Overview

Slaw and Slawter is a game that follows the life of Amos, a retired adventurer who has opened a tavern in a small village. One night, he has a dream that a dark energy will take over the town and the townspeople. To combat the forces, Amos must collect runestones from the Western and Eastern swamps in order to unlock the Northern Caves and stop the unknown forces of evil.

The concept of the game is to have the player go through levels and engage in combat with the enemies present. When the player defeats an enemy, they are able to harvest the creatures meat, sell it in their tavern and gain gold. The gold allows them to buy stronger weapons that can then help them defeat the final boss, gain access to new passages, and survive harder enemy encounters. Once both runestones have been collected, the final boss level can be unlocked. Here, the player learns that the early character, Ocula, that helped teach them the mechanics of the game through the tutorial, is actually an ancient evil entity.

Core Concept: Inventory Trade-offs

The initial idea that drove development was implementing a restriction of resources that forced the player to make interesting decisions. This manifested itself into the inventory system. The player starts with a single inventory slot which allows them to carry one piece of meat; however, the player is allowed to carry another piece of meat by carrying it with their hands above their head. This expands their inventory space but forces them to sacrifice their weapon while carrying.

Core Concept: Gated Exploration

In order to encourage players to return to previous levels, there are several roadblocks which require certain weapons to break through. Behind these roadblocks are rewards, shortcuts, and secret areas.