MicroDungeon

[bomberpunk]

i need some suggestions on essential features needed in a BASIC/SIMPLE old-school dungeon game.

 

so far the controls are arrow keys to move and Z to swing your sword. i want to keep it that way; one action button.

there's no real story except you want to be filthy rich and will put your life at risk for riches.

 

here is a list of features already included in an ASCII-character dungeon crawler:

* 998,001 rooms that generate a random room-type as you enter them.

* rooms are only 7x5 in size, hence the game's title.

* nine different room types: enemy rooms, trap/puzzle rooms, chest rooms, toxic rooms, empty rooms, etc.

* chests contain food (for HP), gold, traps, or nothing at all.

* leveling up (from 1 to 19) via simple EXP system, increasing HP and Attack.

* 20 types of monsters. a new one is introduced each time the player levels up.

* entering enemy or puzzle rooms lock all four doors until the enemy is gone or the puzzle is solved.

* puzzle rooms have you simply walking around to find a hidden trigger to open rooms, but there is also a hidden trap too!

* fights are in real time (not turn based). enemy AI has a charge/attack routine and a run/evade routine selected at random. once you are wounded they disappear.

* a simple merchant system where you pay X amount of gold for a random prize. random prize could be health restoration, an item, directions to the exit room (i.e. east, northwest, etc), or the bastard takes your money and leaves!

* items so far: map (to know current location), compass (know exit room location), boots ( to walk through green sludge), food (for HP).

 

what i DON'T want:

- any more enemy types

- magic / spells / MP / etc

- complicated crap

 

what i am currently brainstorming:

+ some type of rescue mission

+ some type of artifact(s) to recover

+ ability to save/load and keeping track of stats like # of deaths, etc

+ a few other things that i can't think of at the moment

 

 

below is a screenshot of an older version

even better is a BETA VERSION ready to play: v081012 (latest version, via MediaFire)

Edited August 11, 2012 by bomberpunk

[Legend]

The only thing I can really think of is a simple scoring system and to make the puzzle rooms more "puzzly". Like maybe make them simple sokoban variations or sliding block puzzle variations. That would probably get it more attention and intrigue people. Don't know if that falls under "complicated crap" though. Sorry if it does.

[bomberpunk]

thanks for your input! more puzzles = a great idea!!

 

a simple sokoban block-pushing puzzle isn't hard for me to tackle, so i'll add that in the near future.

 

in addition to that, i thought that a mastermind-type puzzle would be a nice touch as well. the player would have to guess a predetermined configuration of 3 to 5 symbols to unlock the doors.

 

i also questioned a sort of slot machine / gambling mechanism, but that would take away from the "creepy dungeon" environment. besides, merchants are a gamble themselves as you have to pay them before you know what you're getting (which could be nothing at all).

 

not sure if a scoring system would be necessary, as there is already a currency system in addition to the experience points / leveling up system, albeit simple (no defense points, only HP and attack points)

 

feel free to chime in with more ideas!

[Legend]

i also questioned a sort of slot machine / gambling mechanism, but that would take away from the "creepy dungeon" environment.

 

I don't necessarily think it would take away from the dungeon feel of it. I kinda like the idea.

 

A variety of types of puzzles would be the coolest thing I think. I like the mastermind puzzle to unlock doors idea. Maybe the player ggets damaged if they can't figure it out in so many guesses. Kinda like trying to pick a lock that's booby-trapped.

 

maybe a mini minesweeper type puzzle? Maybe even some small chess-like puzzles. I think that would kinda fit a dungeon theme. I'm sure if you google "simple" or "small" "puzzles" you could get some more ideas.

[bomberpunk]

sokoban room-type is done. instead of the typical sokoban gameplay, the player is in a wide open room and must maneuver two boxes onto two of three placement dots and stand on the third dot. there are six possible solutions (ABC , ACB , BAC , BCA , CAB , CBA) but only one will work so the player will have to rearrange the two boxes and the little guy in the correct spots in order for the door to open. the player cannot be harmed in this room type. he cannot push the two blocks into each other or against the wall (because then you're screwed). rather, he hops over them to the other side when they are 1 space away from the outer dungeon walls.

