The Problem With Doors
Last week I said I was going to work on the concept of difficulty. I wound up spending an awful lot of time reading and performing other research, and comparatively little time writing about it. Not...
View ArticleThe Problem With Secrets
I’m looking at dungeons like they were video game levels. Secrets are an important part of dungeon exploration. I’ve done a lot of research on level design in video games, and I’m applying what I’ve...
View ArticleThe Cost of Searching
As if there weren’t enough problems associated with including doors and secrets in a dungeon — once the primary threat of a dungeon has been eliminated, the players can plumb its depths with impunity....
View ArticleNo Level One Monsters
This is a new solution to an ongoing problem. Years ago, I started developing “scope” as a form of quadratic development to complement linear character advancement. That’s when I came up with the...
View ArticleNever Just A Cave
If you’re going to use a natural cave as a dungeon setting, don’t let it be “just another cave.” Don’t make yet another featureless, gray-stone cavern. Do some research! Make it exciting! Make it...
View ArticleClasses of Dungeons
I liked Dungeonscape. For some reason, I never hear anyone reference the book unless they’re talking about the Factotum class. As cool as the Factotum is, there’s some good stuff in this book. But...
View ArticleLeveling the Dungeon
Not to be confused with destroying the dungeon. I rather enjoy the Goliath-leveling mechanic in Borderlands 2. Among other things, it gives you something to amuse yourself — altering the objectives of...
View ArticleThe Finger Quotes Dungeon
I’ve been working on this for a while and need some space to get ideas out. Way back when I talked about the simplicity and elegance of level design in platform-based video games, I made overtures...
View ArticleEvery Dungeon is Level One
This is almost a direct reversal of some statements I’ve made in the past. I had this neat mechanic I was working on to determine the level of a dungeon randomly during generation which I tried to make...
View ArticleKeeping Up the Dungeons
Thank goodness I found something to drag me away from Borderlands 2. It’s hard sometimes to just “up and play” older games, but with a little bit of nudging from a couple different places — and yet...
View ArticleMan What I Don’t Even
I want to have a discussion about dungeons and goals and level design. No one is around so I will have to start this conversation with myself. Self, you have talked about how important it is for a...
View ArticleFebruary State of Dungeons
It’s been a long time since I had anything comprehensive (or coherent) to say on the progress of my game system, so let’s put some things out there. I previously touched on character generation — which...
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FreeMap: Green Dungeon
“Green Dungeon” As an homage to Dyson’s Delves (which served as inspiration for this project), maps will be filed under the category, “Dither’s Delves.” Due to some unforeseen (though entirely...
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FreeMap Wednesday
“Mossy Dungeon” As an homage to Dyson’s Delves (which served as inspiration for this project), maps will be filed under the category, “Dither’s Delves.” Here is this week’s free RM map, “Mossy...
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Freemap Wednesday
“Dirtwater” As an homage to Dyson’s Delves (which served as inspiration for this project), maps will be filed under the category, “Dither’s Delves.” Here is this week’s free RM map, “Dirtwater.” I know...
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FreeMap Friday
“Glimmertomb” As an homage to Dyson’s Delves (which served as inspiration for this project), maps will be filed under the category, “Dither’s Delves.” Here is this week’s free RM map, “Glimmertomb.”...
View ArticleYou Find Yourself in a Room
I didn’t play this game. I watched my wife play it over her shoulder. You Find Yourself in a Room This isn’t so much about the game but a tangent that arose from thinking about watching someone else...
View ArticleOne-Page Random Dungeons
I made a single-page version of 5e’s dungeon tables. PDF Download: 5e_random_dungeons I find it intensely frustrating to reference multiple pages of one document while performing any procedure —...
View ArticleDungeon Scores (Third Attempt)
At least, I think this is my third attempt. Over the weekend, I tried to quantify my previous failures to cookiemonger, and I think I had better start there. When I set out to design a system for...
View ArticleTreasure as a (K) Constant
Since my second dungeon generator, I’ve regarded treasure as a constant. The idea was present during my development of the original dungeon generator, but I hadn’t fully embraced it. Treasure must be a...
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