Mercywave
A princess in a dark world shoots kindness — healing enemies at the cost of her own Light.
Light = ammo = life. A healed enemy sends out a Wave of Mercy and goes on to heal others — a cascade is born. The game world is the inner world of Aurora the ballerina, and dark damage is suppressed feelings.
Devlog
Jun 7, 2026
1 month ago
Vitaly WeberVisionary·DesignGDD v1.4MercywaveOnboarding and economy
Playtests showed newcomers couldn't clear even level one. Added a 5-level progression (one enemy/type at a time), removed the passive tick, added per-level damage ramping, and made L5 a real wall. The simulator confirmed the curve.
Jun 5, 2026
1 month ago- Vitaly WeberVisionary·TechGDD v1.2Mercywave
Monte-Carlo Light-economy sim
Built a Light-economy simulator (~4000 runs per config) — data instead of feelings. Diagnosis: the core was too forgiving. Added a “challenge pack” and replaced the confusing passive drain with “corruption drains Light”, with clear telegraphs.
Jun 4, 2026
1 month ago- Vitaly WeberVisionary·DesignGDD v1.1Mercywave
Detailed balance
A big balance table: enemy stats, Light economy, cascade thresholds. The key fix — Light is now spent only on hit (cost-on-hit), not on misses. Reworked “Denial” from a dead end into a positional threat.
Jun 3, 2026
1 month ago- Vitaly WeberVisionary·DesignMercywave
The roguelike challenge problem
Admitted it: the mechanic is great, but the challenge failed — the healing cascade is positive feedback that drains tension. Introduced “4 pillars of difficulty” to bring the pressure back.
Jun 2, 2026
1 month ago- Vitaly WeberVisionary·DesignGDD v0.9Mercywave
Narrative and the switch to top-down
A narrative flip: dark damage is suppressing feelings, healing is acceptance. The heroine is Aurora, a ballerina; the game world is her inner world. Switched to a 2D top-down twin-stick roguelite so the healing cascade reads from above, and built a graybox prototype.
Jun 1, 2026
1 month ago- Vitaly WeberVisionary·MilestoneGDD v0.1Mercywave
Start: genre and concept
Analyzed a SteamDB dump to pick a solo-viable genre, and the core idea was born: a princess who “shoots kindness” — healing enemies at the cost of her own Light. Light = ammo = life. GDD started.