 

the next thing i will tackle is the mastermind-type puzzle room.

 

once i get a bit further along with the coding i will post a beta version.

[bomberpunk]

double-post..

 

mastermind-type puzzle is done, along with a few glitch fixes here and there. i shot a 2-minute gameplay video but it came out a bit too blurry and the file is too big to post here anyway (400 MB). it's been deleted. like i said earlier i'll just post the game when it gets a bit further along.

 

for now i'm at another 'brainstorming blockade'. i'll see where my mind takes me before i do any more coding.

[c_t_f]

I have a fairly good suggestion...

 

I used to play a similar game on a black-and-white cell phone, and it was called "Cavern Crawl". In the game, food would help satisfy your hunger, which would deplete as you wandered about. Thus you would have to search for pizza (with different pizza-sizes, so different pizzas would replenish different amounts of hunger, according to their size) and making carelessly wandering around a bad thing. Otherwise, you'd starve to death and die!

 

So in other words, let's just say you run low on HP. If you ate food, it would raise your HP as well as your hunger whether you were hungry or not. Likewise, if you were getting hungry, you'd need to eat food whether you were low on HP or not. It would add a little strategy, as well as a replacement of something like a timer system or something like that.

 

I hope those are good ideas! I think this would be a fun game to play. :-)

 

 

@CTF@

[bomberpunk]

thanks for the suggestion c_t_f but the game is quite challenging enough without having to worry about a hunger meter. it might actually be a little too hard.

 

there's a small list of things that i want to add/change/finish before compiling a demo of the game, but it is very playable and to me quite enjoyable even with the high-set difficulty.

 

things i have added:

a new item, the torch, which allows you to see floor traps in Trap rooms and Chest rooms

boss showdown (unfinished)

an easter egg

 

i want to add one more item. which of these three interest you the most?

a. armor item. it would double the Max HP

b. resurrection item. it would bring you back to life w/ full health immediately after you die. one time use.

c. tool item. it would allow you to disarm booby-trapped chests.

 

anyway, i want to try to mash out my to-do list before the end of next week and finally upload the damn game.

 

cheers!

Edited August 19, 2011 by bomberpunk

[bomberpunk]

[expired link deleted]

 

enjoy. feedback greatly appreciated. one thing i noticed is that it runs hella fast compared to the uncompiled BAS file. it's quite hard to make a kill! the sword loses some of its animation as well. i need to tackle that on a future update.

Edited August 11, 2012 by bomberpunk

[bomberpunk]

double post. see above ^

Edited August 22, 2011 by bomberpunk

[Goochman]

I would think along the lines of 2600 Haunted House - random rooms, treasures, monsters - but ultimately there is 'something' you need to get and possibly do with it (escape, use it on final monster, open a gate, etc...)

 

Just my $0.02

[bomberpunk]

Goochman, all the things you said are already in the game!

 

i haven't worked on this in two weeks, but the best ideas come to me when i shelve projects. with that said, i have a few bugs to fix from the demo i posted and a boss fight to change/expand on.

[bomberpunk]

yes, this is an old thread but there's no point in creating a new one for the exact same thing. for those of you who haven't seen this before, just scroll up and start with post #1

 

after not touching this game for almost a year, i've recently been updating it regularly (since july 23) and i'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. i have also been working on a simple text instruction manual alongside the project, so when all is said and done there will be a nice little guide to accompany the game!

 

updates are:

* boss showdown completed although i may give the thing one more form of attack

* wrench item added (to disarm booby-trapped chests), and disarming adds 1 experience point

* "elemental" minigame room, a simple gambling mechanism to win/lose gold.

* three of four super secret relics to discover (almost there!)

* some minor tweaks here and there

 

what's left (in order of importance):

* a means of changing the overall speed of the game for different computers. this actually has to be done last as more & more code added slows it down a bit.

* the final relic and the special situation(s) that go along with it.

* storyline (there are no real characters other than you, merchants, monsters, and a final boss. no princess or anything so this part might be difficult)

* keeping track of stats with a nice summary of crap after you die

* perhaps a second minigame (slot machine)

 

yeah. it's qbasic. but hey, i'm excited. and that's what counts.

