Turn- Based RPG Systems Design Case Study
Role: Systems Design / Combat Mechanic / UX Diagrams
Focus: Combat roles, risk systems, and psychological pressure
OVERVIEW
Dollhouse Delirium is a solo development project exploring combat systems, party composition, and risk-driven design. This case study examines how systems, interfaces, and feedback loops shape player behavior under pressure.
A horror-adjacent turn-based RPG where combat systems reinforce psychological instability, forcing players to trade safety for control. Players navigate a life-size dollhouse, deciphering clues to escape while fighting animated plush monsters and managing their party’s mental state to survive.
Design Pillars
• Risk-reward combat
• Psychological instability as a mechanic
• Role clarity through asymmetry
CORE COMBAT PHILOSOPHY
(Shared Context)
Turn Base Structure
1. State check - Status effects, Madness changes, passive triggers
2. Player decision - Attack, skill, item, guard, delay
3. Resolution -Damage, buffs, counters
4. Enemy response - Enemy action or queued reaction
5. End-of-turn escalation - Environmental or psychological pressure increase
Party Composition Logic
• Urumi Wielder - Front-loaded damage that trades safety for momentum
• Medicinal Mage (Asclepius) - Indirect pressure through status infliction and controlled recovery
• Siggy (Psychiatrist) - Information control and mitigation of psychological risk
Status Effects
Status effects disrupt momentum and apply strategic pressure, preventing optimal play loops and encouraging adaptation. Players must choose between passive damage or high-risk actions that trade power for self-inflicted harm.
Madness System
The psychological state of the party both in and out of combat.
• In combat - Increases Attack and Speed, but risks entering a Paranoia state where characters may attack themselves or allies.
• In world - Higher Madness increases the frequency of aggressive encounters and hostile events.
URUMI WIELDER
Role Definition
Risk-Forward Physical DPS
The Urumi Wielder is the party’s primary risk-forward damage dealer, applying early pressure while setting up future turns. Improper discipline results in self-inflicted Wounds, directly punishing reckless play.
Core Mechanic
Spirit Stone Discipline reflects real-world martial arts philosophy, rewarding mastery and restraint over repeated use. Through training, the character can use skills more efficiently at reduced cost.
• Lion - Damage, threat management, turn setup
• Elephant - Defense, counter-based retaliation
• Snake - Speed, turn order manipulation
Lion branch shown in full to demonstrate risk escalation.
Design Intent
The Lion branch frames strength as mastery over raw power. Without preparation, strength becomes a liability; only sustained commitment allows it to be controlled and deployed effectively.
Takeaway
The Urumi Wielder balances power and strategy, teaching players when to take risks and when to restrain them. As the driving force of combat, the Urumi Wielder can also devastate the party if Madness is not carefully managed.
Asclepius
(Medicinal Mage)
Role Definition
Indirect Pressure / Party Sustain
Asclepius applies persistent pressure through status effects and controlled recovery rather than direct damage. Their power unfolds over time, rewarding planning and positional awareness.
Core Mechanic
The magic system is divided into three medicinal disciplines, reflecting real-world medicinal practices.
Eastern Medicine - Natural Magic
Natural magic draws from environmental resources to restore balance and enhance allies.
Reality reference: herbal medicine, chi flow, balance
In-game function: team buffs, restoration, sustain
In-game function: team buffs, restoration, sustain
Western Medicine - Alchemic Magic
Alchemic magic applies medicinal theory and technology to disrupt enemy systems through controlled status effects.
Reality reference: chemistry, medicine, technology
In-game function: inflicted statuses (poison, paralysis, sleep)
In-game function: inflicted statuses (poison, paralysis, sleep)
Shamanism - Spirit Magic
Spirit magic invokes belief-driven forces to manipulate enemy behavior, often at personal cost.
Reality reference: ritual, belief, spirits
In-game function: charm, madness, mind-altering states
In-game function: charm, madness, mind-altering states
Balance
Each medicinal practice counters another based on real-world belief conflicts rather than abstract elemental rules.
Magic in Dollhouse Delirium is structured around balance rather than raw output.
• Alchemy > Natural
Modern medicinal practices are believed to disrupt chi flow.
Modern medicinal practices are believed to disrupt chi flow.
• Spirit > Alchemy
Spiritual forces interfere with constructed systems and technology.
Spiritual forces interfere with constructed systems and technology.
• Natural > Spirit
Balanced energy cleanses spiritual interference.
Balanced energy cleanses spiritual interference.
Visual Identity
The magic user visually evokes all three medicinal traditions through a 17th-century plague doctor design - a historical figure positioned between science, ritual, and superstition.
Design Intent
Asclepius contrasts the Urumi Wielder’s volatility. Rather than relying on high-impact actions, Asclepius applies persistent pressure through status effects that influence multiple turns and reshape combat flow.
Takeaway
Asclepius rewards strategic commitment and timing, accelerating or denying outcomes through layered effects rather than singular actions.
SIGGY (Psychiatrist)
Role Definition
Information Control / Psychological Stabilization
Siggy focuses on enemy analysis and party Madness management rather than direct combat contribution.
