Mike Brixius of RavenWolf Retro Tech shares part one of a new mini-series on the Dark Dominion RPG project. This update shows how modern software tools now support the game’s design and development on the Commodore 64. The video highlights progress on graphics, combat screens, inventory systems, and data handling while contrasting today’s workflow with the paper-based methods once required.
Modernizing Development
In earlier years, progress on Dark Dominion relied on hand-drawn flowcharts and handwritten code entered manually into a C64. The latest update shows how Brixius has replaced those methods with software such as CBM Program Studio and Visual Studio Code. These applications manage character sets, sprites, screens, and disc images in a much more efficient way.
The video demonstrates how character sets from the original 1980s design have been imported, expanded, and reused to create surface maps, dungeon walls, and combat layouts. Visual mockups show several iterations of combat screens, evolving from cramped designs into a more flexible format that allows for better tactical gameplay.
Building Systems and Tools
The new workflow includes a disc build system that compiles directly into working images for use on emulators and real hardware. Excel now helps track game items, including armor, weapons, and consumables. Each item is defined in compact data structures that balance memory limits with gameplay needs.
Draw.io has replaced physical flowcharts, making it easier to plan player effects, item interactions, and the overall game loop. By moving from pen and paper to digital planning, the development process is clearer, more adaptable, and quicker to adjust when new ideas arise.
Progress in Action
The video offers a preview of real screens from the game, showing inventory, character stats, menus, and dungeon layouts running on a native C64. Saving and loading functions now work between sessions, marking another step forward for the project. Combat remains under construction, but its framework is taking shape alongside the new item database.
This video is the first of two updates, with the second part set to explore more of the coding process and itemization details. Anyone curious about how a modern developer brings fresh life to a classic C64 RPG will find this progress report both informative and inspiring.
