Path of Exile Talent Competition 2018

* left click - move/melee attack
* right click - shoot fireball
* space - skip everything in the intro
* p/esc - pause game
* c - open or close character panel
* shift - stop moving
* hold shift to remain immobile while clicking
* click on nearby pulsating totems to recover some life and health
* a plus sign next to the health bar shows that there are unspent skill points
* spend skillpoints in the character panel
* strength increases max health and melee damage
* intelligence increases max mana and mana regeneration rate
* dexterity increases movement speed and projectile speed
* defeat the exile boss to complete the game

Game page:
https://globalgamejam.org/2018/games/defender-ledge

Github repository (source code + asset sources):
https://github.com/NeguliSimanis/Defender-of-the-Ledge

He didn’t know what he was running from.

Well, he did. It was definitely something. He just didn’t know what it really was. It was humanoid, with the appearance of a veiled woman, but ethereal at the same time. They ambushed him after he plucked a green gemstone from a partly-opened chest; a gem paid for in blood when he found his sword had no effect on the the monstrosities that flung arcs of knives at him.
Rano Petrius called himself a “treasure hunter”. And for those of his profession, survival is paramount. Years of experience pilfering goods from Oriath’s marketplaces - and evading the Blackguards who wanted his head - had taught him when to wait, when to strike… and when to flee.
He looked over his shoulder. The monsters were still pursuing him, eager to sink more conjured blades into his flesh. His sword rattled in its sheath as he looked for any branching in the wall of bookshelves and scroll racks that surrounded him. He rounded a corner, and sighed as he saw bookshelves surrounding him on three sides. He turned to face his pursuers, gripping his sword tightly.
A spark and a flicker later, and the ethereal monsters were consumed by lightning strikes from above. Rano looked up to see a Karui woman, sceptre in hand, jumping down from a balcony above. Glinting baubles adorned her fingers and neck, while her light blue robes cradled six gemstones, glowing with power.
“You’re looking quite handsome today, Rano.”
“Spare me the humor, Nowea. What brings you here?”
“Same reason as you. Relics… artifacts… we witches could use anything of ancient power. Especially with the slave rebellion and all. After the Templars slaughter those Karui, they’ll be coming for us next.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Have you seen the exile?”
“What exile?”
“No, the exile. The one who carved a path through the square? The one with the rapier and messy blonde hair?”
“I don’t follow.”
“Well, she’s sure as hell out for blood. Saw her slice through 8 men with a single cut of her blade. Turned them into chunks of frozen meat.”
“She sounds like your type of lady. You ought to introduce me sometime.”
“Regardless,” Rano continued, with barbed irritation in his voice, “I wouldn’t be surprised if she took down the whole legion on her own. Maybe that idiot Avarius too.”
“Hmm. And if she does, that’ll be the end of Oriath. What’ll be of you?”
“Ha. Ever heard of Tsoatha?” he said, tossing and catching his gem.
“The city under the sea? You’re not serious?”
“I am. Lost for centuries, the only way to get to it safely is with a map. A large pearl, shaped like a teardrop. And it’s here. If I can find it… fame… riches… all the gold of an empire will be mine for the taking.”
“Suppose you need an extra pair of hands… Would mine do?”
He paused and looked at her face. Dead serious, unlike the way she spoke. He had never trusted witches, her especially. As the adage went: witches are bitches. He eyed the gem in his hand, finding himself swayed by her words.
“Alright. Help me find it, and there’ll be more than enough gold for both-”
A sudden quake rattled the Reliquary. Cold wind blew through the halls, chilling Rano to the bone despite the scale and leather he wore. Nowea had her head on a swivel, sceptre at the ready. The quaking subsided soon enough.
“Something happened.” muttered Nowea
“Well, no shit!” cried Rano as he drew his sword.
Red dust formed into skeletons, possessed with an unholy green fire in their eyes. Nowea quickly fired strands of lightning to one side as Rano carved through bone and marrow with a flurry of slashes. The more they fought, the angrier the Reliquary seemed to get. The attackers began to find their mark through Rano’s scaled armor, piercing with barbed arrows and ancient, copper blades. Rano felt the pain in a dozen places. Pain that turned to fury. He gripped the stolen gem tightly.
Crack! A white flash, and Rano cut through the spine of one skeleton. Another, and his gauntlet smashed through a sternum. A third and fourth; a femur and pelvis. Nowea found herself able to take a breather as Rano blazed through the attackers. More cracks and slashes filled the air, until the piles of bone and dust refused to move any more. Rano found himself exhausted… but alive. Nowea eyed the raggedly-breathing Oriathan as he patted the dust off his armor.
“That’s a new trick of yours.”
“Hah… Never trusted these damn gems myself, but… desperate times, ehh?”
“You know where specifically that map is?”
“Well… no. So we split up. We’ll find it faster covering twice as much ground.”
Nowea nodded, and dashed off in the direction opposite Rano. He kept looking back in her direction, unsure of when more monstrosities — or even worse, her — would ambush him. Not the best idea, he realized, after he ran head-on into a cement wall. He fell to the floor, rubbing the ache from his head, when he looked up and saw something that made him think about how hard he hit his head.
A glass case, oblong and ovular, that sparkled like a sunset on a peaceful beach. He could already smell the salt of the sea… the crash of ocean waves on the side of his boat… and the piles of gold he would be swimming through. A wonderful illusion… broke by a piercing scream.
Rano shook his head and gripped his sword once more. He stood at the ready, anticipating more of those veiled ghosts to appear. But nothing moved. Another sound, this time of a woman, moaning in pain. His name. Nowea’s voice.
What good would the map be if he didn’t get to Tsoatha alive? He had survived deadly odds before, but the sensible side of him knew: survival is paramount. Nowea was a witch and a bitch, but he also knew there are things lightning can do that a good sword simply couldn’t. The smell of the sea… gone. The crash of the ocean… missing. The bounty of gold… put on hiatus.
He found Nowea, dead and stretched out on the ground. Her corpse was charred to the bone in some places, frostbitten cobalt in others. Blood soaked what little parts of her robes remained intact. His heart fell into his stomach as he realized what he had gotten into.
“Come out! I know who you are!”
No answer.
“I’ve cheated death a million times, exile! Once more won’t hurt!”
Silence.
“Damn you! Damn you to a thousand hel-”
He saw the exile leap through the air towards him, a whirling column of steel that knocked him down. He only caught the color of her hair, a mop of messy blonde, as she disappeared into the labyrinth of walls and bookshelves once more. Rano struggled up, looked at his stolen gem, and breathed sharply.
The exile came at him again, but in a white flash he slashed at her. Their swords clashed as each swordsman kept up with the other. The screech of steel striking steel sung in the air. Rano looked into her eyes, and saw hatred, cold as ice. She looked back. But Rano blinked first.
Frost clung to her blade as the exile blew him away with a single push. Rano felt the chill; needles splicing through his extremities. He looked up at the exile one last time; a blur of leather and metal in the mist of his breath. A dull smirk grew on his face, then the blade lopped his head off. The exile picked up the green gem he stole, examined it, and smiled. She gave it a new home in her sword’s hilt.