Roguelike Radio Episode 114: Gameplay-Orientated Procedural Generation
Jan 22, 2016
Jim Shepard, developer of Dungeonmans, discusses level design and embedding tutorials in level geometry. He talks about using rooms and cover to teach movement, making buildings readable for exploration, and how monsters and AI interact with environments. The conversation covers secret rooms, rhythm-based AI, modular level assembly, and using layout rules to guide player behavior.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Teach By Design, Not Text
- Teach mechanics by placing reachable rewards that force players to use them.
- Players learn better when they discover solutions themselves than from text tutorials.
Make Buildings Readable
- Consistent architectural rules let players infer unknown spaces quickly.
- Placing stairs, doors and rooms sensibly improves exploration and reduces frustration.
Connect Important Places To Roads
- Place roads and connective paths so important buildings are discoverable.
- Ensure critical buildings link to main routes to help players know when they've explored an area.