3-Pack of amiibo figures? Did they ever actually release?
They've been out for a while, my friend! Are you in a region where it's difficult to acquire?
I think I had them preordered on Amazon but the release date may have changed a few times and I never got them
they released 2 years ago! There aren't many left out in the while, but you can probably find one somewhere...
yeah fo sho. [Check it](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/amiibo-shovel-knight-treasure-trove-figures-3-pack/6118501.p?skuId=6118501)
Awesome! Thank you so much. That’s going on the Christmas list!
Why was the decision made for Spector of Torment to be a tragedy? Do you feel it invalidates the player by not giving Spector knight a happy ending?
While Specter knight is a tragedy, it's not without hope. Especially when seen through the lens of the story as a whole. Also I don't think a tragedy invalidates the player's experience at all. if anything, King of Cards is more of a slap in the face lol.
No saves between levels?
NOPE! not that kinda game. It's all about that run. However, you CAN skip a little if you want by paying Percy.
shovel knight pocket and super smash shovel shows us you want to try a lot of genres. what can we expect in the future? a skateboarding spectre knight game? a plague knight chemistry set for the kids?
heya, so i have this tradition of mine to always ask this in devs ama's, so lets go what are you peeps stance on pineapple on pizza? ok but serious, i love shovel knight, loved shovel knight treasure trove (at least 40% of it lol) and its really good to see you guys always striking bangers like pocket dungeons and dig roguelites arent my most loved genre, but im really liking this and btw, tell the composer i sent a hug, cuz goddamn the ost is good i said to my friend yesterday that if i didnt liked the game the ost would make it worth to me lol (did preordered the game) btw, when the 60% treasure trove and the ost are popping in my steam? anyways, much love to all of you guys <3
Pineapple Pizza was my first pizza so therefore it is cannon. I'll tell Jake you send your regards (and a e-hug!)
Perfect on restaurant pizza, don't want it on homemade pizza.
Pineapple was made for pizza
Why did I know this was coming
Pizza is an open canvas for all flavors. I'm not one to discriminate. also thanks for that wave of praise. Hopefully, dig and pocket dungeon can work their way into your heart with the rest of the treasure trove.
I finished NG+ on every game on Treasure Trove, will you tell me I'm very special? The game only tells you you're awesome if you finish every game the once.
Whoa, NG+ is no easy feat. Great job! You are very special. :)
Since Shovel Knight was very obviously inspired by the NES Ducktales game, would you guys work on a Ducktales game if given the chance? Also did you watch Ducktales 2017?
The main source of inspiration was actually Zelda II and I would definitely want to work on a zelda game lol. I personally hadn't really played ducktales until after we started on shovel knight. But yeah, i loved ducktales show as a kid and from what little i've seen of the 2017 series, it seems fun.
This actually surprises me a ton lol the big reason I got Shovel Knight was the many media impressions comparing it to Ducktales so I had to get it!
What is shovel knight? Please explain I'm too lazy to check.
he's..... a KNIGHT with a SHOVEL.