Lexica
Lexica is a word-puzzle roguelike deckbuilder game that I developed between the months of March and December 2024. Launched on November 27, 2024, it is available on Steam here for the low price of $4.99.
I solo-developed the game, including all design, development, music, and artwork. The game was developed in Godot Game Engine in Godot’s proprietary language: GDScript. I composed the soundtrack in Logic Pro X, and made the sprites in GIMP. I also marketed the game myself, via social media, Discord, and promotion from YouTube content creators.
I got the idea for this game from trying to turn crossword puzzles into a rogulike game. After some brainstorming and experimentation, I scrapped that idea but kept the word-puzzle aspects, and instead made a game inspired by two games I play often: Scrabble and Balatro.
Lexica has a system where the player can buy “books” that give beneficial effects like score multipliers or the ability to spell words backwards. This was a unique challenge since these items affect so many different parts of the game. I had to write a custom script for each book, and make heavy use of Godot’s signal system to have the books interact with all aspects of the game.
The game also features adaptive music, or more simply, the music changes depending on what phase of the game the player is in. For example, the song that plays while playing a round cross fades to a more stressful alternate version when the player is running out of turns. This was accomplished by writing several versions of the Lexica theme with the same tempo and melody but different instrumentation. When the game launches, all versions of the song play at once, but with the desired song playing at full volume and the rest of the tracks muted. The music responds to events such as the player running out of turns by slowly muting the playing track while increasing the volume of the desired new track. This creates a cross fade effect and adds a fun dimension to the gameplay where the player’s actions influence the music.
If I were to do this project again, I would hire an artist for the game sprites and promotional materials. I’ll admit that I am not the best artist, and I vastly underestimated how much effort goes into quality sprites. I am very proud of the artwork I made, but the game would benefit from the touch of a professional artist. I would also put more effort into the UI and effects. The UI in the shop is a bit cluttered. Also, it’s a little hard to explain, but the game is lacking what some developers call “game juice.” Meaning, some of the player’s actions do not have a sense of “weight” to them. This could be better accomplished with more sound effects and some visual effects that respond to player actions.
Overall, for my first ever video game, I am pleased with the results. I am proud to say that I made a profit on sales, and I was even able to get complete strangers to play the game through my advertising. I expected to sell maybe 5 copies to my mom and some of my friends, but Lexica ended up exceeding my expectations.
