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Dungeon Obstacles, what inspires you?


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#1 Demonlink

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Posted 10 November 2017 - 08:41 PM

Be it traps, puzzles... any kind of dungeon gimmick. This is somewhat the area where I lack creativity on, (especially mentioned by NJF :P ). So, Link goes to a random room in a dungeon, and there's an obstacle, be it a locked door, shutter door. This leads to something needing to be done, be it in the same room or in another one.

 

How do you guys get inspired into creating these dungeon obstacles, in such a manner that neither it gets repetitive, nor is it completely obvious, like a simple push block puzzle. Or a room full of spikes and traps. :P Still, I believe it's possible to create good puzzles/traps without the need of scripting, because I don't want to depend too much on it.

 

How is it that you fellow quest makers get this done!? Thanks for any replay. :) 


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#2 Architect Abdiel

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Posted 10 November 2017 - 10:05 PM

I take inspiration from other things. Generally other works of fiction for gimmicks. And instead of basing the dungeon a gameplay gimmick, I base a gameplay gimmick on an inspirational gimmick.
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#3 Shane

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Posted 10 November 2017 - 10:25 PM

I try to introduce a simple concept, perhaps as a core mechanic of the dungeon, and when I reintroduce it, I make it slightly harder, perhaps bring another side to this concept. Like for example, I introduce a burning physics for grass, then I add a situation where burning the grass requires a bit more thought, then maybe have the dungeon item require solving the next variation and so on. Perhaps I will even have the concept work against you like in a situation where you don't want to burn the grass but there are fire enemies that pose a huge risk. The idea of taking a mechanic and running with it inspires me to make a dungeon out of it.

 

So tl;dr, you'd want to introduce a concept easing the player in and then by the end of it create something challenging out of it. Perhaps even combine two concepts you've introduced early on...

 

I also like to feel a good flow for a dungeon, it gets me excited. I try to avoid being symmetrical and predictable with my shapes to enforce a more complex feel, but it's not forbidden to have a symmetrical map... I just have a habit of mirroring the layout a little and that can be somewhat boring after just once.


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#4 Avaro

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Posted 12 November 2017 - 12:16 PM

I definetly feel you on this problem. When I take a break from a project its often times because I ran out of ideas for rooms.

 

I get inspired by official zelda games, and peoples quests and other games. While you shouldn't overdo these, one particular obstacle that always works is a kill all enemies room. You can have multiple of these in a dungeon, and the selection of enemies, room layout and maybe even other obstacles combined can make each of these different enough. Once you have a good idea, you can try to recycle it in interesting ways too. What Shane said. I also think dungeons should typically have a dungeon item, so a lot of obstacles can make use of the dungeon item in every way possible.


Edited by Avataro, 12 November 2017 - 12:17 PM.

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#5 Demonlink

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Posted 29 November 2017 - 02:29 PM

Sheesh, I lost track of this forum, apologies for that. Thanks for the tips everyone! I've been doing a few quick runs on quests I've beaten. Taking a stroll down the dungeons kinda gave me an idea of what exactly is it, that makes them interesting...

 

Still, thanks for sharing your thoughts! :D


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#6 Shane

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Posted 29 November 2017 - 02:35 PM

No worries, good luck with your dungeons! From what I've seen they look rather nice. :)


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