Dungeon Crawlers

Anguna

Mon, 12 May 2008 21:02:59 GMT

In the Gameboy Advance homebrew scene, there's a recent release that's worth your time to check out. (If you don't have a GBA or Nintendo DS with the equipment to play homebrew, don't worry, you can play this in the VisualBoy Advance emulator.) The game is called Anguna, and it's basically an extremely polished mini-Zelda.

Although the game isn't a Roguelike, this is relevant to Dungeon Crawlers for several reasons. First, to point out that Zelda-type games are dungeon crawls too, and it actually is possible to create a randomly generated game that's replayable many times. By using a custom pseudorandom number generator, you can even number the different available games.

I'd also like to draw attention to the absolutely gorgeous pixel art. BYOND is a tile-based engine; games this beautiful should be a lot more common than they are. I've learned some techniques from the Pixel Art guild, and there's obviously still a lot to learn. Take a look at the nuances in the brickwork, including the occasional missing/crumbling section of brick. My favorite PC game ever had pixel art of this quality.

Playing through this game is a rewarding experience, and doesn't take all that long. (Gameplay is closer to 4-6 hours, vs. about 18-24 to get through Zelda.) It doesn't hold your hand or tell you what to do, just thrusts you into the thick of things with a simple, intuitive interface. It's worth seeing especially for the hope of getting your imagination going, which I think the scenery really does well.

Imagine a BYOND Roguelike looking this good. It's not only possible, it's well within BYOND's capabilities. I'm as much a fan of ASCII art as the next guy, but this is the kind of game, in terms of visuals and smart design choices, I'd like to see more of on BYOND.

YASD

Mon, 05 May 2008 17:36:00 GMT

               _______________________
              /                       \         ___
             /                         \ ___   /   \      ___
            /            RIP            \   \  :   :     /   \
           /                             \  : _;,,,;_    :   :
          /       Dungeon Crawlers        \,;_          _;,,,;_
         |                                 |   ___
         |           was killed            |  /   \
         |     on Monday, May 05, 2008     |  :   :
         |                                 | _;,,,;_   ____
         |               by                |          /    \
         |                                 |          :    :
         |      a lack of enthusiasm       |          :    :
         |                                 |         _;,,,,;_
         |                                 |
         |  Let's see some more activity!  |
         |                                 |
        *|   *     *     *    *   *     *  | *
________)/\\_)_/___(\/___(//_\)/_\//__\\(/_|_)_______

Hear ye, hear ye! By royal decree of His Majesty Lord Noodlebaum CXCVII, Defender of Puffy Pants and Disco, let it be known that all able-bodied men and women and youth and anthropomorphic whatevers (the latter being less encouraged than the formers) are requested to join His Majesty's Royally Awesome Dungeoneering Squadron of Combat Journalism for the princely sum of kudos and applause!

Dungeon Crawlers is not just a BYOND guild; we accept all forms of literature, including roguelike development articles, reviews of non-BYOND dungeon crawling games, and even just little handy concepts for you to include in your own BYOND dungeon crawler games. The goal is to make BYOND a place where anyone can go dungeon crawling with the best of them, but given the shortage of BYOND games of the genre, there's no sense in limiting our material.

If you have some activity in the roguelike or dungeon-crawling world to report, report it here!

Dungeon Generator 2.0

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:17:06 GMT

Here I am, back again with a new dungeon generator. This one is so much better than my other one. Here is an example of a dungeon generated by it. You'll notice that there are many loops, unlike the previous one.

You can set any of the following variables to change the dungeon created:

        list/room_weights = list(100)
        list/room_choices = list(/room/generic) // List of rooms to choose from when placing a room

        floor_type = /turf/dirt
        wall_type = /turf/earth

        linear = FALSE // if this is true, the dungeon has no loops and is completely linear

        room_count = 100 // how many rooms and passages to attempt to create
        room_try = 10 // how many times it should try and place a particular room
        min_room_size = 3 // minimum size of a room
        max_room_size = 5 // maximum size of a room
        room_satisfy = 10 // how many times to loop the generator in an attempt to generate room_count rooms/passages

        min_passage_length = 12 // min/max passage length
        max_passage_length = 24

        erosion_probability = 25 // percent of walls to erode (off in the above example)
        erosion_iterations = 0

        loop_probability = 7 // probability of creating a loop
        loop_randomness = 30 // randomness of the loop (high percentages cause the loop to wind all around

I may very well release the source to this. ;)

7DRL Challenge 2008

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:44:12 GMT

This challenge has been on Temple of the Roguelike for a while now, but I thought I'd mention it here.

