I will choose the 2th.
Maze is necessary, but I need a map which tells me the right way

I personally dont like large dungeons but short ones with lots of monsters to fight and loot to find are good.

Usually there is a progression to games, whereby you start as brainless twits going into dungeons for adventure and excitement. Then you end up with someone sending you off to get something from a dungeon for them, eventually the game switches over to overland mode, as you start getting caught up in the intrigues of the land and eventually going back to a final dungeon crawl to find the ultimate bad guy (usually either the guy who sent you out earlier or some guy that you''ve been working for all along who has been duping you into doing his evil deeds for him, unbeknownst to you).

You can do it however you want though, everyone likes variety, so mix it up a little, but try to avoid predictable patterns or unoriginality.

Dungeons are a must. Obviously, you don''t want to have to be in a dungeon 24x7, but it''s one of those essential elements that can be easily exploited.

Make dungeons that don''t suck, that is the only advice I can truly give ( short or deep/delving ).


.zfod

if its a large dungeon, the questions are:

can the fights be avoided if wanted?
how far is the exit from the entrace?

the idea is to balance the players fear and ambition. Can they continue almost dead for just a few more rooms and possibly get out, or should they try and run back to the entrance. I remeber in FF1 how this was, and running all the way back was very annoying, but that fear makes for great gameplay.

Large dungeons in my opinion should have various side paths, no dead ends. A dead end is a wrong turn taken that results in nothing but wasted time for the player. Any side "potential wrong turn" should include some form of reward. Eventually this may encourage players to explore... thought they may die doing so.

Small dungeons should be very goal or scene oriented. That is a kobold den should be just that, a few small rooms with the same amout of creatures and very different texturing/environmental setting.

Any dungeon should allow for a mapping system showing the rooms revealed etc.

I dont like dungeons personally, mainly because most of them dont play like the above, its just a large area with alot of monsters to kill and a long way back to the rest of the game.


If the story requires a large dungeon then one should be used, but with the above goal. To make the players greed want them to explore, to make the players ambiton want to make them get to the end, and to make their fear of not being able to make it through (the dungeon is hard and has worn down their potions/life etc and they might not make it all the way) cause them to question many times weather they should turn back (or could they make it back out alive in the first place and should thus struggle on).


just my thoughts.

-chris


[edited by - kilj on August 2, 2003 7:04:34 PM]

quote: Original post by onyxflame
Side note: anyone remember an old computer game called Ragnarok

This game totally rules!

I believe it has been made available for free download as well. It is incredibly addictive - I hope this game get''s remade in some form or another. It was so detailed... there were thousands of ways of progressing through the game, and many quests to perform which ultimately determine the outcome of the final battle between the gods of valhalla and the evil gods/frost giants...

A classic.

quote: Original post by DuranStrife
I''m infuriated that in all this discussion of centralized massive dungeon complexes, nobody has mentioned Super Metroid 3. Most incredible puzzle-based 2D platformer of all time. ''Nuff said.

I haven''t played Metroid Prime yet, because I bought a PS2 and won''t shell out another hundred bucks for non-PC hardware, but I''ve heard that it''s actually just as good. I want it.

It *is* just as good. I''ve been playing it for the past couple months - and it''s dungeons are pretty killer, as is to be expected from the Metroid series. Levels are *huge*, but again, centralized enough to keep things less frustrating. (granted, the areas in the Metroid games, while being totally open to exploration for the beginning, always have some unavoidable linearity. This is masked pretty well in Metroid Prime, where you revisit almost all of the areas at least twice)

And you gotta LOVE the Spider-Ball.

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