Edited August 10, 2012 by bomberpunk

[bomberpunk]

alright, i hit a brick wall. for my fourth and final "secret relic" mission thing, i trap the player in a room with a doppelganger who only moves when the player moves. if you move up, he moves down. if you move right, he moves left. when he hits a wall, he reappears across the room. he's too easy to hit with the sword, so i made him invulnerable to it. and there is the problem. the sword is the only weapon in the game. adding another weapon isn't an option this far into the code.

 

...

 

i think i got it. i'll make the bastard chase me. through rooms. YES...allow him to be knocked away temporarily (ala Evil Otto in Berzerk) until he comes in contact with... with.... damnit.

[Legend]

The idea of making him chase you into something like a guillotine trap, falling/crushing ceiling trap, or jumping over a spiked pit trap and letting him fall in behind you could work. But there should be some sort of variable involved. Something that would make it so you couldn't just follow the same movement pattern/sequence to win every time you make it to that room.

 

Something like shifting walls, or another enemy/enemies in the room that chase you at the same time.

 

Glad to see you are still working on it.

 

Since the game is being made in Qbasic, maybe you could port it over to 2600 using batari basic after you finish this main qbasic version?

[Impaler_26]

I'd like to try the game so can you post the beta version again?

[bomberpunk]

The idea of making him chase you into something like a guillotine trap, falling/crushing ceiling trap, or jumping over a spiked pit trap and letting him fall in behind you could work. But there should be some sort of variable involved. Something that would make it so you couldn't just follow the same movement pattern/sequence to win every time you make it to that room.

 

Something like shifting walls, or another enemy/enemies in the room that chase you at the same time.

 

Glad to see you are still working on it.

 

Since the game is being made in Qbasic, maybe you could port it over to 2600 using batari basic after you finish this main qbasic version?

 

like all of those ideas. it will definitely be a different "pattern" each game. i think what i may end up doing is adding some type of device maybe 10-30 rooms away that destroys him. so he chases you, you knock him away, and meanwhile you still have to deal with the regular hassles of the normal room types while trying to get to Point B (where he gets axed). perhaps add some arrow pointers to tell the player which exit to take to get closer and closer to said destination. i think that might work out well, actually. this is nothing more than a side quest so i don't want to really make it extravagant. the only required task to win is to kill the final boss because he/she/it is actually blocking the exit room.

 

all along i've been treating the game as if it was being made for a console with an Atari joystick. the game is controlled via only 4-way movement and one action button. i'm not sure if my unorthodox code will translate well to bBasic, but it is something i am very interested in looking into when this version is complete.

 

I'd like to try the game so can you post the beta version again?

 

check post #1 again. there's a new link.

[Gateway]

alright, i hit a brick wall. for my fourth and final "secret relic" mission thing, i trap the player in a room with a doppelganger who only moves when the player moves. if you move up, he moves down. if you move right, he moves left. when he hits a wall, he reappears across the room. he's too easy to hit with the sword, so i made him invulnerable to it. and there is the problem. the sword is the only weapon in the game. adding another weapon isn't an option this far into the code.

 

...

 

i think i got it. i'll make the bastard chase me. through rooms. YES...allow him to be knocked away temporarily (ala Evil Otto in Berzerk) until he comes in contact with... with.... damnit.

 

A mirror. If your doppleganger enters the same room as the mirror, it sees it own reflection as is destroyed.

 

So, you just gotta find the mirror room beforehand and lead your "negative" self into the trap.

 

P.S. I like the game, although it is very small on my monitor screen (I know, I know.. It IS called microdungeon ) If you can make a larger window option for it, that would help my eyes.

 

Tried the game out and like it so far. Would be fun to play it on the Atari when you get to that point. Keep up the good work!

Edited August 18, 2012 by Gateway

[bomberpunk]

alright, i hit a brick wall. for my fourth and final "secret relic" mission thing, i trap the player in a room with a doppelganger who only moves when the player moves. if you move up, he moves down. if you move right, he moves left. when he hits a wall, he reappears across the room. he's too easy to hit with the sword, so i made him invulnerable to it. and there is the problem. the sword is the only weapon in the game. adding another weapon isn't an option this far into the code.