What is a 7DRL?

A Seven Day Roguelike is a roguelike created in seven days. This means the author stopped developing it 168 hours after starting.

The idea behind 7DRLs is forcing developers to finish a showable product instead of adding features endlessly to their grandiose, never to be released projects, a common pattern in the roguelike development world.

Incidentally, they are also useful as a way to test new ideas as non-traditional, experimental, scrapable roguelikes, thus allowing the genre to expand beyond its barriers.

Further details can be found on the site, but what may interest BYOND fans is this rule:

You CAN use external libraries, game engines, pre-existing generic code/algorithms, pre-existing generic art, etc. You can even start your game from an existing game, if you are willing to turn it out into something unique, you must however say what resources were reused.

My dungeon generator.

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:10:55 GMT

Well, the first draft of my first attempt at dungeon generation is done.

For an example, see http://www.tibbius.com/users/koil/dungeon.txt

Each dungeon is handled by a /dungeon datum, and each feature (such as corridor, a circular room, a square room, etc) is handled by a /feature datum. The /dungeon holds all of it's /features, and each /feature has a parent variable linking it to the /feature it was connected to. So you could take any point in the dungeon, and trace back to the center.

However, I'm not very happy with it. You see that there are plenty of dead ends, which I don't like that much. It's also a bit slow, and it doesn't make very good loops. Therefore, I am going to write another one that will hopefully be much better.

I'll post about it when I finish. ;)

Simugraph Wiki

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:07:33 GMT

The link on the right side mentions the Simugraph Roguelike Development Library. However, when I shared that link, I didn't share the link to the actual home page of the Simugraph library. When I checked it out a week ago, however, I discovered something new:

http://www.simugraph.com/h-world/pmwiki/pmwiki.php

Not only is it a Wiki (although you'll have to contact Hansj�rg for a password to be able to edit, due to severe spam), but it also has much, much, much more content than the old Simugraph library did.

Read and enjoy!

Intact, and fun

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:10:56 GMT

It's been a crazy month, so forgive my absence from posting more to the story for a while (well, if anyone cared). I got to thinking earlier though about a game, and how here I put in this new review system but haven't actually used it yet. It's time to do so. Incidentally, all guild members of the rank Rogue or above (that's pretty much everyone) can now submit a post to the blog pending approval by higher ranks. I'll start checking that more frequently, so if you want to contribute to the guild but you're not a Shopkeeper or Dungeon Master, feel free to put in a post for review.

Without further ado:

Ruin by Jp

Currently Ruin is probably the closest game in the guild to an actual Roguelike. Hopefully that'll change in the future, but until then, Ruin is true to its origins and lots of fun.

Graphics: Ruin is isometric, although you can play with that mode turned off and view it overhead. Visually that's pretty appealing. On the down side, the graphics are fairly minimalist. That could be intentional, since the game itself has a minimalist flair, but more detailed art would look better. My main issue though is just that some of the figures and most objects are too hard to see. Bigger and meatier would improve things here.

Interface: Movement in Ruin is easy enough, and it's not hard to use items found in the dungeon. I'm not overly fond of the use of a standard popup for verbs like Get, though, especially when the object to get is obvious. Attacking is usually a matter of bumping into enemies, but weapons like the quarterstaff demand you click on a target in order to use it from 2 tiles away. The game's reliance on statpanels makes it a good idea to edit the skin for this game (if playing in BYOND 4.0) and make the statpanel a lot bigger, with a smaller font. Character creation is the weakest link in the entire interface, though.

Gameplay: Health and magic regeneration seem to be pretty well balanced. Having different types of damage (piercing, slashing, bludgeoning, magic) is quite interesting; I'd like to know if it comes into play more in later levels. The set of commands is simpler than in most Roguelikes, although I've always preferred an even simpler control set. Monsters are adequately tough, and like any good Roguelike it's hard to get too far down without a meaningless horrible death. The lack of a food/hunger system is a refreshing plus for me; I don't object to those but a break from them is nice. I don't like the rolling system for character creation, which mostly encourages me to kill off badly-rolled characters early and reroll, but it's definitely easier than trying to decide exactly how to allocate N points from a pool.

