Developer Adventure Shandalar × Zelda Dev Log
Indie Dev Journey

Building a Shandalar × Zelda adventure, one log at a time.

Developer Adventure is my quest to create the game I always wanted to play – a modern mash-up of Shandalar’s deck-driven magic and Zelda’s top-down action-adventure, with a dash of 8-bit wonder.

Solo dev project Design · Code · Art · Cards Logging the whole journey here

Project Background

Why Developer Adventure exists

This page is the home for my development notes – a place to track progress, capture design decisions, and share the small wins (and inevitable faceplants) that happen along the way.

The long version

Developer Adventure is a journey to create the game I’ve always wanted to play — a blend of Shandalar’s magic and Zelda’s action-adventure spirit.

Inspired by the classics I grew up with, like Dizzy on the Amstrad CPC and Repton on the BBC Micro, this project aims to capture that sense of discovery, challenge, and wonder that defined early gaming.

Since there’s never really been another game like Shandalar, I’m setting out to make one — a modern adventure that carries forward the charm and depth of those timeless experiences.

This site (and the YouTube channel) document the development process — the design, coding, challenges, and breakthroughs — as I bring that vision to life.

Tech & design notes
Top-down action World map roaming Card-driven builds

Think “walk around a world like Zelda, but your build and options are driven by a Shandalar-style deck”. Towns, encounters, dungeons, and weird little side paths all feed into that loop.

What you’ll find here
  • Short, readable dev log entries
  • Design sketches & system breakdowns
  • Playable milestones & builds (eventually!)
  • A record of what worked… and what really didn’t

Dev Log

Recent progress updates

These entries are intentionally short and focused. Each one answers a simple question: What moved the game forward this session? This first milestone is all about getting the core loop up and running.

  1. 12 November Initial working setup

    Overworld, card game & NPCs online

    Big first step: the game is now playable end-to-end in a very early form. The overworld is up and running, a basic card game is functional with a limited set of cards, and the NPC scripting system is in place so the world finally feels “alive”.

    • Working overworld where the player can freely walk around
    • Enter and exit buildings from the overworld without breaking the flow
    • NPC script design complete, with basic behaviours wired up
    • NPCs wandering around the overworld, giving the world some movement
    • Basic card game implemented with a small starter pool of cards
    Focus: get the whole loop running at least once Next: refine combat feel & expand the card pool

Work in Progress

Screenshots & concept shots

A few early looks at the project. These will change (a lot!) as the game evolves, but they ’re a good snapshot of where things are right now.

Early overworld view showing the player walking around a small town area
Overworld prototype with basic walking, collision, and building entrances. This is where the Shandalar-style roaming meets the Zelda-style top-down feel.
Basic card game view with a limited set of test cards
First pass of the card game: a limited set of test cards hooked into the core rules so the main loop can be played end-to-end.
Overworld NPCs walking around and interacting with the player
NPC scripting and basic behaviours in action — characters wandering the overworld and helping the world feel more alive.

Follow Along

Where to see more of the dev journey