Dev Log # 6 Demo Construction Part 1
The next thing I want to do for this year is start to work on construction for what will be the demo of the game whenever it goes on Kickstarter.
This means I need to write a script(done, but will probably talk about this in a later Dev log), design levels, and block levels using prototype assets.
I spent time working on the later two things this month.
There's a concept in DND called the 5 Room Dungeon that is a dungeon philosophy for each room or area of a typical DND dungeon. It goes like this:
Guardian/Entrance - The thing guarding the dungeon from you or other people in this world
Puzzle/Roleplaying Challenge - Exactly what it sounds like
Trick or Setback - Something that impedes progress that is unexpected
Climax, Big Battle, or Conflict - The biggest fight in the dungeon/boss
Reward, Revelation, or Twist - The resolution to the dungeon in one way or another
And these can go in different orders. Based on how it serves the level.
Obviously, this isn't game structure. So with this in mind I was curious as to how it could imply to video games, specifically to Golden Sun which is one of this games inspirations. So I looked at the very first dungeon(using this video).
Using that structure, it obviously lent itself pretty well to that structure which I found interesting.
The main difference is that the setback, usually, isn't one room. Its a series of rooms or puzzles that make up the whole area. Thats how games usually treat it.
With that in mind, I started designing and thinking about my own with this stuff in mind.
Excuse my scribbles, but this is what I got for the first area the player will explore when the game starts. It immediately teaches them a later mechanic(hopping on rubble/pillars). The central object on the pyramid is a story point, after which, you leave the same way you came in
This second room has a jump puzzle with optional routes. 1 route leads you to the next area and the other route leads you to a treasure chest, incentivizing the player to explorer and go off the beaten path.
The room to proceed has a big gap that can only be crossed after the player learns the ability to create bridges out light, after a brief cut scene and tutorial.
The goal is to try and get both of these(and hopefully more levels) done by the next months update. I started blocking the entrance and it looks like this.
I'll show off more designs and implementations next month. Thanks for reading !