Depth: It's hard to comment on this because I haven't seen how far down it goes. Creature variety seems to be decent, but more would be better. Item variety is less so; Rogue is the winner hands down in that category. However a nice feature is that occasionally you may find a magic weapon or magic armor; these are very uncommon but not rare. A map generation routine that would connect branches would be nice too, since right now everything branches off from just one room.

Overall, Ruin is fun to play and challenging. In some ways it plays more like a Roguelike first draft than a complete game, but adding more components (more spells, weapons, armor, monsters) would eliminate most of that problem. In its current form it's a game that's well worth your time.

Storytelling, part two

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 01:18:37 GMT

Allixan hesitantly untied the string around the precious bundle, and gently pulled down the sides of the sack. Within, a wide array of tightly-corked potions had settled to the bottom. Floating on top were a bundle of wands, a glassy orb the size of an orange that emitted a weak blue light, a handful of loose scrolls, and a wooden ring holding not keys but coin-like spell tokens. In the midst of all was an ornately carved obsidian box, inlaid with fine silver.

"Interesting," said Janum, glancing quickly over the items. He pointed at the box. "That's a guild relic of some kind, I take it."

"Nul Fenestra, the Window on the Void," Allixan said. Her voice was unsteady. "It is one half of a pair. The other was taken by the Corvatis assault. What one sees, the other shows. Vapors and spells pass through."

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage there. I thought my history was pretty good, but I've never heard of anyone named Corvatis."

Sam spoke before the others. "Corvatis was a wizard high up in the guild, tow centuries ago. He had family in Ilyenis, until they were killed by one of the early goblin raids. He gathered up four other wizards of like mind, and went into the ruins to cleave a path of bloodshed right into the heart of goblindom. The guild followed his progress for some time through the Window, which is how they learned that the assault killed the goblin king. But as they were headed home, the wizards suddenly vanished. The next time the guild checked in, no one answered."

"The goblins tried to use the other Window against us," said Allixan, "but the guild sent through powerful spells and curses until the goblins decided it was too dangerous to keep. Since then, it has been sitting in a treasure vault."

Nicoletta seemed curious but he didn't seem to want to hear more about the Window yet. He turned to Patchell. "What does any of this have to do with your father?"

"He was the last keeper of a secret that would turn the entire city on its head if it was known, a last check against the city council if they should ever get out of control. The warriors' guild has kept it, and passed it on, for generations. But the city council has been gaining more and more control over the guild since before I was born. Any man who bucks the council risks losing his livelihood."

"Surely your father told you the secret. So let it out. Problem solved."

"He has no proof," said Sam. "And any proof the guild kept for itself has since been destroyed."

"My dad," Patchell said, "kept the council at bay by convincing them he had a copy of the evidence hidden, and people who would use it if he died untimely. The council panicked when he was killed--even though it was an accident--so they made up a story that he was heavily in debt, and a thief, and used that to get at everyone he knew. They were convinced he told me where he kept the proof. I was kicked out of the guild, and in nine days my mother and sisters will be kicked out of their home. They say all will be forgiven if I give them what they want."

"That doesn't explain how these two are involved," said Nicoletta.

"Our families were always close," said Allixan. "My family and Sam's are facing the same pressure. But Patchell doesn't have any such proof. The only place to find it is in the ruins, somewhere in the heart of the goblins' domain."

Nicoletta put his hand to his bearded chin and looked down. The firelight splashed across his forehead as if to mirror his contemplation. The visitors couldn't read his expression, what he might be thinking. At least a minute passed before he spoke. "I wonder," he said, "what kind of secret would involve both city elders and goblins." He glanced at Patchell but the muscular young man didn't change his expression in the slightest. Unperturbed by the silence, he continued. "I assume this relic of yours is meant to guide you to the right place. But if you plan to follow the path of this Corvatis fellow, you're woefully unprepared--unless you mean to follow him to his death."

"That's why we need you to train us," said Sam. "A quick course in what we'll need to survive as long as we can. Even if only one of us makes it out alive, we can bring down the council and save our families and friends."

