Classroom Facts

While Badman is generally pretty abstract, its mechanics are rooted in some vaguely real-world concepts. Blocks of earth are filled with nutrients, which are moved about by smaller organisms; large monsters require a balanced ecosystem of smaller monsters to survive, and there are monsters on the top of the food chain that devour all others. There is in fact a literal food chain diagram of the monsters in the instruction manual. Monsters defeated in battle release nutrients into the surrounding soil.

A chart also details the current members of your army, and math is involved in calculating your remaining digging energy and saving up to upgrade monsters between rounds.

Creativity & Imagination

By the Player:

Players are free to make a totally different dungeon each time they begin a new game of Badman, and the randomly-placed nutrients ensure that different options are viable every time. Players have a huge amount of space to work with, and the game encourages players to experiment. While players only have one option – to dig – the exact layout of the maze determines how a round turns out. Players will need to design mazes that will cause smaller monsters to cycle nutrients around effectively and produce enough food to keep larger creatures happy while making sure that there are enough defenses ready to stop the eventual invaders.

Players can also upgrade each monster species between rounds. Players can dig a limited number of spaces each round; any leftover spaces can be saved up and spent between rounds to level up. These upgrades get expensive quickly, meaning players will need to save up over multiple rounds to unlock truly powerful monsters. As players become experienced with the game they will find their own strategies and preferred monsters to use and level up as they play.

By the Developer:

Badman is a small but clever title, focusing on strategy, puzzle rules and mechanics but constantly parodying various traditional RPG elements. The game itself is strategic and fairly fast-paced, keeping players on their toes as the dungeon increases in size and more powerful heroes constantly enter, but players are always focused on one task: digging away blocks to expand the dungeon. The game’s structure is, simply, unexpected. Rather than a lengthy RPG, Badman plays very quickly. Each game starts the player free to experiment with a fresh dungeon, challenging them to survive as many waves as possible. Challenge rounds – unlocked by reaching various checkmarks – offer more bite-sized chunks, offering quick puzzles for players to tackle.

An original soundtrack compliments the game’s “old school” visual style, and the game’s wisecracking demon-lord mascot helps drive home just how much of an RPG parody the game is. On a deeper level, the game also contains an environmentally friendly message, adding to the unexpected and enjoyable package that Badman really is.

Business Skills

Players have a limited number of times they can dig, indicated by a number in the corner of the screen. It is important to have some spaces left for an emergency, but at the same time, these points can be spent – in large quantities – to level up the various monster types. This aspect of the game gives players small rewards to work towards between rounds each time they play.

People Skills

Badman is a single-player game and does not focus on people skills. Players are able to design their own hero characters, and these can be sent to challenge the dungeons of other players, though two players never play together directly.

Problem Solving

The player’s only means of interacting with Badman is to use a pickaxe to destroy blocks of earth, creating a maze that grows into a dungeon. Depending on the condition of the blocks, this can have a number of effects. If a player destroys a block that contains nutrients, a slime will be released. These weak creatures are close to useless when it comes to defending from attacking heroes, but slimes are used to cycle nutrients throughout the dungeon. Slimes draw nutrients from blocks and carries them to others, allowing certain blocks to become more fertile. If a block contains enough nutrients, more powerful creatures are released that can be used to fend off invading heroes. Blocks filled with magic energy work similarly, though magic energy must be brought in from outside the dungeon; when an attacking hero lets loose a magic spell, for example, energy is released into the surrounding blocks.

Each creature moves in a specific pattern, and learning how each moves is key when designing a dungeon. A well-designed dungeon will contain paths that specifically allow slimes and magic creatures to circulate energy throughout the dungeon, and the sole challenge of the game is to master this constant balancing act. Players build on their dungeons after each wave of heroes, resulting often in extremely large and complex mazes by the end. Each round will also result in a different maze as nutrients are randomly distributed at the beginning, ensuring that each play comes out a little differently.

As players dig blocks they use up a limited amount of energy; additionally, if energy is leftover, players can spend it to upgrade their monsters into more powerful versions. Players who plan for this will find themselves having more success than those who don’t.

Besides the main game, special challenge stages have players working towards specific goals, like producing a specific number of creatures under a time limit, offering more challenges to tackle between rounds of the arcadey main game.

Simulation

Badman is not a simulation game.

Popularity

Badman has received mixed but generally positive reviews since its release, receiving criticism for its steep learning curve and unpredictable units while receiving praise for its quirky style and overall mechanical depth.

Extra Credit

Badman is meant in many ways as a metaphor for various environmental issues. A couple paragraphs in the front of the instruction manual explain that the heroes invading the natural mineral-rich dungeon environments are meant as a representation of humankind’s exploitation of the natural environment.

Controls & Options

Badman features standard audio options.

Tips

Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This? received a T from the ESRB with descriptors for Animated Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language and Mild Suggestive Themes.