18. DUNGEONS

Player Designed Dungeons:

I'd also want to get some of the code out for the walls etc of the dungeon. Allow players to design some cool looking dungeons like they make modules for quake, unreal etc. You don't need to release security info, just stuff to make walls, paint them, etc. Then you have the players working for you (the company) for free. Pay their characters in 'creds' when the dungeon is done. Then, debug, implement. Imagine a group of players going into a very cool dungeon and fighting their way through. Several of the players in the group say "Wow - great dungeon" - one guy says "Thanks - I made it". They say BS till they get to the last and final room that has "Designed by Krotis". At that point, everyone slowly turns toward the character named Krotis and says "WOW".

(Note: Logan is not personally interested in designing dungeons as he has the graphic art skills of a fish. He is interested in what is clearly a win-win scenario. The company wins, the designer wins and all of the other customers win.)

First step - the game must be open to those 18 and up. Minors must be identified by the program so that they cannot view 'rough dungeons' in case someone has decided to make 'the S&M chamber of bliss' or some such (see below).

I believe that if the coders have made it so that anyone could go in and design a dungeon (as opposed to just graphic artists) that would be best. I would have dungeon design being able to be completed as though someone were working with Lego's. You build your dungeon brick by brick or wall by wall. The designers would need to make this 'a game within a game'. It should be easy to use this program. The program should have LOTS of variables - stalactites, pools, sloping floors, strange stuff to put in the dungeon, etc. Programs to build the strange stuff should also be built. After the dungeon is completed, the player should be able to 'paint' the dungeon if they wish. If they have the artistic ability, they can make seaweed hanging from the walls or blood splatters, or painted words ('go back!'), etc. The name of the character who made the dungeon would be attached to the dungeon. I'd have an option as to whether this name could be publicly seen or not.

The designer can then suggest (or possibly even build/make pictures of) the kind of creatures that they believe should go in the dungeon. They can suggest the kind of loot the creatures should have. All of the loot suggestions can be in simple text files.

Then, after the dungeon designer is finished with their dungeon they can put it into the 'rough dungeon' area. Whether this is a futuristic 'holo world' or a medieval 'dream world' doesn't matter. The players who view these 'rough dungeons' would be able to float around the empty dungeon and look at the art quality. Every player (account) who views this dungeon gets one vote on a 1 (real crap) to 10 (real good) scale. After an appropriate length of viewing time (a month should be sufficient) then the computer automatically tallies the votes and takes all of the dungeons designed and whittles it down to the top 30 or so. Another vote is put up for the players to choose the top ten. Voting needs to be easy. After the top ten are determined then my graphic designers get involved. They (working with the guys who stock dungeons and nerf stuff) can stock it. They may or may not use the monsters/treasure suggested but the artist does get their name on the dungeon unless they specifically request to be anon.

That is one of the two prongs of my approach. The other is closer to what Jeff V. suggested in his article. As any game I would ever make would focus on players being able to make stuff, sure - build your dungeon. No, you may not stock it with monsters. The game people might after you take them on a walking tour of it - then again, they might not.

In 'real life' (TM) dungeons were extraordinarily rare. Ventilation was a big problem. Wandering in cramped caves all the time (after digging through lots and lots of mud and rock) was pretty friggin expensive. The 'dungeons' that would be more common would include crumbling fortresses (read as 'they stopped paying their rent'), old mines, strip mines, natural caves (which weren't as deep and interesting as most dungeons unless you are in limestone country) etc. When someone stopped paying rent on a building/plot of land and abandoned it (maybe the person went on real life vacation and forgot to prepay maintenance/rent, maybe the person quit the server or the game, etc) then their area is fair game for putting a couple monsters into. If a guide discovered a *large* seemingly abandoned fortress crumbling into disrepair then they would note the coordinates and notify a GM. The GM may decide to make that area into a dungeon. Most 'dungeons' that were not put in by the game designers (or designed in the contest and approved by the game designers) would happen by 'mistake'...

I believe this method would have several advantages: We get free dungeons (yeah, I'd have a lot of legalese and the dungeons actually put into the game the player would be compensated with in game coin and possibly an out of game job with us), the players get something to design (which will suck up a lot of their time which they are paying me to do) and other players get to go on a lot of tours of dungeons if they so desire. Later, after several new dungeons have been implemented, the players themselves will be the ones to win. Not only do they get several new dungeons but the style of the dungeons won't be the 'same ole same ole'.

What kind of dungeons will you have?

Both public and private dungeons. Public dungeons are the big ones that anyone can hunt in. I'd like to have it so that you can choose (when entering any dungeon) an option to go into a 'private' dungeon with just you - or your entire party. If you want to go into a dungeon with lots of people to make friends while hunting, that option is open. If you want to go in and see if you can tackle the entire dungeon by yourself, you have that option as well. I'd like to be able to make all dungeons both public and private - that way, nobody has to feel they are 'competing' for a spawn. It would get rid of many of the evils in the gaming genre - kill stealing, camping, training while allowing those who wish to be with the public the ability to kill steal, camp and train others. A win-win situation.