"I might have... what, a day at most to train you? A man can learn much in a few hours but men have studied the ruins for their entire lives only to be swallowed by them. And unless I guess wrong, that Window of yours is stolen. As you said, Ilyenis won't be the first your guild looks for you, but a guild can send as many hired men as they like, in every direction."

"Then I was right," said Patchell. "We need a guide, not a teacher. You're not a guide. I'm sorry to have wasted your time and interrupted your rest." He bowed to his host. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Nicoletta."

Janum held up a hand. "I didn't say I wouldn't help you. At least I can supply you with food and some torches, and weapons if you need them. Stay here for the night, and I'll have them ready for you in the morning."

The three friends were quick to give many thanks for his offer, if only for the chance to stay out of the rain. Even a token gesture was better than nothing.

* * *
Dawn came sluggishly under a sky half-covered in the tattered laggards of the storm. A thick mist lay about the counryside. Patchell awoke suddenly and, looking out an upstairs window, saw the weak sunlight filtered through a streamer of cloud. A pounding noise had roused him, but before he could ponder it he heard the door open downstairs. A man with a deep, loud voice accosted the guard at the door, whose answers were harder to hear.

"...looking for some fugitives. Two men and a woman. No, younger. The girl has long red hair; she's a wizard. Very dangerous. One of the men wears spectacles. ...That's none of your concern! Where is your master? ...Journey where? ...Very well, then. If you see these people, send word to the magistrate in the village. Good day."

Patchell quickly shook Allixan and Sam awake. "We have to go," he said. "They're already here."

He looked up at the doorway, and was surprised to see it had already opened silently. Janum Nicoletta stood there in full travel gear, with mail on his chest, iron greaves and vambraces, and sturdy leather boots. He bore a sword and shield, both girt at his side, and was still buckling his pack around him.

"Ready yourselves quickly," he said. "You don't have much time. The gate may already be watched. I'll go as far as the gate and see you safely off, if I can."

"Thank you," said Sam, "but why? You've gone to enough trouble on our account."

"If I didn't go to a little more, you wouldn't survive long enough for the ruins to kill you."

20 difficult games

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 13:42:15 GMT

Over at Gamasutra (hat tip to Dubious Quality) there's a feature on 20 difficult games and what they can teach us in terms of game design. Check out page 10 to see #18 on the list.

Storytelling, part one

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 22:31:13 GMT

A book I've been reading suggests using storytelling as a more effective means of communication in some cases than mere discussion. I got to thinking, that might be helpful for jump-starting some inspiration. So this is the first experimental entry in that vein.

I've decided to go about this as a serial story, partly because it'll force me to build the plot as I go along, and partly because I don't have any more to it yet. Comments are welcome.

The scent of the wet, early-fallen leaves was sharp all about them, and the rain unrelenting, but when dawn finally came it would have washed away any trace of the three friends' tracks. Those who would pursue them didn't know yet that they were gone; come morning they would begin the hunt. Patchell had led them west as best he could in the starless dark with his keen sense of direction.

Of the three, Allixan was the only one somewhat dry, using low-powered magic to ward off the downpour that beaded up and slid away around her. The spell was for more than her own benefit; it protected the sack she carried and the contents within. Yet the rain shield could only keep her top half dry. The wild grass, tall and full after a long summer, soaked everything from her waist down.

Sam was the rearguard, a perfect choice because the young scholar kept looking behind himself nervously, as he always had since the others had known him. His glasses were tucked away in his cloak, useless as they were in the dark and rain. He was sharp-eared and would hear any threat before anyone could see it.

A flash of lightning outlined more trees to either side against the sky, but ahead was a wide field. In the midst of that was an immodest house, not grotesquely large but too big for the village. "We're here," said Patchell. "I told you we were close."

"We're not 'here' till we're there," said Sam dourly. "Lots of ground still to cover."

"But better ground," Alli said with relief. The tall grass gave way sharply to neatly mown grass, not tilled earth as a stranger might have expected. The hilly field was kept for looks, not crops.

The last few minutes before they reached the front door seemed like an hour. An arched portico jutted out from the door, keeping the rain at bay at last. Sam's glasses reappeared on his face before the others were even aware. Patchell clasped the knocker and pounded it three times.

"You're sure he'll help us?" he said to Sam.

"Him or no one," Sam shrugged. He seemed small and thin in the weak light from Patchell's lantern, but he was actually quite muscular, and quicker than he was strong. "He's been known to help others. Why not us?"

