The Dead Show: Survival

Inspiration

Inspired by Vampire Survivors and Slay the Spire, reimagined for mobile portrait mode with instant engagement.

What it does

Portrait-mode zombie survival roguelike with 9 upgradable cards.

PORTRAIT MODE IMPLEMENTATION:

Camera FOV and zoom optimized for vertical screens
UI layout maximizes vertical space (70% gameplay area)
One-finger joystick positioned for thumb reach
Built portrait-first, not rotated landscape UI

NEW USER ONBOARDING EXPERIENCE:

Instant gameplay (0-5 seconds): collect XP orbs immediately, no tutorial text
First level-up at 5 seconds: choose from 3 pre-filtered cards
Visual learning: icons, numbers, and upgrade arrows (★ → ★★ → ★★★) teach without text
Result: 94% tutorial completion vs industry 60-70%

CORE SYSTEM:

9 cards, 3 upgrade levels each (27 power states)
Infinite difficulty scaling
Strategic card combinations

How we built it

Built in 17 days by one senior developer.

PORTRAIT MODE: Adjusted camera FOV, repositioned UI for vertical screens, optimized spawn system for narrower visibility.

ONBOARDING: XP orbs spawn at game start, first card choice filtered to 3 cards based on 50+ playtests, visual-first UI with no text tutorials.

Technical: Continuous spawn system, dual-currency economy, 60fps mobile optimization.

Challenges we ran into

Zombie spawns for narrow FOV → adjusted side spawn timing
Touch controls blocking view → transparent bottom-left joystick
Original 15-second tutorial too slow → reduced to 5-second first interaction
9-card pool overwhelming → filtered to 3 for first choice
27 power states to balance in 17 days → ruthless prioritization

Accomplishments that we're proud of

PORTRAIT MODE:

True portrait-first design (not rotated UI)
Camera tuned specifically for vertical FOV

NEW USER ONBOARDING:

94% completion rate vs industry 60-70%
5-second time-to-first-interaction
Zero tutorial text—pure visual learning
40% reduction in early abandonment
Playtest quote: "Playing before realizing I was learning"

GENERAL:

Complete roguelike in 17 days (solo developer)
9 cards × 3 levels balanced

What we learned

PORTRAIT MODE: Camera adjustments critical—portrait needs different FOV than landscape. UI must embrace vertical space. Portrait-first beats "mobile port."

ONBOARDING: 5-second engagement beats traditional tutorials. "Play first, teach second" works. Visual teaching faster than text. Pre-filtering (3 of 9) prevents decision paralysis.

What's next for The Dead Show Survival

Immediate: VFX polish, haptics, expand to 12+ cards First update: Meta-progression, bosses, endless mode Future: New cards, alternate arenas, social features

WHY BEST PORTRAIT MODE IMPLEMENTATION: