Three of a Climb Devlog #4: Coins, Card Rerolls, Revives & Sound Effects
In the previous update, I focused heavily on making Three of a Climb harder by introducing deadly spike and trap mechanics. For this devlog, I wanted to shift gears: rewarding the player, adding game juice, and making survival a little more manageable!
1. Coins & Collection Animations
Coins now spawn randomly on normal steps as you make your way up the staircase.
- Mechanic: When collected, coins play a smooth spin animation and float up into the UI coin counter.
- Future Plan: These coins will serve as the primary currency for unlocking new character skins and staircase environment themes.
2. Card Rerolls While playtesting, I frequently ran into brutal RNG situations where every card in my hand led straight into the void.
- Mechanic: Card Rerolls spawn as rare collectibles on steps.
- How it works: Clicking the reroll icon discards your current set and deals 3 brand-new cards—giving you a clutch escape route when surrounded by traps or empty space.
3. Revive System
To keep high runs alive after a single miscalculation, I added a Revive system.
- Rules: Available once per run, provided you pass a score threshold of 50.
- Roadmap: In future mobile releases, this will integrate with rewarded video ads.
4. Sound Effects & Audio Overhaul
Adding sound effects was probably the trickiest part of this update. Searching through free audio libraries takes time, and some of the raw samples were... unexpected (including some very questionable goat sounds).
Ultimately, I built a modular sound and particle system for themes and integrated clean SFX for:
- Player jump & death
- Card deal & offhanding
- Bounce steps & cracking step warnings
What's Next?
For Devlog 5, I'll be working on:
- Designing and building a proper Main Menu.
- Adding new gameplay mechanics and expanding the shop system.
Follow along for more game development updates!