Behind the Code: How One Developer is Building a Living, Breathing RPG Engine From Scratch
PRESS RELEASE – July 8, 2025 – Knights of Frontier Valley, the challenging, deeply immersive roguelike RPG, isn’t just a love letter to the golden age of role-playing games – it’s a feat of solo development.
In a brand-new developer blog, creator Martin Menzel reveals how he spent years building his own custom engine to bring the Valley to life – including low-level plumbing work like memory management and rendering, but also features like pathfinding, adaptive game time, weather modeling, and much more.
It’s not your average behind-the-scenes post. Explaining in great detail how characters act and travel in an ever-changing world – whether you’re watching them or not, this devlog pulls back the curtain and shares the developer’s journey to make the custom engine in a way that requires no tech skills to understand.
If you’ve ever wondered how an RPG simulates hundreds of independent lives at once—or if you just enjoy watching a passionate dev go full wizard mode – this one’s for you.
“There are easier ways to make a game,” Martin said in a press release, “but I wanted full code control to build my vision from the ground up, no shortcuts.”
About Knights of Frontier Valley
Knights of Frontier Valley is a procedurally generated, turn-based RPG that drops players into the boots of an adventurer in a richly simulated world. From seasonal weather and shifting faction politics to hunger, sickness, and survival mechanics, it blends classic CRPG nostalgia with dynamic systems and tough decisions. Built on a fully custom engine crafted by a solo developer over years, every element serves one goal: immersion that feels alive.
Key Features
Procedurally generated world: new maps, items, and storylines every run.
Gridless, turn-based tactical combat -or instant auto-resolve.
Deep survival systems (hunger, exhaustion, cold, wounds, and more).
Hand-drawn art – no generative AI used.
Hundreds of persistent NPCs with their own behaviors and routines.
Realistic seasons, day/night cycles, and dynamic weather.
Built on a completely custom engine designed by a single developer.
About MicroProse
MicroProse, founded in 1982, is a world-famous simulation software company known for developing groundbreaking classics and new blockbuster titles such as Falcon, HighFleet, B-17 The Mighty Eighth, Ground Branch, Gunship and many more! Today, MicroProse is not only remaking select classics from its past but also paving the road to next-generation, state of the art games that will create the memories and experiences of new generations of gamers.