Allixan lifted the sack. "Because my guild will be looking for us in about three hours," she said.

"Mine too, maybe," said Sam, but halfheartedly. The loss of a few books no one had even catalogued in years was unlikely to raise their ire.

The sliding window in the door opened sooner than they expected. A man's eyes looked out into the darkness. "State your business," he said gruffly.

"We've come to see Mr. Nicoletta," said Patchell.

"No kidding. Why at this hour?"

"That's between us and him. We wouldn't come here in this weather if it wasn't important. Will he receive us?"

The guard looked them over carefully, but quickly seemed to decide they were no threat. The window closed and they heard the scrape of a bar lifting. When the door opened a golden orange light streamed out. The guard's silhouette gestured for them to enter and turn left. As the travelers crossed the threshold they saw a warm hall with a wide hearth. A slender servant woman took their cloaks and bade them leave their wet boots by the door. The guard locked up behind and shuffled past them. "Wait here," he said, and disappeared around a bend. The woman walked away as well, leaving them alone.

Sam was the first to take a seat in the hall, in one of Mr. Nicoletta's large fur-covered chairs, where he could warm himself by the fire. The others followed, but Patchell didn't sit. "I'm uneasy about all of this," he said.

"They'll never look for us here," said Allixan. She straightened her robes uncounsciously.

"Ilyenis probably isn't the first place they'll look, but if they catch wind of our plan they'll put a guard on the gate. The longer we spend preparing for this journey, the less likely we'll ever get to start off. We don't have time for a teacher. We need a guide."

"Then I'm sorry to disappoint you," said a new voice behind him. The friends all turned to face him. Janum Nicoletta was an imposing figure though not tall: battle-hardened, bearded, and stern of glance even having come from a dead sleep. His forties wore well on him. His dark red hair had only barely gone to gray; his face was more chiseled than lined. "I teach willing students, but I am no guide." He sized up his visitors with a glance. "From the city, I see. And a curious mix of guilds. You must be old friends. But you're all young, barely started in your advanced studies from the looks of it. If you came to me for advice, this is my best: Go back to your books, learn more while you can. Time will change your mind about the ruins."

"How do you know where we're going?" said Patchell.

"You came to see me, didn't you?" He turned to Allixan. "I've seen young students make the same mistake before. They learn just enough to think they can take on anything, and death proves them wrong. How old are you? Seventeen?"

"Eighteen. We all are."

"I'm amazed you even sought me out, then. Clearly you know everything you'll ever need."

"Going back isn't an option," said Sam. "We're going in. At this point we have to. But your help could make all the difference down there. Will you help us?"

Again Nicoletta faced Allixan. "The elder kingdom is no place to test your worth. Older Wizards may stand the best chance down there, but only because they're experienced and full of tricks. These two might help a little, but you're no match for some of the spellcasters you'd meet in the ruins."

Patchell bristled. "This was my idea," he said.

"Really," said Nicoletta in deadpan. "Usually they put the smart one in charge. You've been a fighter for what, five years? Just past your early levels?"

"I earned the top score in my exams," said Patchell. "I'm two years into advanced combat training. I'm no simpleton."

"Never said you were, boy. Look at me. Think I got this physique tending market? But you're no more a wizard than I am. I've never, ever, seen a party with a wizard who wasn't their leader."

"Times change."

"You are young. But I think I like you." Nicoletta gestured Patchell to a seat and took one himself. "Tell me why it's so important for you to visit the ruins, and why so quickly."

Patchell couldn't seem to get comfortable in his seat. "My father is dead," he said.

"And you hasten to join him," Janum said. "Why bring them along? What are your names, by the way?"

"Patchell Sharp, Allixan of Miller's End, Sam Redd."

Sam spoke up next. "We need something we can only find in the ruins. You're the only one we know of who could teach us how to get it safely."

"Safely?" the retired adventurer snorted. "You may cut your risk if you keep your wits about you, but don't ever think you can be safe. The elder kingdom may have been safe--ish--when it was inhabited by men, but those days are long gone. What's in there worth risking your lives over?"

Patchell's eyes flicked to Allixan, then to the sack. She cocked her head in a questioning pose. Sam looked between the two. "Show him," said Patchell.