Dungeon creation has long been an enjoyed activity among lovers of role playing games. These creative individuals have many methods of creating their dungeons. Whether the tool of choice is a collection of Dungeons and Dragons manuals, RPG Maker for Playstation or PC, the popular classic game Dungeon Keeper, or the mobile application known as Dungeon Maker. Complex dungeon and map creation tools like Dungeons and Dragons or RPG Maker even provide toolkits for developing enemies, bosses, traps, and more. In this article, we’ll be looking at a dungeon creation kit that’s more simplistic than Dungeons and Dragons or RPG Maker. We’ll focus on the concepts and variations of Dungeon Maker, a mobile application for Android. Toward the end of the article, we’ll dive into mechanics of the Dungeon Maker and provide gameplay advice for one of the most popular dungeon creation games available.
What Is Dungeon Maker?
A History Of Dungeon Creation
Dungeon Maker follows in the footsteps of classic dungeon creation games. Dungeon creation traces its origins back long before the era of computer gaming—all the way back to pen and paper role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. Game Masters, Dungeon Masters, or Dungeon Crafters (titles would change depending on which game toolkit was being used for the dungeon creation) would spend hours, days, and even weeks crafting the perfect dungeons for their adventurers.
Within dungeons, these creators would need to place rooms, traps, and enemies. Unique surprises would be hidden around every corner. Powerful, legendary boss enemies would await players at the end of each dungeon. These locations offered a vast collection of challenges, puzzles, and opportunities to use unique abilities that each participant has gained. One of the greatest aspects of being a dungeon/game master who works with a consistent team is that these dungeons can be crafted in a way that highlights each individual character, giving players an opportunity to shine.
Some dungeon creation kits permitted the creation of dungeons using cards and tiles. Particularly, dungeon creation is easier than ever using this method. 3D Printing, purchasable tiles, and art creation programs have made a Dungeon or Game Master’s job easier than it has ever been. Now, creators of dungeons can allow visualization of their creations. This can be further enhanced with miniatures, which are small figurines that can represent specific enemies, items, or even player characters.
How Dungeon Maker Works
Dungeon Maker functions similarly to classic dungeon creation tools. The primary difference between Dungeon Maker and typical dungeon creation toolkits is that Dungeon Maker features actual goals and gameplay rather than being a way to create a game for others to play. With Dungeon Maker, the player (which, in this case, is the individual who is crafting the perfect dungeon within the application) is trying to protect his or her territory for an invasion of do-gooders and heroes. Much like other dungeon creation toolkits, the player can challenge the invading heroes with difficult rooms, traps, and enemies. You’ll gradually build up your dungeon so that the incoming hero characters will be required to face greater challenges. In this manner, the game works in a manner similar to a tower defense title, but with dungeon creation elements.
An individual playing Dungeon Maker is given cards to administer. These cards will feature facilities, battles, traps, and other aspects common to dungeons. You’ll then customize the card itself with particular enemies and traps you believe will offer the greatest advantage to you—and the greatest challenge to the invading party of heroic characters seeking to destroy you. Your dungeon will gradually become more complex, intense, and expensive, but the heroes will also become more formidable and daring.
Games Similar To Dungeon Maker
Dungeon Keeper
In the year 1997, Bullfrog Production released a game called Dungeon Keeper. This dungeon creation game worked as a tower defense and dungeon generation game, much like Dungeon Maker. Rather than using cards for tiles, however, it used actual blocks that the player could customize.
The game is primarily remembered for its wit and clever dialogue. A narrator would constantly taunt the player, mocks its dungeon and units, and give helpful advice under the guise of being uncaring and disinterested. Dungeon Keeper was well-written and lives on in the next game in this list: War for the Overworld.
War For The Overworld
Without an up-to-date Dungeon Keeper available, there was a void in the world of gaming which needed to be filled. This void was filled by War for the Overworld. Developed by Brightrock Games, War for the Overworld was the end result of a highly successful Kickstarter project. It raised nearly three hundred thousand dollars, which was nearly twice its original goal. The developers remained true to their promises and created a perfect spiritual successor to the aforementioned Dungeon Keeper.
War for the Overworld keeps the sarcasm, wit, and wild fun that is seen in Dungeon Keeper while still updating it so it can compete with games in this day and age. As with Dungeon Maker, the player of the game will put together a collection of different rooms, hire enemies, and lay down traps. Your goals range from competing with creators of other dungeons to trying to thwart the plans of ambitious heroes. War for the Overworld also adds many other features thanks to the significant success of its Kickstarter campaign.
RPG Maker
RPG Maker is a classic role-playing game creation tool that doesn’t feature goals for the player to reach… beyond the goals that the player sets for him or herself. RPG Maker is actually a complete game creation tool that players can use to craft player classes, side quests, player and non-player characters, over worlds, and—of course—dungeons.
RPG Maker has been around for decades. With more advanced versions of RPG Maker, such as RPG Maker MV or VX Ace, players can expand the game with their own images, audio assets, and scripts. Unlike the mobile game Dungeon Maker, the goals in the game are all set by the player who is creating it. RPG Maker’s sleek capabilities for generating worlds make it an excellent creation tool for individuals who are seeking to create a simple roleplaying game.
How To Emerge Victorious Within Dungeon Maker
Card Types
Understanding the different card types and how they work is vital in being a successful Dungeon Maker player. The game requires a complex comprehension of its inner workings, and that begins with the face of the game: cards. As you play Dungeon Maker, you’ll familiarize yourself with the different cards and tools are at your disposal. Try experimenting with various cards as you play through the game so you can reach a greater understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.
Deploy The Best Rooms
Does this one seem a little obvious? Well, it should. Deploying the best rooms available would naturally be the best way to play the game. But identifying which rooms are the best can be tedious and difficult, which is why we’ve done it for you. Here are the best rooms or cards in the game, ranked from least to greatest:
- Extraction
- Sword and Shield
- Lounge
- Frenzy
- Gigantify
- Hatchery
- Warhorn
- Double Giant
Deploy The Cards Properly
Where should you put the above cards, however? Surely you can’t just put them anywhere on the map and expect a perfect game of Dungeon Maker? Don’t worry, we aren’t just going to give you a list of cards to play and expect you to know exactly what should be done with them. We have advice on proper utilization for some of Dungeon Maker’s most powerful cards.
The room that is directly connected to your hero should always be your most powerful battle room. If you can pull out Double Giant, that’s great! Drop that room right in front of your hero. That is the only place Double Giant really needs to be in the game. Anywhere else and it’s almost useless; very few heroes will come into contact with your most powerful room unless it’s forced upon them.
Hatcheries are excellent and highly useful rooms, but you only need one on the field. Place your Hatchery in a secluded area on the field and don’t waste your time or funds with the crafting of other Hatcheries. After the first one, you’ll be set for the rest of the game.
Our last piece of advice for card deployments is regarding Warhorn and Frenzy rooms. While these are technically battle rooms, they should be treated as trap rooms. Place them far to the right of the game, near the point where heroes spawn. This is what you would ordinarily do with any of your trap rooms.
Crafting dungeons can be a wildly fun experience. Whether you’re trying to create an experience for your friends to enjoy or you’re playing a goal-based game in which you build the perfect dungeon over time, dungeon creation games and tools provide ample opportunity for the expression of your own creativity. Dungeon Maker is no exception to this rule. With a vast array of tools, rooms, and minions at your disposal, you’re bound to have a blast when you play this hit mobile title.
