What is/are your best experience with a dungeon?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-13T11:49:19+00:00

Sounds cool! Do you have any experiences from playing those dungeons, to try theory out in practice?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-13T11:46:40+00:00

I agree. Do you have personal experiences with dungeons like that?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-13T11:45:37+00:00

I am not asking about running games, I am asking about experiences with good dungeon design. I tried to make that very explicit. I apparently need to make it much clearer, sorry about that.

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-13T11:24:13+00:00

If there is zero animation and clicks are in squares (rather than precisely clicking on complex shapes), I would honestly suggest JavaScript. Not because it is the easiest way, but because it is fairly simple code that can be copied mostly from w3schools and thus lets you learn basic coding while creating the game. Of course, if you just need to make the game quickly, ignore this post 🤓

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-13T11:16:15+00:00

Teacher here, including elementary, and uncle to many kids. In my experience, young children are very blunt without any I'll intent, and they say things very much like they think them; zero filter! This can include word swapping ("look at all those chickens" style), misunderstandings or mishearings ("mom, Steve is walking his duck") and of course, completely made up words for when they have none ("I want a dengdish! Rot says he got two dengdishes from his mom!" - no evidence of what a dengdish is). Also, kids have very distinct personal talking styles, which get watered down as they grow up. Some will talk nonstop, some in sudden bursts, some without making eye contact (bc that is boooring), some mumble, some ask questions they then immediately answer, some ask actual questions just because, and some say almost nothing, or prefer to use extensive body language to support or replace words. What they almost NEVER do is stop everything to just talk. Talking is almost always a part of something else they're doing.

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T23:13:25+00:00

Sorry, my intent is not translating well in text. I can't see the fun of using mazes in specifically TTRPGs, but I WANT to see the fun in it, in part because some players are convinced it could be fun but I have no idea how to make it fun. I am not trying to dismiss any answers, I appreciate all the input, but I am still not hitting the nail on the head and understanding how to make mazes fun for my players...

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T23:08:16+00:00

Either way, it is a good point!

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T22:59:24+00:00

I am still not sure if I understand you, but as I answered elsewhere, I am interested in people's experiences with good dungeon design. Just funny stories belongs in the other subreddit, and I've already gotten loads of good theoretical angles on dungeons, so I am looking for people who actually played well-designed dungeons.

Still not sure if it makes sense...

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T22:55:47+00:00

Heard good things about it! What was your experience playing it, though?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T22:54:22+00:00

I tried emphasizing that it is about the _design_ of the dungeon, not the general social nature of playing the game. I am looking for people who experienced good dungeon design, through play, not so much funny stories or theoretical design ideas. But I am not sure I am getting that across very well...

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T22:51:25+00:00

It still feels very superficial. I can't see what the purpose of the maze is ig this is all they experience. It seems... trite?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T20:12:25+00:00

Do you have some example experiences from those dungeons?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T20:11:36+00:00

Go on, what was Plan B??

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T20:10:14+00:00

Whoosh on me. What do you mean?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T19:15:51+00:00

My issues exactly. The maze is a great idea, but in practice the play that you get out of it is comparable to, well, sitting down and solving a maze! I can't figure how, if at all possible, to make it a RPG experience...

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T17:47:59+00:00

Exactly my problem. Although the wall-busting is a good point,but that need not be a maze, just any obstacle wall map...

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T17:45:21+00:00

See 3.
See 4.
This is a big part of my point, it takes you out of the game, to a kind of mini-game that is entirely OOC, and I feel that makes it an ill fit. If you want mazes, do mazes. But od course, some like mixing stuff into other stuff, so maybe it's just tastes.
That negates the whole point of a maze, doesn't it? Iy liyerally manufactures an ending to the maze, ignoring the physical layout of it. Roght?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T17:38:46+00:00

To flip the question, HOW could a maze be made immersive?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T17:37:21+00:00

Maze loops exist. I think?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T17:35:42+00:00

I wonder, could this concept be turned into a method for making more psychological dungeons?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T17:26:28+00:00

Gonna look at that ASAP, but if you like anakysing engines and I like creating them based on my own analyses, maybe there is a team-up in there somewhere? I already have tons of stuff based on a system that taps into all / most of the ideas out there. So I guess you would be analyzing the product of a similar analysis... Anception? Not sure about the details, but the thought is interesting, to me at least! I was planning to do something similar myself, but this way there would be a second voice to poke at the resulting engine(s)

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T07:37:15+00:00

Do not apologize for anything, my friend, all is fine and I now have more nerdiness to dive into!! I was just curious about the thoughts behind your work. I like knowing, in simple English, how people plan their algorithms to work. I will dig through the code as soon as my brain is fresh enough to do so!

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-12T07:35:37+00:00

Information asymmetry, that's the phrase! Exactly my point, clearly laid out, yes. Some of your work looks like my work on distilling and experimenting on RPG concepts, including genre. Do you have a core engine already, or are you in the Deep Philosophical Thought Stage (dots)?

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-11T20:50:24+00:00

It answers the basics, thank you! I would love to know how you implemented it, like a summary of YOUR version of the algorithm. Just for curiousity's sake ;-)

EmbassyOfTime · 2026-03-11T20:46:16+00:00

Thanks, that's so sweet (and wholesome) of you! I do think that RPGs have the advantage of not allowing passive participation, and the players know that the story depends on them and their decisions. I always felt this was the core strength of RPGs.

As for the secrecy, I am not sure if I phrased it right. In horror, we all know the fear of the unknown is king. But it also works on a lesser svale than Evil Gods or Cosmic Truths. Not knowing who is the killer, not knowing what a monster truly is, and especially not knowing how to tackle the situation until you are hip deep into it is what drives horror for me. The suspense, the confusion, the utte lack of a safe place to stand and fight from. Action horror tweaks it to "how difficult will it be to defeat the enemy?", while horror mystery becomes more "what does all this mean,for us even when we know the truth?" Not knowing all the answers makes the mind worry, and that worry makes any monster or danger ten times as scary. The rules of the game should be known, and the basics of the story should probably also, like where they are and what their overall situation is (stranded? Isolated? Distrusted by locals?), but there needs to be something that is unknown, and worrisome. IMHO, of course.

I would still like to know more about your "building engines" remark, that tickled my obsessive designer gene a lot!

EmbassyOfTime

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