ePortfolio Post 1 - DnD Map v1

9/13/2022

 ePortfolio Post 1 - DnD Map v1

Since I was sick during this class period, I had to play through the level myself, and by doing this I found that even being the one making the level, playing through it makes it very clear what issues the level has. For starters, I realized that even though this is a simple tutorial level, the map was very easy to clear quickly, taking only about 12-14 minutes rather than a full 20. I noticed that this is mainly because of how short the distance from the start to the end of the map is. Since each player moves five spaces per turn, it only took about 14 turns to reach the end of the map, not including battles, which means I should either add more battles, make the battles harder, or make the map longer. I think the best way to fix this would be to make the battles a bit harder, but since this is a tutorial of how to play, it wouldn't make sense to make the level very difficult, so the best way would really be to very slightly increase difficulty, or make the map a longer walk with more holes and traps to teach the players what objects they should avoid.

Which brings me to what I did correctly on the map, and what the map utilized well. The map had a very easy to follow and very fluid critical path. Since this was supposed to be a tutorial level, I didn’t include any hidden rooms or any out of the way, side areas to explore. I decided to keep it very plain and simple with a straight shot to the final boss, while adding traps, holes, and enemies to teach the players what to avoid and what is necessary to defeat to move on. This also taught them that walking in a straight line to the destination would not always work out well, and that sometimes it was in their best interest to be aware of their surroundings and take a longer but safer path to the end. I thought putting in varying powers and numbers of enemies would make it a bit more interesting for the players, making them slightly alter strategies when defeating one powerful enemy versus when there are many weak enemies.

This is amplified on the boss, where there is only one extremely strong enemy, making the players strategize on the best way to deal maximum damage to the boss without dying. Most of these enemies had a continuous increase in difficulty as the players progressed through the level, testing what they had learned so far and teaching them to battle against more powerful enemies, rather than putting difficult enemies early before they have learned the basics of playing. This was a good way to get the players used to the fighting mechanics of the game and taught them when to use magic and attack. I also thought I did a decent job creating a cave aesthetic with all similar enemies like dogs and other animals, with the final boss being a werewolf, closely related to the previous enemies fought.

I also made the spawn point for the characters a campfire, giving the idea that the characters are camping out at the mouth of the cave before starting their journey, rather than just lining up and standing still, which I thought added a bit of immersion into the game world. So in conclusion, I need to work on the length of the level, but did a good job at teaching the players the basics of movement and fighting, and creating a scene that immerses the players in the game.