Showing posts with label process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label process. Show all posts

Friday, February 3, 2023

Entering the dungeon for real. Honest. Yeah, I mean it.

J

anuary is now in the rearview mirror, and I survived the first month of #Dungeon23 is over. Truth be told, I did not accomplish as much as I hoped I would. I immediately blew up what I had done within the first week of January, so much of the work went to waste. However, this did have an upside. It allowed me to rethink what I wanted, leading to a shift in focus for my first level. So what did I accomplish? Here is the rundown.

  • A new plot sets the overall theme of the project.
  • The creation of a keep that serves a few roles.
    • The base for a group of bandits plaguing the area.
    • A mystery that links to what lies below.
    • A piece of plot that will have ramifications for the plot.
    • An entry point into the dungeon.
  • Creating the village Elias' Spring which serves a few roles.
    • Homebase for the player's characters.
    • A location for the various groups to have agents hidden in.
  • Developing four major factions that will play essential roles in the plot.
  • A rough idea, at least for me, of the area outside Elias' Spring and the dungeon.

Looking at the list, I realize I have accomplished a lot. Although, at the time, it did not seem that way.

Now that I am three days into February, I have entered the dungeon. As shown in the picture, I have mapped out the first 10 rooms. Yes, I know, there are a lot of empty ones. Why? One of the stumbling blocks in creating a dungeon is trying to fill every room with something. This leads to a menagerie. Every room has something that does not fit the dungeon's theme. That is why when I design a dungeon--ok, it has been ages since I have done this--I always leave rooms empty. I do this so I have spots I can fill on the fly. Numbered spaces, for me, become set encounters, and these encounters trigger when the characters enter them. My empty rooms come into play when the players need a jolt or if I get struck with inspiration. I will create a table allowing the empty rooms to be randomly filled with something fitting that level's theme.

What happens when I reach February 12? The round room to the left of Room 10 has a set of stairs that takes you down a few feet into the rest of level 2. Yes, level 2 drops down a few feet and then continues. Why? I do not know yet; the idea came to me. When I get to 2/12 and 2/13, I will figure it out.


Friday, January 20, 2023

A new direction leads to a better dungeon

L

 ast week, I wrote about how I blew up my progress and restarted my work. It was a decision I did not take lightly. Honestly, it was something I did not want to do. However, the more I worked on the dungeon, the more I truly hated what I was creating. So I pulled the trigger and blew the whole thing up.

picture of this week's journal pages

While standing in the ruins, I rethought the whole thing and worked out the project's overall theme. Then, with the theme in mind, the background came into focus. To be honest, I had a rough idea of what the background is. After all, the title of this project is The Temple of the Lost Flameso it gives you an idea of what we are in for.

Once all of the rethinking was over, everything clicked, and the work was fun and on track. The first thing I created was a small keep that served as a base for a group of bandits. These bandits have no clue what lies below them. In addition, one of the rooms in the keep is only accessed via a room in the lower levels of the dungeons. This has been part of my plans since the start, and I have now made it better.

Over the next few days, my next task will be fleshing out the small village of Elias' Spring. This village is going to serve two purposes. The first is the most obvious. It will be a home base for the players while they explore and deal with the threat the dungeon is. The second purpose is how it ties into my overall plot. 

Sure, a home base is essential, but equally important is having locations outside of the dungeon that serves the plot. For example, the village will have people spying on things for those working on their nefarious plot. In addition, there are bandits in the area, and a town is a crucial tie-in.

The last thing on my list is a rough map of the general area. This will help me figure out critical locations outside the dungeon that serves as other ways in and out. Also, I need a general idea of the surrounding area for the bandits to work.

So why is there no dungeon level this month? There is.

I have always considered the area outside of the dungeon as being Level 1. It is here that the players get the feel of things. Think of it as their warmup for the main event. Once the 1st level is "done," the players are ready to descend into the danger below.

Looking at where things stand now, everything above ground will be finished by the end of the month. Then I can deal with the fun stuff.

That is where we are this week. Next week might have a few posts dealing with other topics.