 

...

 

i think i got it. i'll make the bastard chase me. through rooms. YES...allow him to be knocked away temporarily (ala Evil Otto in Berzerk) until he comes in contact with... with.... damnit.

 

A mirror. If your doppleganger enters the same room as the mirror, it sees it own reflection as is destroyed.

 

So, you just gotta find the mirror room beforehand and lead your "negative" self into the trap.

 

P.S. I like the game, although it is very small on my monitor screen (I know, I know.. It IS called microdungeon ) If you can make a larger window option for it, that would help my eyes.

 

Tried the game out and like it so far. Would be fun to play it on the Atari when you get to that point. Keep up the good work!

 

 

thanks for the suggestion feedback and the kind words.

 

i do like the mirror idea. if i stick with the chase-me-to-another-location route, a mirror would be perfect. i haven't done any more coding in recent days because [lies lies lies; i've just been lazy].

 

 

if your operating system is compatible with full screen mode, you can just press [Alt] + [Enter] to make it full screen, otherwise you'll get an error message. i know that Windows Vista & Windows 7 are not compatible.

 

if the above method does work, then i can implement an automated option from the main menu into the game.

[Gateway]

Yeah, that worked, covering my whole screen.

 

So, if understand the diamond room, the diamonds without a color symbol next to them; you need to figure out the random color in order to escape?

[bomberpunk]

yep. you got it

 

the next version i post will include a full screen option, but there's no way to go back to the smaller screen at that point (Qbasic's fault, not mine!)

[Gateway]

Been playing this today. I encountered a game in which I found a bomb in one room, so I quickly exited to my right, and the new room also had a bomb in it!

 

DEAD!

 

Question: So I see that the rooms are random (moving to a new room then back to the previous room results in a new puzzle or monster). Is the whole dungeon random or is the treasure always supposed to be at a certain place on the map in each game?

 

I have only reached level 3 once so maybe I haven't explored enough..

 

[bomberpunk]

at the start of a game, a few things are predetermined such as locations of the exit room and 2 of 4 relics. everything else is chosen at random to give an entirely different experience each time.

 

the whole reentering rooms thing has been bothering me, so i may reconstruct that part of the code by keeping the current room-type and the 8 surrounding room-types in memory.

 

don't feel bad about what level you've reached. i've gotten to 10 once, and i'm the programmer! there is definitely a backwards difficulty curve. it's too easy to die at first. later items allow you to walk through the green stuff and disarm booby-trapped chests. i can easily disable some of that stuff until level 3 or so. ....or split that into two difficulty settings (normal / easy).

 

here's a HUGE chunk of the manual i'm working on. this is probably 80% of what i have. it might help explain some other things that you've experienced:

 

 

MICRODUNGEON 101

 

 

EXIT ROOM

The Exit room is your ultimate destination. Find this room and

you win! It's that, erm, ...simple.

 

EMPTY ROOM

Empty rooms are just that; rooms that have nothing in them. No

enemies, traps, or goodies to find. These are the second

most-common room types, followed only by Enemy Rooms. An

empty room is a great place to rest.

 

TRAP ROOM

When entering this room type, all doors immediately lock and

remain that way until the player walks over a small trigger.

Sometimes the trigger is visible, other times it is not. Trap

rooms also have a hidden trap in them. Walking on the trap will

result in the loss of HP. Be careful in these rooms!

 

CHEST ROOM

Chest rooms contain one chest and one hidden trap. Sometimes

the chest itself is a trap! Other times you will find food which

will add health to your HP. You may also get lucky and find a

chest full of gold, or you may find nothing inside at all!

 

ENEMY ROOM

The most common room type found in MicroDungeon will have the

player wielding his or her mighty sword at one of several enemy

types! As the player levels up and becomes stronger, different

enemy types with more HP and stronger attacks will appear!

 

BOMB ROOM

Bomb rooms hold a single bomb in the center. Once the player

enters this room, the bomb ignites and will explode after just

two seconds! If the player does not exit the room, he or she

will instantly die no matter what the current HP is!

