Official development blog

Tag Archives: Tunneling Algorithm

Roguelike Level Design Addendum: Procedural Layouts

Last time I described the entire design and creation process behind Cogmind’s latest new map, though a single map can’t quite cover all aspects of the so-called “standardized approach” I’ve taken to level design in Cogmind. So we’re back again today to expand that article with a look at some more potential parts of the […]

Posted in Design | Also tagged , , , | 2 Responses

Map Prefabs, in Depth

An increasingly common approach to roguelike map development today is to have content partially determined by so-called “prefabs,” with layouts which are hand-made rather than fully procedurally generated. Doing so gives a designer more control over the experience, or portions of it at least, without completely supplanting the advantages of roguelike unpredictability. Prefabs are a […]

Posted in Design, Dev Series: Procedural Maps | Also tagged , , , , | 2 Responses

Map Composition

Much of the “living dungeon” concept described previously applies to the main complex, and some branches. Roguelikes of significant scope tend to use a combination of map generation techniques, necessary to fill the game world with unique maps appropriate for their respective areas. Different map types are also likely to require different algorithms to populate […]

Posted in Design | Also tagged , , , , , , | 6 Responses

Dungeon Metrics

Rarely will an algorithm produce a perfect procedurally generated map, and even if it does, some degree of post-processing will still be necessary to analyze the layout. When we look at a map produced by a generator, we can determine pretty quickly whether or not the layout is sufficient for our purposes; we can also […]

Posted in Design, Dev Series: Procedural Maps | Also tagged , , , , | 11 Responses

Mapgen: Tunneling Algorithm

Cogmind’s main dungeon maps are excavated by “tunnelers” that dig corridors and rooms, much in the way a dungeon architect would build a home for their master’s minions. An empty map is seeded by one or more tunnelers, and they travel around that map opening up all the areas that will become occupiable space, e.g. […]

Posted in Design, Dev Series: Procedural Maps | Also tagged , , | 8 Responses