Friday, January 6, 2023

Blowing it up

I

 follow one important rule when it comes to games I design.  That rule is simple and has  served me to great effect over the years. The origin of this rule dates back to the time I was  freelancing. I was working on a project -- which got killed due to the company going under -- that was sucking the joy out of my soul. Every word was a chore. Every sentence felt like I was pulling teeth. The draft sucked. I rewrote the draft five times, and I hated every word. To say I was miserable is an understatement. 

Cut to a few years later, and I found myself in a job I never thought I would have. I was working with a historic property. One of the founding fathers called me all day to discuss game design. I loved this job, but the job was built on a shaky foundation. No matter how much I loved the property, I did not love working on it. In the aftermath of this, Rogue Games was born. 

In setting up the company, two rules were created. These rules guide everything; no matter what I write, these rules are always there. What are these rules?

1. Our hobby fuels the hobby of others.

2. The setting defines the rules; the rules do not define the setting.

 The first rule is critical. If I am not having fun with what I am working on, those who play the final product will not have fun either. Of course, some laugh at me when I talk about fun, but fun is the key.

I mention all this to tell you I hate what I have created. Yes, hate is a strong word, but as I look over what I have done over the past five days, I genuinely do not like what I see. The dungeon is just a collection of rooms, and nothing is inspiring about them. The map is insipid and has no character. 

Now, I could push on. I might find the plot and have a better dungeon. Yet, I won't. Why I am not having any fun. This really bothered me all day yesterday and made my bad mood worse. But, while reading Multi-Field Inflation from String Theory by Per Berglund and Guoqin Ren, everything cleared.

I found the dungeon. I found the hook. I found the fun.

So as of today, I have started over. A ruined castle. It is from here that everything begins. With this new outlook and starting place, the dungeon is now fun.

So today's entry begins the new outlook. From here on out, my path is clear.

Fun is important. 

Friday, December 30, 2022

Preplanning this whole damn thing

 Going into this, I will take my approach to this seriously. 

What do I mean?

I am not planning ahead regarding the number of rooms per level. Nor am I preplanning what certain rooms will be.

I am treating this as I do with everything I design. First, write a few bullet points of what I want, and then from there, I start writing. I also write a To-Do list to list things I want to cover or add. This To-Do list grows over time as more ideas come to me.

Another thing I do is create lists. These lists encompass persons, places, and things. Every time a name comes to me, I write it down. The same for locations magic items. I create lists for spell ideas, poisons, monsters, traps, and encounters. All this helps create content because I look at the lists if I need help.

The last thing I do is come up with an elevator pitch. This is crucial; in everything I design, this is the first thing I do. Why is this crucial? It keeps me focused, and if what I create does not match this pitch, I scrap it.

Here is the elevator pitch for The Temple of the Lost Flame:

Hidden within the flames is an evil long forgotten. The gate soon shall be open, and the fire of retribution will return.

Admittedly the rise is weak, but it is enough to keep me focused.

Building from this is what the dungeon is going to be like. I know lava is going to play a prominent role. This will be the home of the forgotten evil. I also see the truth of the dungeon will only be known as the players explore. Further, people must learn what lies below in the first two levels.

As for structure, I have one idea that I want to work into my creation: sub-levels. Why? It allows for movement up and down, allowing players to access regions they cannot access liner. Case in point Level 2A is only accessible via stairs from Level 5. Likewise, Level 10A is only accessible via a portal found on Level 1. I like this because it takes the maze concept of dungeons and forces them vertically and horizontally. As a result, it allows for a more exciting flow and limits the sprawling nature that megadungeons tend to have. 

The other benefit of this is it will keep me engaged,

Finally, the last thing on my To-Do List is creating a location where the dungeon is based. I want a village that serves as a home base. I also want to set this in a larger region that offers more adventure hooks. Why? Because I love creating. I also recognize that I will need a break from creating this dungeon for 365 days. I want to work on both the outside and inside. 

In the end, this preplanning will make my spontaneous creation easier but enjoyable.