 

TOXIC ROOM

Toxic room are filled with a deadly green sludge. Sometimes the

sludge will block the player's path and force him or her to

return to a previous room. Walking on the green areas in this

room type without the boots (sold by merchants) will result in

death instantly, regardless of HP!

 

PROJECTILE ROOM

This room type consists of spiked moving platforms which will

instantly smack the player and send him backward. There are four

moving platforms in Projectile rooms; two moving vertically and

two moving horizontally. Manuever through them to survive!

 

MERCHANT ROOM

For whatever reason, merchants reside down in the MicroDungeon!

Some merchants will sell you food, while others will point you

in the direction you want to travel in order to find the Exit

Room. Some merchants who ask for a lot of gold usually have

something worth buying, while others are thieves who steal and

run off with your gold!

 

WARP ROOM

Warp rooms contain a purple statue. By touching this statue,

the player will be transported, at random, to another room in

the MicroDungeon. The room you warp to will always be empty.

 

BLOCK ROOM

This room type contains three floor triggers but only two huge

blocks. The player will have to push the blocks onto triggers

and stand on the third trigger to unlock the doors and escape

to the next room. Not every combination works, so the blocks

may have to shuffled around. As the game progresses, a dummy

floor trigger will be added to the room to elevate difficulty.

 

CIPHER ROOM

In this room type stands four identical statues. Hitting them

with the sword changes their color. To unlock the doors, the

player must determine which colors the statues should be. Some

Cipher rooms include only two or three clues, while others

will show the complete solution.

 

GAME ROOM

In this room, the player will find a merchant surrounded by an

object in each of the four corners. For a predetermined price,

the player can choose to gamble his gold. Select the green

earth object (top left), blue water object (bottom left), or

the red fire object (bottom right). The merchant will then

reveal his choice (top right). If you lose, the amount of gold

will be subtracted from your possesion. A draw results in no

transaction. Winnings may be double or even triple the asking

price! [Water > Fire | Fire > Earth | Earth > Water]

 

MASTER ROOM

An epic battle awaits thee...

 

HEART CHAMBER

Only after defeating the Master will the player be able to

gain access to the chamber which houses the Master's heart.

The player must enter the beast's mouth and inside it's body!

 

 

 

 

 

ITEMS LIST

 

The following items on this list will help you on your quest.

Each of them can be purchased through one of the many

merchants found in the MicroDungeon. you'll just need to find

a guy who's offering it for sale!

---------------------------------------------------------------

ITEM COST DESCRIPTION

---------------------------------------------------------------

SWORD 0g The player begins the game already

eqipped with this family heirloom

 

MAP 50g Shows player's current coordinates

 

??? 175g Fortunately for the player, a random

merchant will sell something very

valuable (unknowingly) for cheap.

 

BOOTS 325g Allows player to walk through the green

toxic sludge without being harmed

 

TORCH 500g Allows the player to see the traps that

are inside of Trap rooms

 

WRENCH 750g Allows player to disarm trapped chests

which will always produce gold or food.

 

COMPASS 975g Shows the coordinates of the Exit Room

 

FOOD ??g Restores HP, sometimes to MAX HP

 

 

 

 

 

REWARDS

 

defeating any enemy results in GOLD and XP

gold = gold + (enemy number x 10)

xp = xp + (enemy number)

example 1: kill an imp, get 30G and 3XP

example 2: kill an orc, get 120G and 12XP

 

[Gateway]

I hope you are still working on this.

 

I have encountered the doppleganger at least once so far and am wondering if you will still be adding something to defeat him as I wasn't able to get rid of him and therefore was stuck in that room and had to reset the game.

 

Also, thanks for the manual! Good info!

[bomberpunk]

i've had the game on the back burner for the past month or so but i haven't abandoned it. in fact i've added the full-screen option to my latest build (v082012) which isn't uploaded because nothing else was done.

 

should have some extra time in mid-October to add major updates and/or complete the project. finishing the doppelganger showdown is at the top of the list. then i'll do fancy game statistic routines (which is going to be an exciting addition for me at least), a difficulty setting, and if space permits there will be an in-game storyline, finished off with whatever polish is needed. i might even throw in another easter egg or two..