This week was mostly spent recovering from the last update and on the initial design work for the next draft of the map systems.

I’m basically taking a layered approach to it. Basically solving one problem at a time, adding one missing element as needed. This has actually been in progress for awhile now. The first big step was introducing the monster den system which basically established how map progression should work and how to integrate battles into the game. The second big step was overhauling the way the main quest is structured into 3 big primary goals with strict time limits, each capable of winning the game (as opposed to the previous meandering objectives with little completion incentive until the end).

The next thing I’m focusing on is tension. It’s not the most fashionable RPG element with Western RPGs throwing it away in favor of quick save convenience while Japanese RPGs simply designed easier one-shot dungeons, though it lives on in various dungeon crawlers today. What I mean is giving players incentive to stretch their resources as far as possible. In more traditional RPGs this just meant trying to avoid backtracking to town in favor of completing the dungeon (accounting for the risk of pressing on vs. going back to town). In roguelikes it just means surviving as long as possible. What I’m talking about is resource management. I’m talking about the danger of a dungeon.

The traditional means of accomplishing this has just been making players backtrack to town if they decide the risk is too great. But this isn’t a viable solution to the problem due to the tight pacing we’re looking. Doubly so when you factor in that backtracking creates “empty” turns where players don’t get to do much (which then makes it far worse to sit through other player’s turns and makes losing far more irritating. You generally want to target every player having as similar of turn time as possible throughout the game). So that is the problem I’m facing right now: How do you create tension without backtracking?

I don’t have an answer yet. I’m also kind of really excited about finding one. The tension of delving into a dungeon is probably my favorite RPG element, but even I can admit that handling it with backtracking (or inevitable death in the case of roguelikes) isn’t necessarily the most engaging way of doing it. So I’m really enjoying trying to find a better way to do it.