Core Mechanic
Observation / Cleansing
Siggy identifies enemy traits, resistances, and behavioral patterns while mitigating the party’s psychological instability.
• Enemy stat and element identification
• Madness reduction and paranoia mitigation
• Limited intervention during critical mental states
Madness Meter
Conceptual sketch of Madness Meter.
The Madness meter provides emotional feedback rather than numerical optimization, prioritizing readability under stress. It teaches players to recognize combat patterns and environmental threats to avoid instability-inducing exposure.
Specialized enemy attacks and surprise encounters accumulate Madness.
Cleansing
Siggy’s progression allows players to deliberately manage Madness. While cleansing reduces the risk of Paranoia, maintaining higher Madness enables temporary power spikes at significant cost.
Design Intent
Siggy is intentionally mechanically understated. Their value emerges through information clarity and psychological control rather than damage output.
Takeaway
Siggy reframes combat as a mental exercise. By stabilizing the party and revealing hidden information, the character enables safer decision-making without directly resolving encounters.
ANIMATED PLUSH
(BOSS MONSTER)
Role Definition
Psychological Pressure / System Stress Test
The boss destabilizes the party by exploiting Madness, punishing passive play, and resisting burst damage. Rather than acting as a damage sponge, it functions as a systems check on risk management, information use, and pacing.
Core Mechanic
Spirit Animation / Persistence
The plush body is animated by Spirit magic, allowing it to continuously absorb damage without immediate consequence. Visible stitching, patchwork repairs, and self-mutilation communicate its unnatural persistence.
• Can sustain repeated damage without standard stagger
• Uses detached body parts as weapons
• Generates minions using its own insides as temporary vessels
• Needle weapon used to add to Madness meter
Boss enemy concept — form and silhouette study
Combat Flow
Turn-Based Structure (Boss Encounter)
1. State Check – Madness escalation, minion count, boss activity
2. Player Decision – Risk-taking vs stabilization
3. Resolution – Damage, status effects, reactive triggers
4. Boss Response – Attacks, counters, or minion generation
5. Escalation – Increased psychological pressure and audio distortion
Battle progression from beginning to end resulting in win or lose conditions
ANTI-PATTERN DESIGN
These systems emphasize decision-making over optimization, ensuring the encounter unfolds across multiple turns.
Anti-Turtling Logic
Prolonged defensive play accelerates Madness buildup and increases minion hostility, forcing players to engage rather than stall.
Anti-Burst Logic
Large damage spikes trigger reactive behaviors, preventing the boss from being defeated through single-turn burst strategies.
Party Role Alignment
The boss is intentionally structured so no single role can dominate the encounter.
• Urumi Wielder - Applies pressure and manages momentum but risks self-harm if overcommitting
• Asclepius - Shapes combat flow through persistent status effects and denial of minion advantages
• Siggy - Identifies boss behaviors and mitigates Madness escalation to preserve player control
Audio & Feedback Design
Grotesque body-horror sound signals minion creation, serving as both atmospheric reinforcement and gameplay feedback. Audio distortion intensifies as Madness rises, signaling escalating loss of control. Drumming background music implies Spirit magic through Shamanism symbolism.
Design Intent
The boss tests the player’s understanding of Dollhouse Delirium’s core systems. Victory requires balancing aggression, information, and psychological stability rather than relying on raw damage or defensive stalling.
Takeaway
This encounter reinforces Dollhouse Delirium’s central thesis: power without control is unstable. The boss acts as a culmination of the party’s mechanics, ensuring that combat mastery is defined by system literacy rather than output.
Plush boss concept evolution, informed by ancient Asian mythology
PAPER WIREFRAME FLOW
Combat UI
Left: Madness meter, turn order bar
Center (top): Enemies - boss taking up majority of the screen demanding dominance, its health bar above and minions on its flank.
Center (bottom): Party - members and status
Right: Combat menu
Target Selection
Upon choosing an action, select the target to apply action to. Grayed out icons one turn order bar cannot be targets of an action.
Visual feedback of targets selected.
Melee Attack + Stat Change
Visual signal provided to allow players to plan counters against heavy attacks. Party and enemy health bars reflect applied buffs and debuffs.
Melee attacks deal large damage to party but takes time to charge.
Madness Meter
Visual design reflects high Madness, erratic enemy movements, red border around UI, and Madness meter and health bar jittering. Beneath the player health bar, a signal that players entered Paranoia state and can only attack themselves.
Visual feed depicting the chaotic nature of Paranoia state.
CONSTRAINTS & TRADEOFFS
• Only the Lion branch is fully mapped to demonstrate progression depth while avoiding repetition and information overload.
• Visual fidelity is intentionally constrained to prioritize system clarity over presentation polish.
• Boss encounters resist burst damage to emphasize strategic planning over single-turn optimization.
WHAT I WOULD VALIDATE NEXT
• Madness thresholds balance between rewarding and punitive
• Boss escalation under different play strategies
• Information overload vs clarity for Siggy
Color pass exploring material contrast and tone
